Renault Clio, Captur and Mégane E-Tech: engines, technology and prices

With CO₂-emissions reductions high on the agenda, Renault’s first hybrid models - the Clio, Captur and Mégane - are arriving on the market under the E-Tech sub-brand.

Although these are the marque’s first hybrids, Renault is far from unfamiliar with vehicle electrification. Indeed, it was among the pioneers in making electric cars more widely accessible, with models such as the Fluence Z.E., Kangoo Z.E. and, above all, the Zoe.

They all carry the same E-Tech badge and are, in fact, hybrids, yet the Clio’s hybrid system takes a different approach from that used by the Captur and Mégane.

The Renault Clio E-Tech is what is now known as a “full hybrid” - a term used to distinguish it from a mild hybrid - or, as some are beginning to call it, a self-charging hybrid. This means the vehicle’s own “brain” manages battery charging, so it cannot be plugged into a socket for charging.

That is precisely what sets the Renault Captur E-Tech and Mégane E-Tech apart: as plug-in hybrids, they offer a longer electric range of 50 km, made possible by a considerably larger battery. The Clio uses a 1.2 kWh (230 V) battery, whereas the Captur and Mégane are fitted with a 9.8 kWh (400 V) unit.

The engines

As hybrids, the E-Tech models combine two forms of propulsion: an internal-combustion engine and one or more electric motors. Each uses the same combustion engine, a 1.6-litre four-cylinder unit developed specifically for this application.

The 1.6 operates on the Atkinson cycle, which favours efficiency over output. This explains its modest quoted power figure of 91 hp, while peak torque stands at 144 Nm.

It is accompanied by two electric motors. In the Clio E-Tech, the more powerful motor produces 39 hp, while the other also acts as a generator and delivers 20 hp. Combined maximum output in the Clio E-Tech is 140 hp.

The Captur E-Tech and Mégane E-Tech both use more powerful electric motors, producing 66 hp, plus a 34 hp generator. Total maximum combined power is 160 hp in both models.

No clutch or synchromesh

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Renault’s new hybrids is their gearbox. Known as a multimode transmission, it uses straight-cut gears - a legacy of Formula 1. At its core, it is a manual gearbox, but it has neither synchromesh nor a clutch; electric actuators select the ratios without any driver input.

On one side of the gearbox sits a secondary shaft connected to the main electric motor, with two transmission ratios. On the other is a second secondary shaft, linked to the petrol engine’s crankshaft and featuring four ratios.

By combining the two electric ratios with the four combustion-engine ratios - creating 15 possible combinations, or rather, gears - the E-Tech system can operate as a pure electric vehicle, a parallel hybrid or a series hybrid, regenerate energy, regenerate with petrol-engine assistance, or run solely on the petrol engine.

How much do the Renault E-Tech models cost?

Official fuel-consumption and CO₂-emissions figures also benefit greatly from the electrified powertrain. In the combined WLTP cycle, the Clio E-Tech claims 4.3 l/100 km and emits 96 g/km. With the electric element playing a far greater role, the Captur E-Tech and Mégane E-Tech respectively claim 1.4 l/100 km and 32 g/km, and 1.3 l/100 km and 28 g/km.

Available in five trim levels - Intens, RS Line, Exclusive, Edition One and Initiale Paris - the Renault Clio E-Tech will be sold at the same price as equivalent versions powered by the Blue dCi 115 diesel engine.

The Captur E-Tech, meanwhile, will be offered in three trim levels: Exclusive, Edition One and Initiale Paris.

Finally, the Mégane E-Tech is also available in three versions: Zen, Intens and R.S. Line. For now, it is offered only as an estate car, or, in Renault terminology, a Sport Tourer.