434-litre boot, quiet 1.5 dCi diesel, distance-ready, the thrifty mid-size for long Montenegro loops.
At a glance
Who is this car for?
Families whose cases wouldn't fit a 208 but who don't need the newer 308's auto gearbox, older generation, bigger boot than most rivals, easier on the wallet.
- Families of four
- TIV-to-Budva-and-back weeks
- Drivers happy with a manual
Best regional use
The 434-litre boot handles a pushchair, cooler and beach gear for Plavi Horizonti on the Lustica peninsula without compromise. Manual diesel is thrifty on the Budva-Bar run; the infotainment feels its age if you are fresh out of a newer car.
On the road from Tivat Airport
Behind the wheel
The Megane on the Tivat Airport rank is still the outgoing fourth-generation hatch, not the narrow E-Tech crossover that replaced it. The 1.5 Blue dCi 115 diesel is the long-distance pick; the 1.3 TCe 140 petrol is the keener urban choice. Both come with a six-speed manual or Renault's EDC dual-clutch auto, and both feel plushly damped for the segment. Ride is softer than a 308's and the cabin is quieter at 130 km/h by a useful margin. The driving position is conventional and comfortable for tall drivers, the seats are better than the photographs suggest, and the portrait touchscreen works without fuss after a long flight.
On Tivat Airport routes
The routes out of Tivat Airport play to the Megane's strengths. The 25-kilometre coastal road to Budva flows in a way the firmer-suspended rivals do not; the damping soaks up the patched tarmac past Lastva and the diesel torque covers overtakes past slow tour coaches without drama. The Sozina motorway leg to Podgorica is its comfort zone; cruise at 120 with the engine loafing at 1,700 rpm and watch the gauge sit under 4.5 L/100 km. The 12-kilometre Vrmac tunnel run to Kotor is uneventful, though the 4,360 mm length shows in the tightest two corners of the Tabačina lot.
Space and load
The 434-litre boot is among the largest in the class and the square shape is genuinely useful for a TIV collection. Three large cases and two cabin bags fit flat at the kerbside handover with room for a day-bag on top; fold the rear bench for 1,247 litres and a Durmitor camping kit for two, tent, mats, 60-litre packs, stove, cool-box, travels without stacking. Beach gear for four at Plavi Horizonti fits seats-up. A wedding party's garment bags laid across the rear seats arrive uncreased after the 30-kilometre run to a Sveti Stefan ceremony. For a hatch it is properly practical.
Best journeys from TIV
The Megane is the pick for TIV travellers whose Montenegro is about distance. Couples on a fortnight that crosses regions, Tivat, Boka, Budva, Petrovac, Kolašin, Žabljak, back, who want a car that is as calm on day twelve as day one. It suits the business traveller on a three-day Podgorica circuit who values a quiet motorway cabin. It also works for a long cross-border weekend to Mostar via the Lepetane ferry with real luggage. It is more car than a couple basing inside Kotor for the week needs from TIV, and more car than a Lustica beach-week brief asks for.
Practical notes
Real-world diesel consumption is 4.3 L/100 km at a steady 120 km/h on the Sozina and 5.0 in mixed driving; the 50-litre tank delivers past 1,100 km in gentle use, more than any single Montenegrin day asks. Petrol returns closer to 6.0. At 4.36 metres parking is workable: Kotor Tabačina bays accept it with care, the Budva perimeter takes it as standard, and the Porto Montenegro valet at fifteen euros a day is uneventful from a Tivat-town base five kilometres from TIV. Front-wheel drive on all-season rubber copes with bay winters cleanly. AC is strong with rear vents that matter on four-up summer days.
The verdict
Pick the Megane from the Tivat Airport rank when the brief is long-distance calm and a big hatch boot for a fortnight that crosses the country. The 130 km/h Sozina cruise to Podgorica and on to Skadar Lake, the seventy-kilometre Dubrovnik run via the Kamenari ferry and Debeli Brijeg, the Tivat-to-Bar coastal stretch with four passengers and full luggage, all of these are the Megane's natural territory. Skip it if your week stays entirely inside the Bay of Boka with short bay-corniche distances, or if you specifically want the tighter steering and shorter footprint of a 208 or 308 hatch from the TIV rank instead.
Inside the car
- Large Boot
- Bluetooth Audio
- Cruise Control
- Parking Sensors