Sporty Mégane hasplentyof horse power
...that looks chic, sounds great (what a growl!) and races out of the blocks like an Olympic champ
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Mo Farah told me last week that he is more than likely going to hang up his spikes come 2019. That’s after hopefully bagging another clutch of Olympic gold medals, garnished perhaps with the odd world record or two.
Some 24 hours later, Tash, the kids and I sat with tears streaming down our cheeks as we watched the great man romp home in the 5,000 metres at London’s Anniversary Games in 12 minutes 59.31 secs – the quickest time in the world this year.
He’s hitting the form of his life at exactly the right time – with now just five sleeps to go to the Rio 2016 curtain-raiser. I for one cannot wait. Russians or no Russians, bring on the Games. Let the good and the righteous vanquish the ne’er-do-wells.
This very week four years ago I was about to embark upon my very own Olympic adventure, with a fortnight of live radio shows from the Olympic Park. My highlights included Super Saturday, a couple of unforgettable sleepovers in the labyrinth of steel containers that made up the funky BBC studios, and most memorable of all, the greatest backstage pass known to mankind. Access All Areas London 2012. Any event, any time, any place, anywhere.
So where did I frequent most? Well, Greenwich, to be honest. Because that’s where the equestrian events were being staged, and because no-one parties like the Dutch.
Not Led Zeppelin hammering the gods, not Brian Wilson on Malibu Beach circa Pet Sounds, not even Mötley Crüe at their most decadent. The guys and girls from the Netherlands love their showjumping and dressage, and thousands of them were ready to party morning, noon and night. Four years on and I’m sure they’ll be at it again; just picturing that sea of orange polo shirts, forest of blond hair and countless sets of gleaming white teeth smiling and laughing from ear to ear makes my spirits soar.
Continuing with the horsey theme for a moment: this morning I will be waking up in a fug of rock’n’roll and petrol fumes on day three of CarFest North, spookily being held this year at one of the UK’s finest equestrian venues, Bolesworth Castle.
This coming together of hooves and motor cars via one splendiferous venue also gives me the chance to quote my favourite car/horse fact, about one of my favourite cars. Did you know the CV bit of the Citroën 2CV stands for chevaux vapeur? Which literally translates into two steaming horses. Which would also serve as the perfect bridge to this week’s test car, were it a Citroën. But unfortunately it isn’t. Although it is a Frenchie. How about this then instead... Question: what’s got four wheels, looks like it came out of Yves St Laurent’s toy cupboard and has a boot the size of The Louvre? Answer: the Mégane Renaultsport Trophy Cup 275. Ooh, the boot really is huge for this type of car. That said, the rear passengers have had to pay the price. When/if they finally manage to yank the front seats into submission and then somehow contort themselves into position, it’s all a bit awkward back there. Not to mention quite dark and claustrophobic.
As far as the overall styling is concerned, it’s all very World Rally Championship, with a flash of chic. Think confident hot hatch dressed for a Hello! photo-shoot.
And there’s yet more WRC influence up front. Oh my, look at those enormous Recaro bucket seats awaiting the driver and his shotgun. Both comfortable and figure-hugging. Nothing worse than a car throwing you about when you intend it to be the other way round. The only glitch is the seatbelts that cut into your neck like an apprentice cheese wire.
The handbrake lever is also a bit duff inasmuch as when applied it sits at a highly acute, mildly off-putting angle, similar to that on a Ferrari 246 Dino, like the Incredible Hulk has had a temper tantrum mid-application. The instrument cluster, on the other hand, is more discreet, more obtuse, leaning away from the driver. Very aloof, very French.
The other major minus in the cabin is the build quality. With the exception of the trim, which is very cool and very comfy, everything looks and feels a bit cheap. More like a budget rental van than a circa €36k pocket rocket. But come now, let’s be fair. This voiture is primarily
PRESS RALLY SPORT... AND YEE-HAW, WELCOME TO THE RODEO...
meant to look good (which it does), sound exciting and fruity on start-up (which it does) and most of all provide a marked difference between normal and mental driving modes (which it also does – very, very impressively).
Select RS (Mr Hyde) as opposed to normal (Dr Jekyll) and witness an alltoo-rare, stark and welcome dynamic between the two. A tame poodle to a snarling pitbull in the flick of a switch.
In normal mode the car feels balanced, well-behaved, verging on benign. But press RS (Rally Sport) and... yee-haw, welcome to the rodeo. Be prepared for instant, rapid, aggressive acceleration that cannot wait to get up there in the rpm red zone. As usual with front-wheel drives, some torque steer (as well as understeer) is evident. Plus there’s the almighty Brembo brakes should any extra reassurance be required.
Now it may have been my middle-age dawdling but I’m pretty sure the fuel economy is something to shout about. I didn’t exactly spare the horses, yet I still seemed to be juicerich by the end of our time together.
And there’s also a very accommodating auto-start feature, should you suddenly acquire a habit of stalling your new wheels. Never seen that before!
The bottom line is, with an on-theroad starting price of almost €32,000, this car is fantastic value for money, looks the part and growls like a good ’un. However, the test car I was sent, with extras, came in at €38,000 which, all of a sudden, seems more a disappointing bronze than a gold.