Deepal S05 vs Renault Megane

The Deepal S05 costs £8,000 more than the Renault Megane. For that premium it adds 35 kW faster peak rapid charging, 52 litres more boot space and 160 kW more power. The Renault Megane is not just cheaper - it also offers 28 miles more WLTP range. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Renault Megane comes out ahead overall.

The Renault Megane is £8,000 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £152 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Renault Megane comes out roughly £8,080 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 231 miles for the Deepal S05 and 255 miles for the Renault Megane - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Renault Megane goes roughly 24 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 15 minutes in the Deepal S05 and 24 in the Renault Megane, so the Deepal S05 loses less time at each stop. So the Renault Megane stops less often while the Deepal S05 stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The Renault Megane is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 132 mm narrower than the Deepal S05. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 632 mm of total clearance for the Renault Megane and about 500 mm of total clearance for the Deepal S05.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the Deepal S05 and 90% for the Renault Megane. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use LFP-type cells, which are happy charged to 100% every day.