Renault Megane Sport Tourer review

Front-seat occupants have plenty of head and leg room, and there’s space for a six-footer to get comfortable. It’s not such good news for those in the back, though – the sloping roofline puts head room at a premium for those over six feet tall, and shoulder room is tight too. Leg room is less generous than in the Skoda Octavia Estate and Toyota Corolla Touring Sports, let alone in the huge Skoda Superb Estate.

Storage wise, there are decent-sized door bins up front that can each take a 500ml drinks bottle. There is also a pair of cupholders, a cubbyhole under the centre armrest and two reasonable-sized gloveboxes (a larger one on the passenger side and a smaller one on the driver’s side).

There are three boot sizes – the volume depends on which engine you go for. Even the biggest, with the TCe petrol, is less accommodating than the boots in the Ford Focus Estate, Skoda Octavia Estate, Toyota Corolla Touring Sports and Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer. Going for the diesel reduces the size by 60 litres, and the E-Tech plug-in hybrid’s is reduced by the same amount again due to the batteries under the floor.

The resulting load area is still bigger than the PHEV Kia Ceed Sportwagon PHEV’s, but nothing like as big as you get in the Skoda Superb iV. Every model will take several suitcases or a large supermarket shop with space to spare, though, and lowering the rear seats extends it further. The flat floor makes loading heavy or bulky items a breeze, as does having no loading lip to contend with.