RENAULT MEGANE Coupe 2003‑2010

My wife's Astra was nearing the end of its shelf life, and so she decided to go for a convertible. She had admired the Megane in gold for some time, and when we saw one on a dealer forecourt whilst stuck in Olympic torch procession traffic last year, that was that.

Whilst we have had the car (i.e not in the garage) it has been quite pleasant, but this is without doubt the most unreliable car we have had in 30 years! The electrics are a nightmare..if the temp drops below freezing, the radio discharges the battery...don't ask me why, it does! The immobiliser will kill everything, simply because it can, that locks the glovebox, so you can't even phone recovery. If nothing else, this protects the Anglo Saxon language! The windows may or may not operate, and that will determine whether or not it is wise to drop the roof....and the list goes on.

It is a very pretty car, but rudely underpowered, and then thirsty when you try to eek some performance out of it. But it is the total lack of any reliability that ruins the experience with this car. Good luck!!

- 2 days after I got it the service light and airbag light both illuminated on the dash so it had to go back!

- I had the roof down and the drivers side rear window got stuck up so it had to go back!

- I had the roof down and the passengers side rear window got stuck down (Fortunately this was during a heatwave and a friend knew how to reset the windows on Megane's)

- A coil has failed in the engine (common problem on Megane's!)

- Water sloshing underneath the back seats!

- Dephaser Pulley and associated bits need replacing!

- Since taking it through a car wash there is a small leak directly above the drivers window switches.

- Recently the exhaust gas has smelt strongly of petrol.

- In really cold winter weather it cuts out immediately after starting if the revs aren't kept on for a few seconds.

- Engine and gearbox mounts have had it.

- You have to be telepathic to drive it smoothly - the clutch is diabolical!!!

The list is endless, be warned!!!

Just about a year ago now,my wife had a longing for a cabriolet.

She started with a Peugeot 206 that looked nice but very thirsty and totally impractical in every way.Then I found a Peach of a car in the form of this Cabriolet. From the test drive I was smitten and persuaded her to own the vehical.One year later,we both love the car,It is practical,good looking with the top up,stunning with the top down,a little slow at pulling away,but soon has a smile back on your face when you are cruising.The boot is quite cavernous for a cabrio and even room for shopping with the top down.Rear passanger room is adequate,seat adjustment,and rake and reach steering is excellent.looking forward to many years of driving pleasure with this car.

I only had my Megane for 3 years and I bought it as a 2004 registration. It was my dream car which turned into a nightmare. Fair enough it looked fantastic and driving it was great. Expensive on fuel when driven at speed but if you cruise steadily it could do from 48-50 mpg so not too bad. However from the day I bought it I had nothing but trouble and in the first few weeks of having it, I had to pay out for various things that were wrong with it. I went back to the garage I had bought it from and they refused to do any of the repairs. Even though it had passed its MOT, I found the brakes needed doing almost immediately. The struts needed replacing and I lost count of the other areas that my garage found wrong with it. In 3 years I visited my garage 10 times with it. The final straw was when the turbo went which damaged the engine. The turbo cost £800 to repair - money I could barely spare when I had paid out £300 the previous month for the EGR.

Renault???? Not sure I would ever touch one again!!!

Soon to have its sixth birthday, I still love my Megane convertible. Fast, sleek, sexy - perfect for this fearless female. Not a lot of room in the back for long-legged passengers, but the roomy boot makes up for this. Surprisingly quiet for a diesel and the top goes down in a miraculous 11 seconds. Equally good for round town driving, shopping, pleasure trips and long touring holidays. Took it down to Austria and back last summer without a single problem. Stood up to all the powerful German cars bombing down the autobahns. Roll on the next one when I've saved up!

Convertible for grown ups as the British weather isn;'t suitabl;e for all year round soft top.

Glass roof up feels like a saloon, glass roof down i's what it's all about.

Not a family car or about town run around.

The type of car everyone should enjoy at some point in their motoring life.

The car is fantastic in the summer. Nothing beats getting the roof off on a glorious day. The only downside is that the weight of the car slows it down.

