Scorching hot new Renault Megane blasts into SA

Easily the most highly awaited hot hatch of 2018, Renault SA has announced pricing for the allnew Megane RS which is set to reach dealerships in the following week or so.

The most powerful iteration of Renault’s rival for the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Honda Civic Type R until the arrival of the hardcore Trophy next year, the RS is offered in Lux and Cup specifications, with the latter sporting a Torsen limited slip differential, 19inch alloys versus the Lux’s 18 and the stiffer chassis after which it is named.

Both variants gets Renault’s 4Control rear-wheel steering system similar to the Megane GT, red Brembo brake calipers, the five-mode Multi-Sense drive selector with Comfort, Normal, Sport, Race and Preso settings and RS Drive Monitor.

Up front, the Megane RS swops the long-serving 2.0-litre turbo-charged petrol for the development of the new 1.8-litre motor fitted to the Alpine A110, which has been retuned, by one kilowatt, to produce 205kW with torque remaining unchanged at 390Nm.

While the Cup comes fitted as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox, more than likely in response to the manual only Type R, Renault has opted to equip the Lux only with its new six-speed EDC to compete with the DSG restricted Golf GTI

Despite a claimed 0-100km/h sprint of 5.8 seconds regardless of the gearbox fitted, the manual will top out at 255km/h, with the EDC reaching a v-max of 250km/h.

In addition, Renault has also not differentiated the RS on price, with both models sporting a sticker of R549 900, and featuring a five year/ 150 000km warranty as well as a three year/45 000km service plan.

The local Renault team at Tangawizi Motors say they will have the Megane RS in stock soon and invite all hardcore hot hatch enthusiasts to pay them a visit and give the car a good lookover.