Renault Megane 2016 review: Dynamique or dud?
This is the fourth-generation Renault Megane – the French company’s mid-sized family hatchback, which has been with us since 1995. In that time, Renault has sold over a half a million of the things in the UK.
Whereas its Volkswagen Golf competitor evolves subtly with each iteration, Renault’s hatchbacks have tended to change significantly each time they’re updated. And so it goes with the 2016 Megane – a sharp-suited, yet softly surfaced car, replacing the slightly blobby and bland previous offering.
Whereas once Renault offered a multitude of Megane types – 3-door coupe, folding hard top, MPV – the new car will come as 5-door hatch, sport tourer estate and saloon only. So if you’re looking for sporty, the 5-door is about as good as it gets.
However, this particular class is uber-competitive. The Megane not only has to compete with the ubiquity of seemingly “classless” VW Golf and great-driving Ford Focus, it’s also got the new, super-value Vauxhall Astra and a host of Korean and Japanese cars burgeoning with kit to deal with too. And as you go up the range, looking at this type of car on a company scheme, or lease or PCP deals, you’ll likely become tempted by a raft of small BMWs, Audis and Mercedes too. So can Renault’s latest Megane cut it?
Renault Megane 2016 review: Part of the family
We think the new Megane’s design is a winner. This 5-door hatch continues the design vision that Renault design chief Laurens van den Acker set out on back in 2012. In some ways it completes the “circle of life” theme that the strategy was given.
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Surfacing is voluminous, so there’s a differentiation in approach from German cars that’s clear straight away. The details look hi-tech, too, particularly the lights with their edge-LED technology – which fit into a very bold front and rear graphic.
The Renault diamond logo is now massive, too, but it’s hiding the car’s radar sensors behind it, thus avoiding the clumsy array of blanking plates cameras poking out of the grille that many cars wear today.
And if you go for the GT or GT Line version, you get a completely different front and rear lower bumper, bigger wheels and a body kit that makes the car look distinctly more pumped up, without ruining its looks.
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The company is hoping that the focus on design will continue to breathe life back into Renault sales. It’s worked with the Clio and Captur – respectively the best selling cars in their sectors across Europe over the past couple of years. The Renault family resemblance is clear in the Megane, but if we have one criticism it’s that the car looks a little too much like a Clio on steroids.
Renault Megane review: Engine options
On the road, the Megane’s front really seems to catch people’s attention. The car can clear a motorway fast lane effectively – though you might want to spec a bigger engine than this 1.5-litre diesel review car if you’re really planning on this type of driving behaviour.
The Megane is available from launch with two petrol and two diesel engine options. Petrols comes as 1.2-litre Tce with 130bhp and a manual or auto box, and the 1.6-litre with 205bhp, which is auto only. Diesels are the 1.5-litre dCi with 110bhp that we’re testing here. Or there’s a 1.6-litre dCi with 130bhp.
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On the way is a more powerful diesel with 165bhp, and a version with some hybrid assist systems that should present a very interesting economy/performance/low CO2 mix. And although Renault hasn’t officially confirmed it, a RenaultSport version is likely coming, too, which you’d expect to have more horsepower than today’s 275bhp hot Megane.
We drove the 1.6-litre 205bhp petrol with the auto box, briefly, and confess to not really loving it. The gearbox is not the sharpest, despite being a dual-clutch unit, while the engine never felt 205bhp strong – though it was a very new low mile car, so that might improve with mileage.
The GT 205 petrol also comes with 4-wheel steering, which makes the turning circle smaller at lower speeds and the car feel longer and more stable at high speeds. We didn’t love the way it felt from behind a very dead-feeling steering wheel though. The spec in this model is strong – you get one-piece backrest bucket seats for instance – but the interior trim with the blue faux carbon fibre is all a bit chintzy. If you want performance, wait for the real deal Renault Sport version.
