MODEL ON TEST: E-TECH ICONIC ESPRIT ALPINE COMFORT RANGE – MILEAGE – 4,529

After a couple of months of rarely venturing too far from the comfort of my Ohme Home Pro charger, the past four weeks have involved a greater reliance on the public charging network. According to Zapmap, there are nearly 123,000 EV chargers at more than 47,000 locations across the UK, which sounds reassuring until you actually need the right charger, in the right place,at the right time. And as an EV newbie, this always feels like a venture into the unknown, although in reality it’s not wildly different from finding a petrol station en route.

The first long trek involved a 290-mile round trip to Lymington, which is slightly beyond the official range estimate and comfortably outside the real-world range I’ve been seeing. On the plus side, the combination of the A30 and A35 helps to preserve the available range better than a blast along a motorway, but with the battery dropping to 55% in Poole, we paid £16.69 to add 30% in the hope that it would be enough for the rest of the journey and the return home. It wasn’t, and after a couple of diversions for overnight roadworks, the dashboard warned that we might arrive back with just 5% battery remaining.We stopped at Ilminster for 11 minutes, paying £12.38 for 13.46kWh of charge.We may have made it without the additional stop, but I wasn’t prepared to play the EV equivalent of ‘fuel light roulette’ at midnight.

A couple of weekends later came the toughest challenge yet: a trip to Brentford to watch the football, around 460 miles there and back via the M5 and M4, or 420 miles via the A303 and M3. With Google suggesting the A303 would be two hours slower, we opted for the motorway route, knowing the range would drop faster than it had on the A-roads to Lymington. Fortunately, Google factors this in and suggested a stop at the Three Trees Farm Shop near Swindon, where we spent £40.98 on 44.54kWh of energy and around half as much on a couple of bacon sandwiches and coffee. We arrived with 25% charge, and at 35 minutes, the charging took less time than it took us to get served and eat our food. More importantly, we made it to Brentford around an hour before kick-off.

Until that point, I’d relied on the Electroverse app and InstaVolt charging network, purely on the basis of familiarity and positive experiences. However, with the battery dropping to 28% near Stonehenge on the way back, Google suggested Solstice Park.The problem: the InstaVolt chargers were occupied. No matter, because several of the 16 bays at the recently expanded Gridserve Electric Super Hub were free, so we added 33.64kWh for £28.60 in just 25 minutes. Paying 82p/kWh is a tough pill to swallow when it costs just 8p at home, but I couldn’t fault the experience.

Although it won’t benefit me directly, I’m limiting charging to 80% to help preserve the battery for future owners, only ‘brimming the tank’ ahead of a long journey. This requires a little more planning now that Octopus has introduced a six-hour cap on discounted EV charging for Intelligent Octopus Go customers, but even charging at the standard home rate is preferable to using a public charger.

Around half of the 1,500 miles I’ve done this month have been on longer journeys, and it’s safe to say that both the Megane and the charging network have passed the test. Not without the occasional moment of uncertainty, and certainly not without a cost, but enough to make me think an EV could slot into my life more easily than I expected. 

GAVIN BRAITHWAITE-SMITH

WHAT’S HOT: Premium-feeling cabin makes public charging stops surprisingly pleasant.

WHAT’S NOT: A rogue tyre-pressure warning, despite the pressures being fine.

CLICK HERE TO READ ALL OF OUR LONG-TERM REPORTS ON THE RENAULT MEGANE

FACTS & FIGURES

ARRIVED: 2nd June 2026

PRICE WHEN NEW: £36,995

ELIGIBLE FOR ELECTRIC CAR GRANT: Yes

PRICE AS TESTED: £36,995

ECONOMY: 4.09 miles/per kWh (official WLTP) 4.0 miles/per kWh (on test)

COSTS: None

FAULTS: None