Renault Megane Cabriolet (06-09) - Review

It rides well and those in the front should find it spacious and comfortable. Space in the rear is limited by the need to hide the roof, which eats into leg room and shoulder space. There may also be some wind noise at motorway speeds from poor window sealing. A wind break can be fitted behind the front seats to make high speed cruising with the top down more comfortable, but it covers the back seats making them useless for passengers. The cabin is very light and airy thanks to its glass roof, and a sun blind can be pulled into place if shade is needed.

Roof up, the cavernous boot exceeds that of the hatchback, but obviously isn't as good when the roof is stowed. A removable cover in the boot indicates the how much you can fill the boot and still lower the roof. Once you've lowered the roof you'll almost certainly need to raise it again to access your luggage, unless it can be slid through a small gap. There's a good sized glovebox, which is chilled on models with air conditioning plus a storage area in the armrest.

The instruments are clear and easy to read, although some buttons are randomly scattered which takes a bit of getting used to as does the aircraft throttle-shaped handbrake. The Megane uses a card rather than a key and is available with keyless entry and ignition - you keep the key in your pocket and the car senses your approach, unlocking when you touch the door handle. A push button starts and stops the engine. The rear view mirrors are all quite small, but they provide adequate coverage of the view behind. In 2006 Renault tweaked the automatic lights and wipers so that the lights aren't so eager to come on and the wipers are more sensitive to rain.