THE new Renault Megane has won the International Car of the Year 2003 award.

Competition for this year’s award was as strong as ever with 30 new cars competing for the honour voted by an international jury of 58 motoring journalists from 22 countries.

Of the finalists, the Megane scored a total of 322 points, with the Mazda 6 in second (302 points), Citroen C3 (214) in third, Honda Jazz (167) in fourth, Ford Fiesta (161) in fifth, Vauxhall Vectra (151) in sixth and Mercedes E class (133) in seventh.

The jury praised the expressive and distinctive design of New Megane in what previously had been a conservative market segment, that of the lower-medium hatch, the largest segment in Europe.

They praised the new car’s driving experience with dynamic handling and road holding, good ride comfort and excellent braking in addition to a range of efficient and refined engines. Also praised was the sophisticated passive safety system, which sees up to 10 airbags available on the Megane Sport Hatch.

Indeed, new Megane will be aiming for the maximum five star score in the next round of EuroNCAP crash tests which, if achieved, will make it the first in this sector and only the third car ever, joining its stablemate the Laguna.

On sale since October in the UK, orders for the five-door Megane Hatch and three door Sport Hatch have already passed the 3,300 mark in just four weeks, 35 per cent ahead of target - a picture that has been repeated around Europe.

Philippe Talou- Derible, managing director of Renault UK said at the award ceremony: “To say we are happy with the reception the public have given new Megane would be an understatement.

“The Renault philosophy is to be daring with our new designs, giving customers a new choice, something more exciting than the current products, knowing that it can be a risk but, a risk worth taking if we want to lead the market.”

He continued: “It is fantastic to win awards and they do not get any bigger than the International Car of the Year when you realise that it includes votes from 22 countries. “But what is equally important for me is that the British public likes the car, which appears to be the case if our order books are anything to go by."