Renault Mégane History
Renault's core compact family car for three decades — successor to the Renault 19, home of the 300-hp Mégane RS, now in its electric Mégane E-Tech form.
Photo: “1997 Renault Megane Fidji 1.6E.jpg” by Calreyn88 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
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The Mégane launched in November 1995 as the Renault 19's replacement, immediately winning wide acclaim for its multi-body range — hatchback, saloon, coupé, convertible, and estate. It was the first European car to achieve five stars in the Euro NCAP crash test (second generation, 2002), a safety milestone heavily promoted by Renault.
The Mégane RS (Renault Sport) versions became legends in the hot-hatch class: the 265 RS set the Nürburgring front-wheel-drive lap record in 2011, and the 300-hp Trophy-R (2019) reclaimed the record at 7 minutes 40.1 seconds, cementing the Mégane RS's reputation as one of the world's benchmark hot hatches.
A fourth generation Mégane (hatchback/estate) ran 2016 onward, while Renault launched the all-electric Mégane E-Tech in 2022 — a compact crossover sharing only the Mégane name with the traditional hatchback range.
Generations
First generation · Mégane I
Photo: “1997 Renault Megane Fidji 1.6E.jpg” by Calreyn88 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
The Renault 19 replacement — broad body-style range and strong Euro NCAP scores from the outset.
1998 Photo: “1998 Renault Megane Liberte 1.6.jpg” by Calreyn88 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Second generation · Mégane II
Photo: “2009 Renault Megane RS R26.R 3.jpg” by Calreyn88 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
First European car to achieve five Euro NCAP stars; the RS 225/230 began the Mégane RS performance legend.
Third generation · Mégane III
Photo: “RENAULT MEGANE III RS China.jpg” by Dinkun Chen / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Home of the Nürburgring record-holding RS 265 and RS 275 Trophy-R — the Mégane RS at its most celebrated.
Fourth generation · Mégane IV
Sharper design; the RS 300 Trophy-R reclaimed the FWD 'Ring record in 2019 with a 7:40.1 lap.
Body styles
- Hatchback
- Sedan
- Coupe
- Convertible
- Estate
Notable special editions & performance variants
Mégane RS (Renault Sport)
The long-running performance flagship — each generation of the Mégane RS is a front-wheel-drive Nürburgring contender.
Mégane RS Trophy-R
Track-focused RS with carbon-ceramic brakes and a 7:40.1 Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record (FWD production car record at time of setting).
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