Ford Fiesta ST vs Renault Mégane RS
The Fiesta ST is a great hot hatch, but for not much more cash than a new one, you could have a two-year-old Mégane RS with almost 100bhp more
Hot hatches: should you buy new or used?
WE BRITS ADORE our hot hatches. Combining fast, fun performance with practical everyday usability, they tick a great number of boxes.
A prime example is the Ford Fiesta ST. Like its predecessors, the current ST is a blast to drive, with strong acceleration and agile, entertaining handling. What’s more, it still gives you five seats, a reasonable-sized boot and good fuel economy. No car can match it at its asking price from new.
But what if we introduce a used rival into the equation? The Renault Mégane RS 300 Trophy is a cracking car with a lot of performance and more space inside. Plus, although it’s a much more expensive car when new, a two-year-old one can be bought for around the same price as a new Fiesta ST, and that’s a very tempting proposition indeed.
So, is a used RS 300 Trophy too hot for a new Fiesta ST? Let’s find out where your money should go.
DRIVING
Performance, ride, handling, refinement
Key to the ‘hot’ part of ‘hot hatch’ is the Fiesta ST’S angry little 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine. It’s turbocharged to send an impressive 197bhp and 214lb ft of torque to the front wheels, and 0-60mph takes just 6.5sec.
The Mégane is also front-wheel drive and turbocharged, but it’s a rather different beast – a faster one. Under its bonnet, there’s a punchy 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that pumps out 296bhp and 295lb ft of torque for a 0-60mph time of 5.7sec.
Performance difference aside, putting your right foot down in either car is likely to put a grin on your face. Both cars’ six-speed manual gearboxes are a joy to operate. The Fiesta’s is better, though, with a short, precise shift; while not short on precision, the Mégane’s has a rather stiffer action. Unlike the Fiesta, the Mégane was also offered with a dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
The Fiesta is a riot in corners, with quick steering, playful handling and confidence-inspiring grip. That’s enhanced by our test car’s Performance Pack (standard with ST-3 trim). This gives you a limited-slip differential (LSD) that puts power down superbly in the twisties, launch control to help you perform the perfect getaway, and shift lights that tell you when you’re about to hit the rev limiter.
As soon as you begin driving the Mégane, you’ll notice that it’s larger and heavier than the Fiesta, but it has a few tricks up its sleeve that provide excellent agility, sharpness and control. On top of an LSD like the Fiesta’s, it also gives you four-wheel steering, which, when the car is in Race mode, can steer the rear wheels the opposite way to the fronts up to 62mph. As a result, the Mégane changes direction extremely aggressively.
That super-fast steering can take some time to get used to, but it’s worth it for a truly exciting and visceral driving experience, and one that’s accompanied by an addictive soundtrack of pops and crackles from the exhaust. The Fiesta’s three-cylinder rasp is very satisfying, too, but it’s eclipsed by the Mégane for sheer drama.
There’s little to separate the two when it comes to ride; both are rather firm and busy. The Mégane settles down the faster you
go, though; that’s good for both comfort and driver confidence on rough stretches of road.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Driving position, visibility, infotainment, build quality
It shouldn’t take long to feel at home behind the wheel of the Fiesta; it has an excellent range of adjustment and the steering wheel moves up, down, forwards and back by a useful amount. The pedals are perfectly aligned with the seat and steering wheel, so you’ll feel comfortable, and the Recaro sports seats are set high but are very supportive. Carbonfibrelook trim and a sprinkling of ‘ST’ logos emphasise the sporty vibe.
The Mégane’s driving position is fundamentally sound, too. Our test car had the optional Recaro seats, which are well worth seeking out; they look great and hold you in place superbly while also proving surprisingly comfy. To add to the sporting atmosphere, there’s red stitching and RS badging on the seats and steering wheel, a set of aluminium pedals and some dubious rubberised trim around the door armrests that’s supposed to look like carbonfibre.
Neither car offers perfect visibility from the driver’s seat; the Fiesta’s is marred by its chunky front pillars, and the rearwards view looking over your shoulder is compromised in both. Fortunately, both cars provide rear parking sensors to help with reversing, the Mégane adding front sensors and a rear-view camera (you also get the latter in the Fiesta in ST-3 trim).
As far as infotainment systems go, the Fiesta ST’S standard 8.0in touchscreen is a pretty decent setup, with sharp graphics, relatively simple menus and lots of features, including built-in sat-nav, a DAB radio, Apple Carplay and Android Auto smartphone compatibility and Bluetooth connectivity.
The Mégane’s infotainment system features a larger (9.3in) touchscreen that’s pretty responsive to your commands and also has sharp graphics, but its menus are a bit more confusing than the Fiesta’s. Apple Carplay and Android Auto are included as standard, so you can bypass many of Renault’s own infotainment features and use apps on your phone through the screen.
Both cars make good use of softtouch plastics throughout their interiors and build quality is good for their class and price points. Sure, both cars have some cheaperfeeling areas, but they’re generally in places you rarely touch.
SPACE AND PRACTICALITY
Front space, rear space, seating flexibility, boot
The Fiesta is relatively spacious for a small car, especially for the two up front. You can fit two passengers in the back – or three for short hops – although a taller rear seat passenger sitting behind a tall driver is a bit of a squeeze. While our test car had three doors, a more practical five-door bodystyle is also available.
The fact that the Mégane is one size bigger than the Fiesta is most noticeable in its wider rear bench, which is better suited to carrying three adults side by side. There’s little to split the two for rear leg and head room, though.
While the Mégane’s boot is bigger than the Fiesta’s, at 434 litres vs 292, it doesn’t have a greater appetite for carry-on suitcases; both cars can hold five.
BUYING AND OWNING
Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
Our online New Car Buying service can reduce the purchase price of the Fiesta ST-3 from £24,580 to £23,427. The Mégane Trophy comes in slightly higher as a used buy, at around £26,000 for a 2019 or 2020 example with less than 15,000 miles on the clock. However, that’s still a big saving on the £38,035 it costs when new.
When it comes to fuel economy, the Fiesta and its three-cylinder engine come out on top. It averaged 41.1mpg during testing; the Mégane, with its bigger fourcylinder engine, managed 32mpg. Because both are petrol cars first registered after April 2017, road tax costs £155 per year.
Both cars are well equipped, with cruise control, climate control, keyless entry and start, and automatic wipers and headlights. The Mégane adds a few more toys, including those front parking sensors.
The Fiesta will be covered by Ford’s three-year, 36,000-mile warranty. However, even at a year or two old, the Mégane can at least match or even beat that, because it comes with a five-year, 100,000mile warranty from new.
While the ST didn’t feature in our most recent reliability survey, the standard Fiesta did and came 17th among 21 models in the small car category. The Mégane didn’t feature in any capacity, but Renault as a brand ranked 30th out of 31 manufacturers. Ford did somewhat better, coming 18th.
‘Both of these cars combine driver appeal with everyday practicality’