THE Renault Megane range arrivedin Britainin the early90s but didn't include an estate version until 1998.

Dubbed the Sport Tourer, this was the fifth member of the Renault Megane family and today's manifestation, launched at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, comes with all the necessary features such as generous load capacity and extra seating room in the rear to qualify for hold-all status.

Designed to shape up against the likes of the Peugeot 308 SW, VW Golf Estate and the Ford Focus Estate, the latest Megane Sport Tourer delivers some generous cargo capacity plus some decent manoeuvrable room for rear seat occupants.

Some pretty elegant styling shows that the Sport Tourer is not just a workhorse on the pull but a really good looker to boot.

A superbly accommodating luggage bay makes the Megane a very desirable family estate car, the around two and a half inches longer wheelbase than the Megane Hatchback being used effectively to provide extra room for rear seat passengers while the well shaped bootroom delivers some 486 litres of luggage area with all seats taken, which extends to 1,567 litres with the 60/40 split folding rear seats folded in a neat, one-step action.

In addition, all modelshave a folding passenger seat to create extra room and there is a generous array of stowage points around the cabin which includes front underfloor stowage and a handy boot divider to help keep smaller items secure while on the move.

TheMegane Sport Tourer is offered with five petrol and four diesel engine options while the four trim levels on offer are Expression, Dynamique, Tom Tom Edition and Privilege.

Equipment at entry level includes air con, sound system with CD, electric windows all round, heated door mirrors, headlamps with 'See me Home' facility, multi function trip computer,Renault Anti Intruder Device and emergency spare wheel, while ISOFIX child seat mounts on outer rearseats and front passenger seat add to the safety factor.

Driver safety aids include ABS braking with electronic brakeforce distribution with brake assist plus ESP with anti-skid regulation and CSV Understeer Control to help drivers stay on the right road.

The Sport Tourer TomTom edition driven here adds the likes of 16-inch alloys and theeasy to use Carminat TomTom satellite navigation system.

Powered by Renault's latest petrol engine, the 1.4-litre Tce 130bhp, paired with a smooth switching six-speed manual gearbox,the carfeels the business as you move off into the traffic. The 1,397cc engine has the capability to take you from 0-62mph in a quite satisfactory under 10 seconds. Top speed is 124mph and Renault claims that on average it can return around 42.8mpg.