A pretty Renault Megane Classic, seen near a Subaru dealer in the far north of Beijing. The good Megane was in perfect shape, with a smooth body and flawless paint, completely original and without any damage, rot, or rust.
Sadly, the fuel cap was missing. Alloys are period original.
The Megane Classic was the sedan version of the first generation ‘Megane 1’ Renault Megane. The Classic name stood for the classic sedan shape, contrasting it with ugly modernities such as the hatchback, the wagon, the coupe, and the convertible. Yes, the Megane 1 came with a lot.
The Classic badge on the D-pillar.
The ‘1’ was made from 1995 until 2002 with a facelift in 1999, this is a post-facelift example. The Megane was available with many of petrol and diesel engines; the smallest a 1.4 and the largest a 2.0, all mated to either a four-speed automatic or a five-speed manual.
The 1.6 16V badge on the front door.
Our light green Beijing car has the 1.6 liter 16V four-cylinder petrol under the bonnet, output is 110 horses, good for a 195 km/h top speed and a 0-100 in 9.8 seconds. Gearbox is the automatic.
The interior was in a fine overall shape but in dire need of a cleanup and some maintenance. Happily, nothing was broken and everything was original, up until the seats.
Large lights connected with a shiny strip. License plate is as old as the car.
Elf refers to the French oil company Elf Aquitaine. The companies were very close when they were both owned by the French state. Renault promoted the use of Elf oils in its road cars, while its racing cars carried Elf sponsorship. This ended in 2009 when Renault ‘changed’ to Total, the parent company of Elf.
Excuse moi, I should write Mégane, not Megane.
The first generation Megane was never officially sold in China, but some arrived via diplomatic and other misty channels. It must be very hard to find parts and expertise for a car like this. Renault dealers won’t be of much help as the don’t know the vehicle, but they might be able to call France for some rare parts. The second generation Megane was sold in China as an import.
The Megane 1 facelift was arguably the best car Renault ever made. It was very elegant looking for the time, not to cheap, not too expensive. It was modern and the fastest in its class regarding the 16V petrol and 1.9 dCi diesel engine, and very comfortable with those velour seats. The windows were also treated from the factory to repel UV rays. On later models past the year 2000, they also used a special windscreen with a purple tint to it. All engines in the Megane 1 were extremely reliable – the most reliable engines Renault ever made, (minor exception was the 2.0 IDE (F5R engine code). Later models featured 6 speakers as standard, with the 2 front tweeters weighing over 300 grams each – made by Blaupunkt.