THE TEST ROUTE

Initial impression on our challenging hill route? Good engine, strong brakes, average manual transmission, fantastic chassis. There’s not quite the consistency we would have hoped for across the major controls, the gearbox feeling a little clumsy. The vertical shift planes of gears 1-2 and 3-4 are set close, with the 5-6 shift feeling further out right, which meant that dropping from fifth to fourth wasn’t a snap back, but a deliberate guide to the spring’s detent and then a pull into the lower gear. The shift itself is deliberate but slightly notchy, and the shift knob is a weird and uncomfortable shape. The relaxed throw of the shift can also feel out of cadence with the sharp steering.

Faulting the Megane’s handling balance is a tougher assignment. It’s fantastically chuckable, with a huge amount of lift-off adjustability to tuck the nose in. The four-wheel steering can occasionally feel a little weird, almost as if you’ve hooked an outside rear wheel into a gutter, but the RS280 feels like one of those cars that gets better the harder you drive it, which is as good a mark as any of a talented chassis. Of course, for a deep dive into the dynamics of the Megane RS280, we need some sort of frame of reference…