Great bootspace, and enough room in the back for two.

MPG currently sits at 38.5.

I bought this car in March 2011 as a seven year old '54' reg with unusually low mileage (41,000 miles). I have had it for nearly one year now (now being Jan 2012). It sailed through its first MOT (first since I have owned it) with only a wiper blade to change. The MOT included an advisory to suggest the front disks and pads were not running at full efficiency, so I changed them together with a cambelt change for less than £500. This was purely a precautionary action.

I drive about 45miles to work over rolling Devon countryside (round trip). This is the perfect car for it, especially in the summer with the roof down The car still looks modern and fresh.

It is frugal on fuel - generally achieving 50mpg on a run. After heavy rain there can be some condensation on the inside of the windows and one of the windows can resonate at certain speeds, but these are certainly not enough to distract from the pleasure of driving it. I have read in other reviews that owners have experienceed leaks in the roof. I have not experience any leaks, even in the heaviest of storms. I have not experienced any mechanical issues with the roof opening mechanism - which sees a lot of use in the summer.

10 months on and the car has now racked up 53,000miles. It has been extremely reliable and enjoyable to drive.

I think the Megane Coupe Cabriolet is pretty much everything you could want from a droptop. Granted, as with most of their number, you'd be hard pushed to get a six footer in the rear seats, but then that's no different to a BMW 3 Series Convertible costing up to three times as much. So best not to look at the Megane Cabriolet as family transport.

Second hand they're great value for a bit of fun over the spring and summer. And even when autumn and winter beckon, the folding metal/glass roof is hardy enough to keep the cold, wind, rain and snow well and truly out. Plus I've never heard of any mechanical or leaking problems with the Megane's folding roof. Unlike Focus and Astra models of the same ilk.

The body of the Coupe Cabriolet is designed by German styling house Karman. The same designers that go way back to the first, and in my opinion, the best VW Golf Cabriolets. So they sort of knew what they were doing when approached by Renault.

As with most Megane variants, the CC is stylish inside too. They're generally very reliable, a piece of cake to drive, comfortable, and well laid out with quality switch gear nicely falling to hand.

Do consider that the Megane CC was never designed as a 'sports car', though. If you want a really fast open top car, my general rule of thumb would be to concentrate exclusively on cars designed from scratch with only two seats in mind. Obviously there are exceptions to that rule, such as M3's and R4's - assuming you have £50k+ to spend of course!

No, it's fair to say the Megane Coupe Cabriolet is a nice looking Coupe for winter, and a rather pleasant open top cruiser for high days and holidays through the summer. Designed ideally (though Renault may disagree?) as a second car for Mum and Dad to enjoy a little open air driving in fine weather, and in comfort.

My additional advice would be to go for the highest spec you can afford if you're going down the second hand route. There are still some very nice examples around of Privilege variants. Though why Renault UK elected to stop importing ALL Privilege variants in the last couple of years, I will never know!

Plus points are, it's a handsome car especially with the contrasting silver roof (much nicer to look at than the equivalent Peugeot and Ford CCs). Very well equipped with leather, climate control, cruise control, trip computer, auto headlights etc etc. Has a huge boot with the roof up and still plenty of room for the shopping with the roof down. Realistically only a four seater and a tall driver would leave very little leg room in the back. Quiet for a diesel and car has been totally reliable now at 35,000 miles. No leaks from the roof either.

Negative points are, it's no sports car and being heavy it's lethargic and not as good as I'd hoped for on fuel (around 48 mpg overall). Some interior plastics are hard and mark easily and the odd creak and rattle especially when cold. Doors are heavy and wide and can be awkward to close (interior handle seems badly placed and often end up using the door bin to close it!) The paint on the car also seems thin in places and seems to stone-chip very easily.

It's my wife's car and whilst I'm not normally a fan of French cars, I have to say that I would recommend it to anyone wanting an attractive, reliable and economical all year round convertible. Just wish I'd gone for a more powerful diesel version.