SPY PICS: Next Renault Megane in hot-weather testing

After previously capturing Renault’s upcoming fourth-generation Megane in cold-weather testing, Automedia has now released fresh images of the French manufacturer’s heavily-disguised small car being calibrated for hot weather in the Spanish mountains.

Although the latest images reveal little more of the car’s final styling, we know that the next Megane shares the CMF-CD platform with the new European Nissan Pulsar and the Japanese brand’s smaller SUVs.

This should lead to increased interior space over the ageing current model, which is now six years old and up against far newer product, such as Volkswagen’s Golf.

Automedia suggests that, due to the size of the exhaust pipe, this prototype Megane is likely equipped with the familiar 1.2 TCe turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine as already seen in several Renault and Nissan models.

Additionally it is believed that the new Megane will house a 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder powerplant, while a twin-turbocharged version of that engine, which already appears in the new Espace SUV in Europe, could also trickle down into smaller Renault product, including the Megane.

The fourth-generation Renault Megane is due to be revealed at the Frankfurt motor show in September, with Australian-market models expected in the first half of 2016.