IT'S rare to receive a genuine shock when taking to the road in a small hatchback never mind two!

The first, which I'll come back to later, came before I had moved an inch in the new Renault Megane. The second, once I was actually moving, was that the little car is in a class far superior to its predecessor.

Where the former Megane hatch was competent, capable and comprehensively dull, the new car oozes character from its shapely front to its ample 'shake your ass' rear.

Its crowning glory is in the glorious precision of its handling: It has the ride, poise and feel of a baby BMW, never mind its superb crash-test rating. Small wonder that the little car walked away with the title of International Car of the Year 2003.

It is just as well that the car is such a cracker as the platform the basic framework on which the car is built is a real mass production version.

The Megane is the first model to use the so-called 'C' platform, the second common platform developed alongside Nissan.

Designed for C-segment models of both Renault and Nissan, the C platform will account for more than a quarter of all the companies' joint production by 2006 1.8 million vehicles.

With prices starting at £10,500, engine choice includes three petrol units 1.4-litre, 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre 16V. The diesel range is initially made up of the 1.5-litre and 1.9-litre common-rail turbodiesel units.

I must admit to having serious misgivings about Renault's design direction when they unveiled the executive Avantime and Vel Satis and the thought of such idiosyncratic looks being transferred to a mass market model seemed risky.

Whatever your personal view of the design, particularly the startlingly bulbous back end, it certainly stands out from the crowd...

Of much more interest to driver and passenger than exterior styling, is the interior and here Renault have scored another triumph.

It is upmarket, tasteful and beautifully finished. Passengers commented that the seating position, particularly for rear seat passengers feels lower than normal.

The other major stride forward in the new Megane is in technology which in addition to anti-lock brakes, emergency brake assist and a tyre pressure monitoring system, includes a new-generation electronic stability programme and xenon headlamps that adjust the length of the light beam according to the speed of the car.

But when it fails, it fails big-time...

When the car arrived, things looked promising.

Armed with the slimline, credit card-like radio key, the high-tech hatchback unlocked the doors.

Sitting behind the wheel with the card still in my hand, the dashboard lit up with the message 'Press clutch and Start button'.

I did. Nothing happened. Things went from bad to worse with a bewildering array of messages being displayed, but still no glimmer of interest in the engine-starting department.

Suspecting a flat battery, I rang Renault and 20 minutes a cheerful chap from Renault Assist (the AA) arrived.

Sitting behind the wheel, he took the 'key', shoved it into the card reader slot and it vanished.

Five minutes later he discovered the initial problem was a flat battery, but now with no way of securing the car, the Megane was eventually towed ignominiously back to base to be replaced by the working model which formed the basis of this piece.

The key lesson I learned from my Megane experience is that technology makes an excellent servant but a poor master!

Renault Megane 1.6 Privilege

Price: From £13,500

Top speed: 119mph

Economy: Combined 41.5mpg

Emissions CO2: 163g/km

Insurance group: 5E

Length: 407.9cm

Width: 177.7cms

Comfort: Excellent

Luggage capacity: 11.6cu ft

Fuel tank capacity: 60 litres / 13 gallons