PRICES and specifications of the new Megane line up of vehicles have been announced by Renault with the range starting from £20,740.

The cars are due for release later in the year and the entry level price for the hatchback version is up from £17,995 for the current model.

The new line up includes a plug-in hybrid model on the Sport Tourer estate Megane which has a zero emission range of up to 30 miles and costs from £30,685.

Also new is an R.S. Line trim level which comes with sportier styling and bridges the gap between the standard models and the hot R.S. variants.

The R.S. Line cars are priced from £22,700while the full-blown Megane R.S, will be available from £30,895 with the range topping out at £36,495 for a high performance Trophy EDC automatic.

All models in the facelifted range have been given subtle styling tweaks including new-look daytime running lights, a new LED lighting set up at the rear and full LED headlamps.

There are also changes on the inside with a 9.3-inch multimedia display as well as a 10-inch TFT instrument panel being made available.

The plug-in Sport Tourer uses a 1.6-litre petrol engine mated to a 9.3kWh battery system which delivers a combined 160hp and gives it a 9.8 second 0 to 60mph acceleration time.

Emissions of the PHEV are rated at 30g/km which is a theoretical combined fuel return of 217.3mpg.

Powertrain choices for the rest of the range are unchanged with the TCe 140 petrol and dCi 115 diesel models remaining with each available either in six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic configurations.

The diesel line up now starts from £22,540 while the Sport Tourer models are priced from £22,240 for the TCe 140 and £24,040 for the diesel.