Road test: Mégane III dCi 105 Carminat Tomtom

It's Monday, I turned the car in so it's road time test, with pics!

Ok I miss the car already :( My clio feels so heavy (yeah sure 1t vs 1,2t). The biggest question I might get asked will probably be "Is this a green car?", after all the dCi 105 is badged eco² so we might think so.

Nope definitely not a green car :/ Ok now that joke is done, let's get on with the remaining of my thoughts on it. Interior wise it's pretty much spotless with a beige/black interior which feels definitely classy (and a nice change from the all black ones) dual tone for the win, I guess. No I didn't take any pic but chances are if you really are interested, you will know where to find some. The Carminat Tomtom trim is basically the Expression trim with an added on-board nav, I won't dwelve much on it considering it kinda lacked the sd card containing the maps. I did find the screen rather nice, even though it didn't do much more than tell me it could not find any map.

Now the Expression trim is what I like to think as the sensible trim and it is probably the one with the most bang for the bucks (or euros). You don't get a bare car but you don't get silly useless equipment either (hello silly 17" alloy wheels). I kinda missed the leather wrapped steering wheel they have on the higher trims but that's about it. The 6-speed gearbox is fantastic and it truly is a joy to use it. And trust me, if you want some decent fuel economy, you WILL use it. It's a bit silly the first gear is sooo short but you can basically do 1-2-4-5 and you will well be able to cruise at 50km/h at around 1250rpm. 

I'm a little less fond of the engine but with 240Nm of torque starting from 1750 rpm to 2500rpm it is by no mean a shit one. It's just that there is about nothing below those magic numbers but that is pretty much a given on those small engines (I hear the dCi 110 fap version fixes that). Still it will allow you to cruise at silly rpm, provided you stay higher than 1000rpm. (50km/h -> 5th gear, 60km/h in 6th).  The engine-gearbox duo makes it really easy to skip gears provided you're not worried about the performance.

There's not much I will write about more considering I don't care about performances, heck I don't care about much anything. Save the short rambling on the engine-gearbox, but that's merely for my leisure. It drives nice, it's comfy enough, the booth is big and there should be enough room for everyone in it. Oh and the other plus side is the storage bin on the driver side. I can put my small-ish bag in it and it snuggly fits there, which is great as in the Clio I'm obligated to put it below my seat. It's not that big of a deal, unless you need to get something from it. 

My only qualm will be the driving position is a bit weird considering you're a bit far from the door, it's kinda hard to put your arm on the armrest (I like to do that :( with the Laguna you were a bit more 'integrated' in the car. But the Laguna is a little bit overkill for me even though I still have a special place in my heart for one.