It’s all about the pace
There’s no point in splashing out on a hot Megane if you don’t intend to use its uncompromising performance. By
Renault Megane RS 300 Trophy Month 7
The story so far
We’ve spent seven months discovering how realistic it is to live with one of today’s hottest, least compromising hatches
+ Firm and focused – great if you’re in the mood
Sub-par infotainment; unhelpful keyless entry
Logbook
Price £31,835 (£36,085 as tested) Performance 1798cc turbocharged four-cylinder, 296bhp, 5.7sec 0-62mph, 162mph E ciency 34.4mpg (o cial), 26.3mpg (tested), 183g/ km CO2 Energy cost per mile
20.9p per mile Miles this month
1365 Total miles 11,014
Most references to the Megane RS seem to contain an introductory caveat that Renault Sport has dropped the ball of late. Must disagree. I didn’t rate the Clio RS, but that Alpine thing they did was good, and I really quite liked Renault’s king hot hatch on first acquaintance. Now, after seven months, I’m happy to report that’s still the case, even if I do have a few caveats of my own.
To briefly recap, I’ve been running the Megane RS 300 Trophy, the middle child between regular RS and mentalist (no back seats) Trophy R. It’s the one with the stiffer Cup chassis, Brembo brakes and limited-slip differential, plus lighter wheels, a 20bhp power boost to 296bhp and a shoutier exhaust as standard.
The Recaro seats (£1500) and Liquid Yellow paint (£1300) that really made our car helped add £4250 to the £31,835 bill.
We’ve bonded over the last 8000 miles or so, and done everything from trackdays and B-roads for fun to school runs and family trips loaded with luggage mostly not for fun. To be clear, for use as broad as that, the standard model hits a sweeter spot, chiefly because of a more compliant ride where the Trophy bobs along like a karate-chop massage. Yet despite a softer chassis, the base car still feels a more serious proposition than a Golf GTI.
No doubting that the Trophy is the sharper, more focused machine, though – the more aggressively responsive front end is probably the second thing you’ll notice in the first mile, after how stiy it rides. I also think the Trophy’s rear end feels more composed under really heavy braking, and that – less expectedly – the LSD-equipped front axle is less inclined to weave, for instance on a full-throttle overtake. The Trophy aced Rockingham race circuit, and had me whooping on back roads.
I liked the bite and feel of the Brembo brakes, the limpet-like differential on full power out of corners, and also the richness of the 1.8-litre turbocharged engine at high revs, where its 2.0 predecessor wheezed like a hairdryer – though selecting Sport mode is essential for the (artificially augmented) burbly soundtrack and to rouse the throttle from its narcoleptic standard setting. A total of 296bhp isn’t loads these days, but throw in the chassis and brakes and it becomes silly rapid. And all with a highly tolerable 30mpg or so. Both RS and Trophy get rear-wheel steering for the first time with this generation. At first I found it a little unnatural, as if I were turning for a corner too early, but seat-time brought familiarity and an adjustment in my approach – the Megane steering has a very firm on-centre feel, then zooms off-centre and is extremely eager to ping back again. Big steering inputs can feel clumsy; gentle and measured is the trick.
Rear steering also blends with an almost exaggerated eagerness to grip hard at the front and slide at the back when you lift the throttle– I quite enjoy that, though it can feel very pointy if a fast, unfamiliar corner tightens more than expected.
The bits that haven’t been great? The gearshift is a bit crunchy (don’t be delicate, nice big downshift blip) but the pedals aren’t ideally spaced for heel-and-toe (reason number two to get the dual-clutcher), the steering could crackle with more feel, the exhaust could pipe down in Sport mode (I just want the throttle response, really), and as the miles wore on and autumn tumbled into winter, so the front end started to tug like a divining rod at a junction in the Norfolk Broads – certainly more than I remember from the previousgeneration Megane.
The occasionally infuriating keyless entry and average if serviceable infotainment are both inherited from the base car, and are just as underwhelming here.
But as an interactive, exciting hot hatch that can also tolerate the daily grind? This was definitely a winning Trophy.
Count the cost
Cost new £36,085 Part-exchange £26,150 Energy cost 20p Cost per mile including depreciation £1.50
Big steering inputs can feel clumsy; gentle and measured is the trick