FAST AND GORGEOUS

Renault’s performance hatch works best when driven hardest

When I was young and skinny and had hair, 100kW of power was the Phwoar! number in hot hatch territory. At the time, the ancestor of all front-wheel drive hot hatches, VW’s Golf GTI, produced just 78kW from a 1.8-litre four.

Then, in 1991, Toyota launched the Corolla SX Seca Liftback, with a 98kW 1.6-litre engine, and Nissan released the Pulsar SSS, with a 105kW 2.0-litre.

Both weighed about one tonne, so they were basically overpowered tin cans. But fun to drive? Hilarious, mate.

Today, 200kW is the benchmark. Again, the Golf GTI is slightly undernourished with 180kW, but that’s irrelevant when it’s so immaculately sorted.

The Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai i 30 N and today’s drive, Renault’s Megane RS 280, all produce 200kW-plus, with the Honda the most powerful at 228kW.

They also weigh about half a tonne more than their early 1990s counterparts, because, unlike those cars, your chances of walking away from a crash are better than 5 per cent.

VALUE

The RS costs $44,990 with a six-speed manual, as tested, or $47,490 with a six-speed dualclutch transmission.

As standard, it includes Nappa leather-clad steering wheel and gear lever shroud, Brembo brakes, 19-inch alloys, surround parking sensors, large portrait-style infotainment touchscreen, Apple Car Play /Android Auto, stand-alone voice control (for audio and phone), navigation, automatic parking and cloth upholstery.

Our car adds the Cup Chassis option pack, at $1490, with lowered, stiffened suspension, gloss black 19-inch alloys, Torsen mechanical limitedslip diff, red brake calipers and aluminium/cast iron discs, which save 1.8kg at each wheel.

COMFORT

Unless you’re going to do track days, the Cup chassis option is probably overkill. The suspension is 10 per cent stiffer than standard (which I haven’t tried) and the ride, though hard rather than harsh, is tedious around town.

The heavily bolstered, tight-fitting, pseudo race shell driver’s seat is properly supportive at RS cornering velocities. You’re seated close to the floor, with plenty of travel and steering wheel adjustment.

The 2018 RS also has much improved rear leg and headroom and comfort for adults compared with its three-door predecessor.

Its central digital instrument display is configurable according to your selected drive mode. We’re in a French car, so a variety of seductive mood lighting options is provided, a jarring contrast with cheap plastics in a pretty impoverished cabin, especially compared with the Golf. An on-screen RS Monitor features all sorts of boy-racer distractions, including a stopwatch, but if you have time to admire your spectacular numbers, you’re a lot slower than you think you are.

SAFETY

The big ticket stuff is standard: autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and adaptive cruise.

DRIVING

As with previous hot rod Renaults, the Megane RS makes fewer concessions to normal road use than its rivals. Renault Sport — the French maker’s racing division — does the engineering on this car and clearly intends it to be driven as hard and fast as possible, because that’s when it works best.

Six driving modes are provided, Sport and Race being the ones you’re supposed to use.

The 1.8-litre turbo (205kW/390Nm) is asleep at low revs, wakes up at about 2000rpm, then fires you up the road with a mighty rush and a deep, though muted, synthesised soundtrack.

For the 0-100km/h trip, the Megane claims 5.8 seconds. As revs climb, responsiveness and urgency also increase at an exponential rate — you get the optimum result if you squeeze the accelerator rather than stomping on it.

The manual has quite a loose action and there’s no automatic rev matching function on downshifts, either.

Four-wheel steering and the Torsen diff help the Renault dive into tight corners with immediate, rabid enthusiasm then, under hard acceleration, display minimal understeer and reasonable grip, though the 245/35 Bridgestone Potenzas aren’t the stickiest performance tyres around.

As with any front-drive hot hatch, progress is smoother and quicker if you carry corner speed from go to whoa rather than relying on grunt and grip for a fast exit.

The tugging of the wheel in your hands under power, characteristic of the breed, isn’t excessive, so you don’t have to wrestle too violently with it on the way out, though the front end can judder and bang if you hit a bump. Firm, powerful brakes deliver superb pedal feel.

HEART SAYS

It’s French, it’s fast and its gorgeous.

HEAD SAYS

I want a front-wheel drive hot hatch with pointy end performance engineering that I can go silly in on track days. Renault Sport does it with style.

ALTERNATIVES HYUNDAI I 30 N FROM $39,990

Killer value and the pick of the class, engineered by the bloke who used to run BMW’s M division. 202kW/353Nm 2.0-litre turbo/six-speed manual. 0-100km/h in a claimed 6.2 seconds. Adjustable suspension. Five-year warranty includes track day coverage.

VW GOLF GTI FROM $45,490

Just updated with a 180kW/370Nm 2.0-litre but there’s now no manual; the seven-speed transmission is standard. 0-100km/h in a claimed 6.2 seconds. As a comfortable everyday drive that also makes Sunday a fun day, the Golf GTI is still the one. Five years’ warranty until December 31.