Renault’s new Megane is a good-looking car. And that’s a good start, because it has a whole lot of hurdles to get over if it wants to make an impression in the ultra-competitive family hatch market.

Here we have two of them: the Seat Leon and Vauxhall Astra. Each has a 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine, whereas the Megane is heavier and only has a 1.5. So maybe that’s the French newcomer’s good start eaten up.

Let’s get off to a good start of our own, though, by just climbing aboard. The Megane instantly looks groovy, with a modern cabin designed around features like mood lighting and media displays – but when it comes to basics like rear legroom and loading cargo into the boot, it’s not so clever.

The Astra is best here, and it too has a nice looking dashboard. The Leon’s is less exciting but, as you’d expect from a VW Group product, rock-solid in its build quality – and it has the most supportive seats of the three, though none is short on driver comfort.

Getting back to what happens while you’re sitting in your comfy throne, pressing the Megane’s throttle is as likely to provoke ennui as energy. Whereas the others feel sprightly, it labours it way up to speed – as well as sending vibrations back up through the controls as you stir your way around a manual box that’s the opposite of slick.

Matters don’t improve when you start spinning the wheel, either. Steering feel and feedback are largely absent, the brakes are snatchy and cornering provokes more body roll than you get in the others.

Happily, matters improve once you’re up to cruising speed. Here, things quieten down and the Megane becomes a smooth, relaxing way of covering ground. It does a good job of softening the blows on roughly surfaced roads, too – you very much feel that Renault put comfort ahead of agility when engineering its chassis.

The Astra is a refined cruiser too – indeed, it’s the smoothest of the group. In this case, though, it manages also to handle tidily – albeit not with the same keen, planted grip and agility you get from the Leon. Neither rides as well as the Megane on corrugated roads, though.

Over the piece, we’d place the Megane firmly in third place. There’s an argument for it if you value ride quality over everything else, however – and an unmatched collection of safety kit lands another heavy blow in its favour as a family car. City braking isn’t on the standard list, but it costs little to add – you’ll pay more for it on the Astra, and can’t get it at all on the Leon.

It’s the same deal with the fun stuff, too. As tested, the Megane out-scores the others with luxuries like sat-nav and climate control.

Another key battleground is economy, and here the Megane does what the newest car in a group test really shouldn’t – by being significantly worse on fuel. In real-world driving, we recorded 47.2mpg – that’s downright poor compared to 56.0 and 56.3mpg for the Leon and Astra respectively, especially when worse economy also comes with worse performance.

You do at least get spared a kicking from the taxman whichever you choose, as all slip in under the 100g/km barrier. Still, the Astra is the one to turn to if you’re a company car driver – or indeed if you’re leasing it, with the Leon and Megane costing £1000 and £3000 more respectively over three years. PCP buyers will find that order turned on its head, however, with Renault taking easily the lowest payments out of your account every month.

That doesn’t change the fact that the Megane is off the pace in too many areas to compete. A weak, thirsty engine, cramped interior and stodgy handling are not what you have a right to expect from an all-new vehicle – the well made Leon beats it as a driver’s car and the Astra, a clear winner here, is simply too strong for it in every area.

Vauxhall Astra 1.6 CDTi 110 Ecoflex Tech Line

Engine size 1.5-litre diesel

List price £18,345

Target Price £16,758

Power 108bhp

Torque 221lb ft

0-62mph 10.5sec

Top speed 121mph

Fuel economy 56.3mpg (True MPG)

CO2 emissions 88g/km

Seat Leon 1.6 TDI 110 Ecomotive SE 5dr

Engine size 1.6-litre diesel

List price £19,650

Target Price £16,758

Power 108bhp

Torque 184lb ft

0-62mph 10.3sec

Top speed 124mph

Fuel economy 56.0mpg (True MPG)

CO2 emissions 94g/km

Renault Megane 1.5 dCi 110 Dynamique Nav

Engine size 1.5-litre diesel

List price £19,400

Target Price £17,463

Power 108bhp

Torque 192lb ft

0-62mph 11.0sec

Top speed 116mph

Fuel economy 47.2mpg (True MPG)

CO2 emissions 96g/km