Renault Megane 2016 review: Short drive, long drive
Only the lower-powered 1.5 diesel in manual format was available for us to test on a short-term loan. And while it never felt quick – that might have something to do with us stepping out of a Golf R before hand – it is good in numerous ways.
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Primarily – and this is a general new Megane forte – it’s hugely refined in all regards. The cabin is a very relaxing, quiet place to be, while the engine (even when thrashed) remains relatively muted. Wind noise is commendably low, and the cabin noise bests any of the MQB-based products from VW, Skoda or Seat when travelling at speed. Which came as something of a surprise.
That diesel engine is also very linear in its delivery. It’s not boosty, it just pulls gently right through the range with no holes in its delivery. Although the 0-62 time of 11ish-seconds is no great shakes, it’s plenty enough for most. Plus you’ll be rewarded with 50mpg in town, and upwards of 60mpg out of it, in exchange for the its lack of spritely performance.
However, the gearbox action is typically French. Which is to say, sadly, not as good as most. It has a long throw and an indirect, vague feeling.
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The ride on 17-inch wheels is smooth, although occasionally the shudder and dynamic behaviour from the rear gives away that this is a car which has a torsion beam, rather than more expensive independent rear suspension set up of some rivals. The steering is light, but totally lifeless.
We came to rather like the Megane’s relaxed, refined approach to life. It takes a different tack to the dynamic German brands and Ford. And for many people, it will be the better companion for it.
Renault Megane 2016 review: Uptown funk
Like all brands occupying the mainstream market, Renault makes no secret of its desire to be seen as more premium. The new Megane tries to do this in a couple of ways: by shifting the proportions on from the last car; by offering a lot of technology features and the ability to personalise that tech.
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Beyond the rear lighting arrangement – seriously, look at the sweeping lights, they’re great – the Megane’s “techieness” isn’t obvious until you approach the car. Then, if you’ve got Renault’s slightly over-sized keycard in your pocket, the car will “wake”, unlocking as you approach, the mirrors unfolding and the interior lighting washing round the cabin. When you’re done, get out, walk away and the reverse happens – it locks automatically. There’s no fiddling with sensors on handles as with some keyless systems, and while it sounds small beer, it’s actually brilliant. Renault has been trying to get its hands-free system right for some time and has finally nailed it. Not only does it make the car feel semi-human, but once you’ve got used to it, ever other car’s entry/key/keyless system seems clunky.
Beyond this, the new Megane can be festooned with so-called ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) and technology that’s tended to be reserved for bigger cars. “D-sector in the C-segment,” Renault calls it. Try autonomous braking, adaptive cruise control, safe distance warning, blindspot and lane departure warnings, LED headlamps with automatic low/high beam function, self-parking, and not just front and rear – but 360-degree parking sensors that, incidentally, have a small temper tantrum every time you approach a car park ticket barrier.
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Our upper-mid level Dynamique S spec car’s key options were the £500 parking pack (self-parking, 360 degree sensors and blind spot warning), the £400 safety pack (adaptive cruise control, safe distance and autonomous braking), full LED headlamps at £500, and a £500 Bose sound system. This all took the price to £22,925, from a standard £20,400 (for the Dynamique spec, the standard Megan starts at £16,600) – but most pack prices are cheap compared to rivals. Keep in mind that you get things like the 8.7-inch touchscreen and TomTom Live Sat Nav as standard, regardless of optional choices, and it’s a good base setup.
Renault Megane 2016 review: Screen masquerade
It’s that 8.7-inch portrait-aligned screen which ultimately masquerades as the big differentiating factor in the Renault’s interior. Here Renault wants to really sell its big “wow” moment.
Thing is, the screen isn’t quite up to the design standard of the rest of the car. Sure, the graphics are clear and easy to read and the definition in the cluster is decent. But the level of adjustability – the home screen of the centre display can be configured like your smartphone to contain various menu tiles – didn’t feel right for us. Some setups eluded us: you can’t seem to put the phone menu in the homescreen, for instance; nor have a dominant map/nav mode in the instrument cluster. Dare we suggest Renault go look at what Audi lets you do within a digital dashboard?
