• Stop & Start technology with braking/deceleration energy recovery (ESM) involves automatically cutting the engine when the vehicle is at a standstill. When driving exclusively in built-up areas, fuel savings can amount to more than one litre per 100km. When the driver presses on the clutch pedal again, the engine fires up instantly. To cope with all this repeated starting, the starter motor has been uprated (starter, starter ring gear), as has the fuel injection system (pump and high-pressure injectors). The engine has been engineered for 410,000 starting cycles (over 300,000km), which is almost seven times more than the same figure for a conventional engine. ESM (Energy Smart Management) is a system that allows the kinetic energy produced under deceleration/braking to be recovered by the alternator and stored in the battery. Functions which consume electricity (heater, lights, radio, etc.) are directly fed by the battery to ease the work of the alternator. Recovered energy is notably employed to restart the vehicle.
• EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation): Renault has innovated with the launch of the European market's first engine to feature low pressure EGR technology. This solution recovers exhaust gases further downstream, once they have been through the turbine and particulate filter. They are cooled in a low pressure intercooler which enables them to be recirculated through the turbo mixed with air and thereby increase turbo pressure. The gases are then cooled by air in the turbo radiator and used for combustion a second time. This so-called 'cold loop' enables emissions of nitrogen oxides to be cut more efficiently than is the case with a conventional high pressure EGR, while engine efficiency is improved and combustion is of a higher quality. Low pressure EGR technology calls for an engine architecture that minimises the distance between the catalytic converter / particulate filter and the air intake, an arrangement known as a post-turbo after-treatment system. This proximity enables catalytic converters and particulate filters to function at higher temperatures and therefore more efficiently.
• Thermostat-controlled automatic-flow rate oil pump: the capacity of the oil pump (and therefore oil pressure) is adjusted as a function of the engine's needs at any given moment in order to reduce the pump's energy consumption. An oil temperature sensor makes real-time adjustments to minimise viscosity-related friction, which has a beneficial knock-on effect on fuel consumption.

The Energy dCi 110 engine offers fuel consumption savings and reduced CO2 emissions thanks to torque increase of 20Nm to 260Nm, available from as low as 1,750 rpm. The power output remains unchanged with 110 hp at 4,000 rpm.

Thus equipped, Mégane Energy dCi 110 becomes a new spearhead for the range with CO2 emissions as low as 100g/km, equivalent to fuel consumption of just 4 litres/100km.