Ownership Verified: Des lutins en colère! 2023 Mégane E-Tech

Adunaphel

Adunaphel

Angrily shouting at Klauwds
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As alluded to in the PYC thread of the Clio, we picked up our new car yesterday. Still sticking with the Frenchies, they've treated us well over the past close to a decade, but now bigger, better, fancier and powered by lutins en colère (angry pixies) instead of zooplancton décomposé (decomposed zooplankton.) Ordered at the end of Oct last year, initally we were told that we'd be lucky if we got it in July. Turns out they found enough chips to ramp up production and we got it 2 months early.
Picdump time!

IMG_0140.jpgIMG_0141.jpgIMG_0142.jpgIMG_0145.jpgIMG_0144.jpgIMG_0146.jpgIMG_0147.jpgIMG_0148.jpgIMG_0149.jpgMagic towbar! XD20 wheelsIMG_0152.jpgAngry pixies go in hereIt is watching!Fancy pop out doorhandlesIMG_0159.jpgIMG_0160.jpgIMG_0161.jpgIMG_0162.jpgActual HVAC buttonsIMG_0166.jpg
It's the 96kW / 40kWh spec in the Techno (untz untz) trim level, with all the fancy options added (360 cameras, fancy "smart" rear view mirror, lane assist, adaptive cruise) and of course heat pump for that extra range. We had the dealer add a removable tow hook, because bicycle carrier. Charging is 22kW AC 85kW DC, should be acceptable for day to day usage (10km commute for Madelon, we rarely drive more than 200km in a day, trains FTW).
During the test drives, the Android Automotive system was a true standout feature over the other cars we considered. It is just so much nicer to use than any other system I've come across. Almost like this is built by people who know how to do user interfaces... And the size of the screen is just *chef's kiss*, even in carpLay or Android Auto.

Proof pic:
IMG_0165.jpg
 
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I haven't seen much about this car at all. The first thing I look at when I see an EV is the combination of screens and physical buttons, looks like they've done a better job than others with this. Lots of buttons. The screens look like they actually match too, which isn't a given.

The Mégane has never looked so Golf either, I think it works. Rear quarter view has a lot of I-Pace and Evoque in it too, IMO.
 
DanRoM said:
Do you plan to install a wallbox at your home?
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Yeah, we're currently in the process of collecting offers for solar panels, wallbox and 3 phase upgrade for our home connection. Since we initially expected the car to come 2 months later, we were planning to start looking at those things around this time, so we could be mostly in time for the car to arrive...
 
Adunaphel said:
Yeah, we're currently in the process of collecting offers for solar panels, wallbox and 3 phase upgrade for our home connection. Since we initially expected the car to come 2 months later, we were planning to start looking at those things around this time, so we could be mostly in time for the car to arrive...
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Oh god yes, a friend of mine went through that 3p upgrade process also... he works for one of the grid operators though, so that was all somehow work related, but it was still a bit of a pain. Us Germans take our luxury grid connections (seriously, 3p/35A or even 63A everywhere) way too much for granted but complain about how it's impossible to put chargers... oof.
Timing for solar isn't half bad either at the moment, right? We hit the full Ukraine-War-Energy-Crisis-Panic when everybody and their mums suddenly wanted PV and all the installers were booked solid for a year - coupled with limited supply. But I think that has normalized a little (still high demand) by now, at least over here. Will you still be able to get the sweet sweet net metering*, or has that ship sailed by now?

Anyhoo - nice choice! Somehow reads like they used a bunch of Zoe tech for this car? Not bad - the 22 kW charger, while mostly overkill, is probably not a bad idea, either. I'd never think I'd say this, but that infotainment system doesn't look half bad either, so I guess...
Adunaphel said:
Almost like this is built by people who know how to do user interfaces...
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... yeah.

* where any excess you feed into the grid during the day is deducted from any consumption you take from the grid (e. g. at night or during winter) before you actually end up paying for anything.
 
Renault seems to be on to something. I really like the column shifter, it frees up center console space for other things. It seems they also figured out how to do a big screen without placing the center vents so they blow frigid air onto your knee or elbow. Unless your right hand is the one that gets frozen, that is.
 
Looks really good! Lovely color. Congrats.
 
Thanks for the nice words all. Of course it has a colour, whenever a colour is an option, we get an actual colour.

I agree on the small LR rear three quarters, it's mostly a crossover pretending to be a hatchback, kinda like the LRs, which are also busy pretending to be smaller than they actually are.

The lead time should be around two months for the panels and the wallbox, the 3p upgrade depends on whether there's room on the 'net to upgrade us. Hopefully that should happen soon after the rest gets installed.

IT's not the only EV we've driven that doesn't have a floor shifter, but this is a very nice implementation, up is backwards, down is forward and P automatically gets engaged when you turn it off.

After picking it up after its first charge at the public charging point in our town (we'd rather figure that shit out when we have all the time in the world to get it right, rather than needing to top up otherwise we ain't going nowhere) It shone this on the parking lot after unlocking... I think it's a bit much...
IMG_0170.jpeg
And some gratuitous DRL photo, because the DRLs look good (the horizontal bit is turn signal)
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Oh very nice! Also, I didn’t know that the portrait CarPlay was rolled out to vehicles beyond Subarus, but man it looks sharp!
 
A month in, not much to report. Charging is super easy due to several public charging spots in my town (still waiting on our own wallbox). I feel like I understand how most of the car's active assist systems work, really digging the active driving assist (adaptive cruise + active lane keeping assist + some other things,) makes highway driving a lot less strenuous. The 360 camera is also a very nice tool to make sure I'm centered in whatever space I'm attempting to park in. Haven't yet tested out the auto park features. Usage seems to average out around 15KWh / 100km, giving us a theoretical range of just over 250km, which is more than fine, I don't like diving more than that in a single sitting anyway.

One thing I didn't go into detail on in the initial post was the fancy smart rear view mirror, because we didn't completely understand that back then. In the interior pics it looks mostly like a normal rear view mirror, and initially we used it as such. But when you flip the lever that for normal rear view mirrors dims it when there's a Belgianidiot who doesn't know how high beams work behind you, it turns fully smart.
IMG_0219.jpgIMG_0220.jpg
All this is handled by a small camera behind the rear window under the spoiler (sorry, car covered in treebukkake)
IMG_0223.jpg
The result is so much nicer than a normal mirror. 50% of my view isn't taken up by the car's interior with the other 50% half blocked by headrests. All of the "mirror" is outside view, 100% of the time.
 
I want one of those digital rear view mirrors. Is the lack of 3D something you even notice while driving? I’d guess not, since you’re looking through a mirror with headrests and stuff in the way anyway. I don’t have much depth perception in my normal rear view mirror as is.
 
I had one in the Smart for a while because any luggage blocked the rear view, you can briefly see it in one of the 2019 roadtrip videos, it failed very quickly. While it was working it was brilliant and was also part of a front and rear dashcam setup.

Hopefully the camera is placed in a location where it doesn't get covered in grime immediately, at least it has a wiper.
 
That digital rear mirror seems neat.
 
Adunaphel said:
But when you flip the lever that for normal rear view mirrors dims it when there's a Belgianidiot who doesn't know how high beams work behind you, it turns fully smart.
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I am equal parts offended and amused by this post.

Also, digimirror looks awesome. I'd love one in the EV6 since the rear headrests block out most of the view anyway.
For parking this doesn't matter because I have a 360° camera, but when driving for spatial awareness, this could be a massive win.
I imagine in the future they can go without a rear window in the car alltogether, since the mirror is just a camera feed
 
Solves the argument about rear wipers I suppose!
 
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