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There are elements that works nicely, such as the TomTom-based Sat Nav, and the pinch-and-zoom ability of the screen. But overall, the customisation aspect feels gimmicky and made us feel like the tech wasn’t truly optimised. Coloured lights, we can see the appeal of. A sports mode that remaps the engine we get. But the on-screen display could be better thought-out.
Otherwise “personalisation” was obviously a buzz word in the Megane’s development. To the point that there’s a starfish-adorned centre tunnel button, as one of the few remaining physical interfaces in the cabin. This button’s sole purpose is to adjust between modes. Confusingly, of the five modes – eco, neutral, comfort, sport and perso – this button only switches between comfort and sport settings. A separate physical “eco” button sits below the touchscreen to activate that mode.
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Although Renault talks about these modes’ significance in altering the feel of the drive, in this low-powered diesel, without anything as fancy as adaptive dampers or locking differentials to change the settings, the change in the way the Megane feels to drive is pretty limited. Eco mode makes it feel like the engine’s broken. Sport makes everything red and you just have to press the accelerator slightly less far to the floor to get a strong response.
Maybe we’re being harsh. Ultimately it’s not hard to use the Megane’s tech, but there’s so much opportunity with a tech suite like this that we don’t think Renault has taken full advantage.
Verdict
Calm, refined and well-equipped, the new Renault Megane is a car that’s easy to like. It offers an alternative approach to a very German-car centric way of doing things in this class – and we think that’ll make it a hit with some buyers.
If you’re looking for a dynamic drive, however, you might want to take a look elsewhere. And we’re really not convinced about the in-car interface design – worrying, especially considering this suite of tech is going to do service across several other Renault cars beyond the Megane.
This segment of the car market is choc full of high quality products. The Megane does have a design that’ll make you look, but having lived with one for a week we just don’t think it has true standout quality in a number of areas.
Google is developing techniques to combat VR trolls
Trolls are everywhere on social media, and you can expect to encounter them in social virtual reality experiences as VR devices become more common. That’s why Google’s Daydream Labs team has been developing ways to prevent harassment in virtual reality, where people can use avatars (and not just words) to make others feel uncomfortable or even attacked. In one of the team’s virtual shopping experiments, for instance, some testers blocked other users’ view by sticking hats in front of their eyes. Those testers had no choice but to take off their headsets and restart the experience.
One of the techniques the team created will prevent poker players from stealing chips and picking a fight. As soon as someone leaves his seat in the game, he would vanish from other players’ POVs, and a blue personal space bubble would usher him back to his seat. Best thing about the method is that the team used poker-playing dogs to demo it in the video below.
Besides developing a technique that forces people to behave, the team is also creating ways to reward good behavior. In another experiment, Daydream Labs programmed virtual high fives to trigger loud slapping sounds and animated fireworks. Punches and other violent actions, however, triggered nothing. Testers loved the effect and preferred high-fiving rather than starting a virtual brawl.
These are but a couple of Daydream Labs’ creations that focus on the social aspects of virtual reality. The team builds two VR app prototypes every week to test different use cases and interaction designs, so we wouldn’t be surprised if the group conjures up more ways to protect people’s virtual-but-still-personal space.
Source: Google Developers Blog
Two players meet in No Man’s Sky, guess what happened next?
No Man’s Sky is finally released in the UK and other regions today, 10 August, after making its consumer debut in the States yesterday and it is already hitting the headlines with almost as much vigour as Pokemon Go.
The latest nugget to get tongues a-wagging concerns the game’s famed “multiplayer” element. Developer Games has often claimed that the No Man’s Sky universe is persistently online and players all inhabit it. But it has also constantly said because the playing field is so massive (18 quintillion procedurally generated planets), and players initially spawn in completely random areas, the chances of meeting another real human being are “almost zero”.
