The newly updated Renault Megane E-Tech is the latest EV to have been awarded the full £3,750 electric car grant by the UK government. 

Renault says that the award means there’s at least one model from every car in its electric line-up that qualifies for Band 1 grant status. 

The Megane’s facelift was revealed back in June when Nicola went to have a look and examine the detail changes to the front bumpers, but the car has now gone on sale with orders opening up on 1 October. 

The full award is a boost to the car, which previously only got the £1,500 government discount. 

There’s a new look to the outside and improved interior tech including Google’s Gemini virtual assistant, driver recognition to unlock your individual settings and a new ventilated wireless phone charger. 

The trim line-up has been simplified so there are only two options on sale – the Techno starts from £28,245 after the ECG discount has been applied and the Esprit Alpine model costs from £31,245. 

There’s a new 67kWh LFP battery that’s probably helped win over the electric car grant judges (there are opaque environmental points applied to the cars that are intended to promote vehicles and batteries that are built in Europe). 

The new pack means 21 miles more WLTP range that has boosted the Megane to 306 miles (298 for the Esprit Alpine model), and DC rapid charging that now peaks at 165kW. 

​Renault says that the car will get from 15–80% in 24 minutes, which is a massive 25% improvement on the pre-facelift car. 

The Megane gets a decent level of kit as standard – 360º parking camera, adaptive cruise, heated front seats and steering wheel, 12in infotainment screen and heat pump. 

You also get 11kW AC charging and the Megane is now V2L enabled, which means you can run electronics off the car’s battery using an adaptor. 

Sales have opened for the freshened up Megane, with deliveries expected to start before the end of 2026. 

Check out the full list of electric car grant cars here.