Renault Mégane GT
MODEL TESTED: Renault Mégane GT Nav EDC PRICE: £25,500 ENGINE: 1.6-litre 4cyl, 202bhp
UNTIL the full-fat Renaultsport Mégane arrives, this GT model is the hottest hatch in the range. It only comes in one specification, costing £25,500, with the GT featuring a new four-wheel-steering system and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. But is this tech enough to see off its rivals?
Styling 4.0/5
RENAULT has reinvented itself with the design of its latest models, and this new Mégane takes styling cues from elsewhere in the range, adding a sportier touch with its Gt-specific bodywork.
Our test car’s Iron Blue metallic paint cost £525 but sets the detailed bodywork off nicely, while the deep front bodywork features a pair of silver vents, which underscore the headlights that cut down into the bumper. These are connected by a gloss black grille with plenty of mesh.
The creases in the bonnet run back towards the windscreen, giving the GT a muscular look, but the lines are clean and the Mégane’s squat stance provides it with plenty of presence.
Renault includes 18-inch alloys as standard, and they fill the arches well and help to enhance the flared rear bodywork. The five-door bodystyle is practical but crucially, it’s not at the expense of style.
That’s because of the car’s low roofline and sloping C-pillars, which taper towards one of the Mégane’s defining design features: its tail-lamps. Together with the boot lip spoiler, the narrow light units span almost the width of the car, making it look low and wide.
Like the LEDS at the front, the curved running lights are a stand-out design cue, while the Mégane is the only car to get full LED headlights as standard.
These are just one feature on a long list of kit, but the moment you climb inside, your eyes are drawn to the 8.7-inch touchscreen tablet in the centre of the dashboard. While it’s not quite up to the standards of a Tesla or the Volvo XC90’S interface, in this £25,500 hatch it’s impressive.
On top of this there’s a seven-inch digital dash display, plus sat-nav, DAB, cruise control, keyless go, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera and Bluetooth are all standard. Our test car also featured a £500 upgraded Bose stereo, as well as some racier blue and grey Alcantara bucket seats as part of the £1, 200 Alcantara Pack +.
Due to the four-wheel-steer tech and dual-clutch gearbox, the Mégane GT is fairly pricey in standard form, but with a £3,300 deposit on Renault’s finance scheme (the dealer will also throw in another £1,750), you’ll pay £359 per month over three years. Interest is charged at 3.4 per cent APR, and at the end of the term, the balloon payment totals £9,075. However, this is based on a low 6,000-miles-per-year limit.
Driving 3.9/5
THE Mégane GT uses the same 1.6-litre turbocharged engine as the smaller Clio RS, only here it’s been tuned to produce 202bhp. This car doesn’t share the Clio’s EDC dual-clutch six-speed auto, though; the Mégane features a newer seven-speed unit instead.
The engine is relatively gutsy, and with launch control the car covered 0-60mph in 7.6 seconds. But despite having more torque than the Kia, the Renault’s in-gear performance wasn’t as strong as either rival’s, due to its heavier 1,463kg kerbweight.
It was three-tenths slower than the Kia between 50 and 70mph in sixth and trailed the Skoda by seven-tenths of a second. Part of the problem is that peak torque (280Nm) doesn’t come in until 2,400rpm, whereas the Kia’s 265Nm is available from 1,500rpm, and the Skoda’s superior 350Nm output comes in at the same point. As a result the engine can feel sluggish unless you’ve got it spinning high up in the rev range. The gearbox’s soft shifts don’t exactly help give the powertrain a responsive feeling, either.
Yet even though the Mégane weighs more than its rivals here, the 4Control four-wheel steering gives the chassis more bite, and we found the Renault agile and keen to change direction.
The system works by using an actuator to turn the rear wheels in the opposite direction to the fronts at lower speeds, which means the Mégane jinks into corners with barely any steering movement on twisty roads.
In fact, it takes some getting used to, and the rear steer effect is actually quite pronounced, which can make the car feel a little unsettled on turn-in. However, once you’re in a corner and you get used to the tech it makes the GT feel responsive, although the chassis sometimes struggles to keep up.
The ride quality is acceptable given the big wheels the car is equipped with, but with a Renaultsport inspired chassis set-up and riding on those alloys, on typically torn British roads the otherwise absorbent suspension can feel a little harsh.
Ownership 4.5/5
RENAULT recorded a great result in our Driver Power 2016 satisfaction survey. The brand finished in eighth place in our manufacturers’ chart, while its garages topped our dealer poll, showing how far Renault has come in terms of customer service in recent years.
The Mégane has always been a trailblazer for safety and the latest-generation model continues that trend. This GT version features lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition and auto high beam headlights as standard, while the reasonably priced £400 Safety Pack Premium fitted to our test car adds adaptive cruise and autonomous braking.
Running costs 3.9/5
OUR three test cars are closely matched in terms of running costs, with the Mégane just ahead on depreciation. Our experts predict the GT will hold on to 36.5 per cent of its value, with the Cee’d expected to retain 34.4 per cent. The Octavia is lower again, with predicted residuals of 33.3 per cent, and because it’s more expensive to buy, it will depreciate by £1,050 and £1,767 more than the Mégane and Cee’d respectively.