Renault has reinvented the Megane into this R-Space Lab concept

Welcome, one and all, to the future. Or, at least, Renault’s rolling testbed of the future. Fine, the R-Space Lab, to give it its proper name. It’s not officially the new Megane, but is it just us that thinks… it could be?

It comes from Renault's Futurama laboratory, set up to strategise what its production cars could look like from 2030 onwards. We’re told this not-Megane measures 4.5m long and 1.5m tall, though curiously the carmaker hasn’t decided to tell us the width.

Then again, perhaps that’s because it wants you to focus on the interior, Renault's attempt to “redefine the in-car experience”.

Front and centre is the curved panoramic screen, which stretches the entire width of the dashboard, though there’s still room for a central touchscreen, complete with a row of physical buttons for adjusting the climate settings. Hallelujah!

What else? There’s a yoke-style steering wheel with steer-by-wire tech (similar to the Peugeot Polygon), plus a multifunction glovebox that can be used for, er, storing your Werther’s Originals (other sweets also available), or as a footrest. We approve.

We’re also told the passenger seat can also slide into the back row for easier interaction, and it gets three identical individual rear seats with reclining backrests. Go to sleep already back there, would you!

Sorry, where were we? Ah yes, the back seats can raise and slide forwards to free up boot space “sufficient” for a bicycle. Whether it’s a kid’s or adult’s bike… Renault doesn’t say. But the rear doors also open to 90 degrees too, for easier entry/exit.

Oh, and there’s glass, lots of it – from the fully glazed roof, to the slimline pillars, to the frameless doors. Other Easter eggs include an alcohol detector, and in-car artificial intelligence, which we’re told could play the part of a safety coach.

We’re not saying you heard it here first, but… is it so hard to imagine this as the Megane of the future, after all?