It certainly didn’t expect that to happen on day one.
Two players have posted proof on Reddit that they not only spawned close to each other, they set out to meet. And they ended up in exactly the same spot in the game, on the same planet, in the same galaxy, but things didn’t quite turn out as expected.
- No Man’s Sky preview: 10 hours in and it’s fiercely good fun
- What is No Man’s Sky and why should you care about it?
- 50 different planets from No Man’s Sky revealed, only 18 quintillion yet to go
Twitch broadcaster TheSadCactus (TheGalacticCactus on Reddit) discovered that a system he visited had already been named by a different player, Psytokat.
Whenever a new system or planet is found it can be renamed by the first player to arrive, so he knew that Psytokat else must have travelled through recently (as the game had only been out for a day). He arranged to meet his compatriot nearby and they headed to the same planet.
They found a landmark and waited for each other to turn up. Neither did. That is to say, both arrived there but couldn’t see each other. What’s more, the lighting and area ambience was different.
Psytokat
“We are 100 per cent in the same station same spot and everything and we cannot see each other,” said TheSadCactus.
There are several speculated reasons for this. It could be a glitch, after all the game only went live yesterday and the servers were flooded. It could be that the two players were split into different lobbies online. Or it could be that you actually can’t meet other players at all.
Hello Games’ founder Sean Murray had revealed in the past that it was possible to meet others, even suggesting that other players would be able to tell you what you look like: “You can’t see yourself,” he told The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert. “The only way to know what you look like is for somebody else to see you.
“But the chances of that are incredibly rare because of the size of what we’re building.”
Psytokat
Conspiracy theories aside, we wonder if it really matters. Hello Games has said all along that No Man’s Sky is a single-player experience with some multiplayer factors, such as the naming and discovery of planets.
And in that it is, from what we’ve played so far, thoroughly engrossing.
Bang & Olufsen embraces 4K Ultra HD and Android TV with BeoVision 14
It has been a couple of years since Bang & Olufsen unveiled a new television, the stunning BeoVision Avant. And it’s been even longer since it released the BeoVision 11.
However, a spiritual successor to the latter is now available in the form of the BeoVision 14.
It adopts a similar design aesthetic to the older set but adds a 4K Ultra HD pixel resolution. It is also powered by Android TV and, therefore, has Google Cast abilities built into the set, but there’s no sign of HDR picture tech support.
The B&O BeoVision 14 comes in 40 and 55-inch screen sizes and features an LCD panel with LED backlighting. It has anti-reflection front glass to remove reflections by up to 98 per cent. And a 360-degree Automatic Picture Control sensor adjusts images based on the ambient light in your current surroundings.
- Hands-on: Bang & Olufsen BeoVision Avant 4K UHD TV review
If you couple it with a motorise B&O stand, it will even sense your seating position and automatically turn to face you.
A three-way custom speaker adorns the front, which are covered by ultra-thin oak wood lamellas. The audio tech utilised is based on that found in the BeoLab 18 loudspeaker. A cloth front can be chosen instead of the oak in order to change the colour scheme.
The TV links with all other BeoLink Multiroon products and it comes with a new version of the BeoRemote One, which now features Bluetooth connectivity.
The BeoVision 14 4K Ultra HD TV starts at £4,495 for the 40-inch model. The 55-inch version retails from £6,495.
Google explains why Palestine isn’t labeled in Maps
Services like Google Maps have not just functional but symbolic importance, as a bug on a map of Israel has proved. A Gaza City journalism group spotted a change in the way Google represented Palestine on a map of Israel, causing outrage on both mainstream and social media in the Middle East. “[Our group] condemns the crime carried out by Google in deleting the name of Palestine, and calls for Google to rescind its decision and apologize to the Palestinian people,” the Forum of Palestinian Journalists said in a statement.
