An XXL screen for full immersion
Renault has developed an electronic architecture like nothing the market has seen before, to modernise driver assistance systems and enhance viewing comfort when using them. The All-new Mégane E-TECH Electric is the first car to feature it.
From where the driver is sitting, it’s a sweeping digital display made of up two screens forming an L. The vertical 12-inch screen is on the car’s centre console. “It’s in the best position for the driver to see it and operate it easily, to take full advantage of the multimedia capabilities without taking their eyes off the road,” Marc explains. The horizontal 12.3-inch screen is built into the dashboard, behind the steering wheel.
Together, the two screens span 774 sq. cm. So they maximise the display area and provide an exclusive immersive experience. They befit a large premium saloon and are quite simply the biggest screens Renault has ever built into a vehicle.
This technical feat overlaps with the arrival of the all-new CMF-EV platform for electric vehicles. Thanks to it, the engineers were for instance able to move the air-conditioning unit into the motor compartment and free up more space in the cockpit. This made it possible to pare back the centre console and add the flush screen. They have also transferred the gear stick and MULTI-SENSE interface to the steering wheel, to improve the ergonomics and open up more space in the middle of the passenger compartment and on the centre console.
At a time when car manufacturers are shifting everything they can onto screens, Renault has taken a more subtle approach:
We kept the buttons beneath the central screen. That way, the important ones, like the air conditioning settings, still use a ‘physical’ interface. This line of chrome-plated buttons looks natural in the cockpit. And it avoids the ‘fake’, unused buttons beneath the console that previous vehicle generations often had.
These unmarked buttons were options that were not included in some trims. On the All-new Mégane E-TECH Electric, all the optional controls – such as the heated steering wheel – are operated via the screens.