Renault Mégane RS 300
New rubber brings a marked improvement to the RS’S handling
THE BIG NEWS THIS MONTH IS THAT WE have a brand new set of tyres on the Mégane and they have transformed it, improving steering feel and increasing grip in the wet and the dry. The original tyre was the Bridgestone Potenza S001, which I thought an odd choice after years of Renault Sport models wearing Michelins. The S001 is a very old tyre and, finally, this year Bridgestone replaced it with the all-new Potenza Sport. In terms of tread pattern, the new tyre looks more ordinary than the old, but in our most recent tyre test (evo 292) the Potenza Sport came home a strong third.
I figured that if the dynamics of the Mégane had been tuned on the old S001, replacing it with the Potenza Sport would build on the base character, extending the important characteristics on essentially the same spider chart, if you like. Soon after the first-year service they were fitted at a nearby Bridgestone ‘key chain dealer’, which turned out to be the Halfords Autocentre in Peterborough.
Driving away with the stickers only just peeled off, I could already feel the difference. I mentioned last time that our standard-chassis car had been swapped for a Cup-chassis car while it was in for service. The Cup car rode much more firmly – too firmly for my everyday driving – but on the upside it had better steering connection and seat-of-the-pants feel. Well, a month and 1000 miles in, the new Potenza Sports have transformed the feel of our long-termer and it feels somewhere between standard and Cup.
Significantly, the steering is now much better connected, more precise and more detailed. Grip is massively up too, no matter what the conditions, wet or dry, even cold wet, which is the worst. The Mégane is unfazed. The downside? The ride is a bit firmer, more detailed, but with the clarity of the steering it feels consistent and cohesive. On the S001s the car was unsatisfactory because the ride was occasionally choppy and sharp on backroads but the steering was soft-edged and a bit mute, so inconsistent.
I’m enjoying the Mégane much more now, though some niggles remain after the service. After a week or two of behaving itself, the alarm went off randomly a couple of times within a few minutes and has since gone off a couple more times. Also, the centre screen lost the accent colours for the drive modes within a week and just went momentarily completely blank for the second time. But you know what? It matters much less when the way the car drives puts a smile on your face.
Date acquired July 2021 Total mileage 7980 Mileage this month 1367 Costs this month £270 (service), £536 (tyres) mpg this month 31.4