Much of the Middle-Eastern media, along with Twitter and Facebook users, are demanding that Google relabel the region, or even all of Israel, as “Palestine.” However, the Maps app never had that label in the first place, and Google tells Engadget that a glitch is to blame for the change. “There has never been a ‘Palestine’ label on Google Maps, however we discovered a bug that removed the labels for ‘West Bank’ and ‘Gaza Strip.’ We’re working quickly to bring these labels back to the area,” a spokesperson says.
Google shows a dashed border around West Bank and Gaza, and defines cities in those regions as Palestinian if you click on them. A Wikipedia knowledge box on Maps describes Palestine as a “de jure sovereign state,” a term selected by the United Nations in 2013.
Google has just removed Palestine from its maps. But we will always resist and prove our presence 🇵🇸#PalestineIsHere pic.twitter.com/ISHYVYGxCj
— Rana (@ranaaa_d) August 9, 2016
I am changing my homepage and search engine.
Because I can’t find what I am looking for @google @googlemaps #PalestineIsHere— Çağrı Koşak (@cagrikosak) August 9, 2016
Though Google never used (and therefore never removed) the “Palestine” label, many social media users and mainstream news sites believed that it did. That sparked a #PalestineIsHere hashtag, with many folks declaring that they’d deleted Google’s services.
The outcry may be misplaced, but the incident shows the care that companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft must take with how they represent regions. Google uses internal, third-party and public data to create maps, but needs to pay extra attention in politically sensitive regions, where people see them as more than a way to get from “A” to “B.”
Via: The Washington Post
Sony PlayStation event confirmed for 7 September, likely for PS4.5
The new, high-powered PlayStation 4 will likely be unveiled in September.
Sony has sent invites to the media for a PlayStation event scheduled on 7 September in New York City. It’ll actually be held at the PlayStation Theatre, but the company is being coy about what it will announce or introduce, only saying that it plans to “share details about the PlayStation business”. It of course will probably debut the upgraded PlayStation 4, which goes by the codename Neo.
The new device is thought to support 4K games and media. It might also come with more processing power, allowing it to work with the PlayStation VR headset coming this October. We’re not sure if Sony will discuss a release date or pricing at its event, though rumours have suggested that Neo will launch some time next year. Keep in mind Sony has already confirmed a 4K PS4 is in the works.
Andrew House, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, told the Financial Times in June that Sony will sell both the PS4 and Neo through their life cycles, and that all Neo-compatible games will support the standard PS4, too.
Check out Pocket-lint’s PS4.5/Neo round-up for more details about the upcoming console, dubbed PS4.5.
Share files, collaborate with ease with Droplr Pro: Lifetime License (98 per cent off)
Collaboration in the digital age has never been more convenient thanks to Droplr.
At its foundation, Droplr is a file-sharing service which integrates with your Windows PC or Mac to upload any files you choose, to a remote server for access by anyone you choose. With a world of useful features at your fingertips, a Droplr Pro: Lifetime License is now offered at a fantastically low price of £15.27 ($21.99) on Pocket-lint Deals.
Skip the bulky email attachments and file transfer services. Droplr sharply increases convenience and productivity with your team, removing any sharing limits and allowing you to unclog your inbox. Password protection, self-destruct times and obfuscated URLs keep your data private, as you share images, videos, documents and more via Droplr’s easy-to-use service, with unlimited storage.
Just drag and drop your file to the desktop icon, and you’re immediately provided with a short link to share with anyone you choose.
The single-user plan normally runs half the total cost of this deal, so the long-term value on a Droplr Pro: Lifetime License is indisputable. In addition to Windows and Mac, Droplr also integrates fully with Office, Slack, Adobe products and Twitter as well.
Droplr Pro has received a five-star rating on CNET, in part due to its expanded screen capture and recording features, letting you save recordings as high-resolution videos or animated GIFs, which you can then annotate at will.
Take your team’s productivity to all-new heights for good with Droplr Pro: Lifetime License, offered at 98 per cent off for a limited time from Pocket-lint Deals.
Get an immersive VR experience with the Virtual Reality Box with stereo headset (60 per cent off)
Virtual Reality is really taking off these days, but not all VR headsets are created equal.
Some are merely cardboard boxes, like Google’s Cardboard, and others are fully immersive high-end VR headsets that don’t need your smartphone such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. But value and function neatly intersect with the Virtual Reality Box with Stereo Headset. At just £27.41 ($38.99) from Pocket-lint Deals, a fully immersive VR experience is finally as affordable as it is fun.
This premium VR Headset uses your smartphone to deliver a full virtual reality experience, with headphones included to immerse yourself in a full-sensory commitment. Watch 360-degree video with ultra-short distance and ultra-wide viewing angles, offering you a viewing experience which more closely matches the human eye.
You can also adjust the headset between 0-800 degrees myopia & 0-400 degrees hyperopia for comfort, and to reduce vertigo.
Your own private cinematic experience awaits! You can even answer calls while wearing the headset through the multifunction key, which also allows you to adjust the volume directly without interfering with playback or gaming.
If you’re looking to make the leap into VR but aren’t swayed by flimsy cardboard or looking to break the bank, the Virtual Reality Box with Stereo Headset is definitely a great value at £27.41 ($38.99).
Pick it up a 60 per cent off today from Pocket-lint Deals.
Microsoft figured out how cloud servers can swap encrypted data
A team at Microsoft Research has figured out a way to share encrypted information stored in the cloud without compromising security. The example the outfit gives is as follows:
“Machine learning algorithms may examine our genomes to determine our susceptibility to maladies such as heart disease and cancer. Between now and then, computer scientists need to train the algorithms on genetic data, bundles of which are increasingly stored encrypted and secure in the cloud along with financial records, vacation photos and other bits and bytes of digitized information.”
Given the nature of encryption, though, only the owners of said data can access it. Good for security, but bad for researchers.
The methodology proposed by the team uses multiparty computation, where results are shared, but no one involved learns any of the specifics about the data contained in the encrypted file. “We require that none of the parties involved learns anything beyond what they already know and what is revealed by the function, even when the parties (except the cloud) are active malicious,” the research brief says.
So, essentially, it’s a lot like having an impartial pal know the number of books in two friends’ collections. From there, the third party would tell each friend who’s bookshelf has more on it, without saying exactly how many books are on either shelf.
Encryption computations are all performed within the cloud as well, and the scientists involved say that the computations themselves are encrypted. The servers don’t even know what they’re processing. “Set up this way, the data exchange is secure provided that the cloud itself follows the rules and nothing more,” the post says.
The end result could apparently make it easier for scientists to preview data for experiments without buying it. What’s more, it’d they’d only have to make a costly purchase once they know the data is worthwhile for their studies.
Source: Microsoft Research Blog (1), (2)
Watch a high-speed footage of past SpaceX launches
If you didn’t get the chance to watch previous SpaceX missions blast off, this video can bring you up to speed. It shows what the private space corporation has been up to these past few months, including the engine burn and launch of the May mission that carried Japanese communications satellite JCSAT-14 to orbit. That rocket’s first stage landed on a drone ship even if the company didn’t expect to succeed, because it came back from a particularly high orbit that made things difficult. SpaceX recently took out the first stage from that trip for a test fire, and its booster burned for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Following JCSAT-14 is the CRS-9 mission’s launch and stage separation as it ferried supplies to the ISS. The video also features its re-entry burn and first stage landing on solid ground. Finally, you can catch a glimpse of the December 2015 Falcon 9 launch that deployed 11 ORBCOMM satellites, as well. That mission marked the first time Musk and his team ever stuck a first stage landing, starting a series of successful attempts at landing rockets both on land and at sea.
