The new Renault Megane Renaultsport 250 is the best all-rounder yet from the French manufacturer. While its rival the Ford Focus RS is a track car for the road, the Megane is a road car for the track.

There are two versions available, the Renault Megane Renaultsport, and following a similar path to previous Renaultsport models, a Cup version; and it’s the latter we put to the test on the winding roads around Malaga, Spain.

The two cars are fundamentally the same: both pack a turbocharged 2-litre engine developing 250bhp through the front wheels which means they’re good for a 6.1 second 0-62mph time and a 156mph maximum, but it’s how they get the power down that splits them.

Despite costing £1,000 less, it’s the Cup model that's the quicker on the bends. That’s thanks to its limited-slip differential, which allows the driver to get on the power sooner through the twisties.

On the road, the Cup reveals itself to be a stormer. Fearsomely quick in a straight line and immense fun in the bends. The Michelin Pilots afford excellent grip and the front end tucks in without a hint of understeer. Stiffer springs means the Renault Megane stays flat while cornering.

Improved steering

There’s a positive feel to the steering, something Renault says is almost entirely revised since the previous Renaultsport version. And Renault has carried over the clever PerfoHub independent steering axis front suspension which significantly reduces torque steer to a point where it never really becomes an issue.

Under braking the Renaultsport is composed and there’s plenty of feel despite being equipped with big 340mm discs and powerful four-pot Brembo callipers.

It’s a similar story with the standard car, although it’s difficult to deliver a definitive verdict, as the rain in Spain today falls mainly in the mountains. What we can deduce is 250 feels a little edgy in the wet and we couldn’t push as hard as we’d like in the conditions. The limited-slip diff in the Cup certainly makes a difference though, and within a few fast corners, we were missing it in the standard car.
 
The standard chassis setup is noticeably softer, but doesn’t detract from the hard edge of the Megane Renaultsport.

Unlike the previous Megane Renaultsport, the 250 Cup is refined – almost too refined – and rides smoothly on the flat road surfaces in Spain. We encountered a stretch of broken tarmac more akin to British roads, and while the ride was firm, it was still comfortable.

The Megane Renaultsport 250 Cup might be pitched as the more uncompromising version, but it’s still well equipped with air-con and electric windows and mirrors appearing on the options list. Those seeking more comfortable thrills should choose the standard 250, which adds electrically operated and heated seats and the like.

Renault offers the Cup chassis as a £1,950 option for the standard car, should drivers want the best of both worlds, although Renault admits the standard car is slightly heavier due to the extra kit.

The Cup model boasts Recaro seats, stiffer springs, dampers and anti-roll bars; sticky Michelin Pilot Sport tyres, grooved brake discs, red callipers and 18-inch alloys.

Better driving position

The Megane Renaultsport 250 certainly looks the part. Available only as a three-door coupe, it comes with two different styles of 18-inch alloys (the Cup comes with Michelins, while the standard chassis features Dunlop Sport Max TT rubber) and the stunning 19s fitted to our test car are a £500 option and come shod with Continental Sport Contact 5 boots.

It has some interesting extended side skirts, a gaping front bumper complete with LED daytime running lights – a first for Renault – and an aerodynamic rear diffuser with a centre-exit exhaust. It’s striking, but not heavy-handed, and in the white and gunmetal grey of our test cars, it cuts quite a dash.

Inside there’s a host of go-faster sporty bits. A yellow rev counter joins optional yellow seatbelts and yellow stitching. The driver sits low in the car, addressing criticisms of a too lofty seating position in the old Megane Renaultsport and it’s easy to get a good seating position although we found it harder to adjust the steering wheel it the perfect position.

Safety is Renault’s strong suit, and the Megane scored the highest rating for a passenger car ever in the EuroNCAP crash test programme. The Renaultsport comes with a three-stage ESP system that can be backed-off for the track.

Hot hatch rivals

Renault says the car rivals the Ford Focus RS, Audi S3 as well as the forthcoming Golf R and Scirocco R. It lacks the hard-edged character of the Ford and the outright grip of the Audi. Think of it more as a halfway house between the Focus ST and RS. Renault isn’t ruling out a more focused Trophy or R model, but it won’t see the light of day for a few years at least.

But what’s not in doubt is its value for money. At £22k for the Cup and £23k for the standard car, it’s a veritable bargain compared with its official rivals. And unlike the Focus, you won’t see one on every street.

The new Megane Renaultsport 250 Cup is a wonderful car which feels most at home on winding lanes. With its tremendous grip, great steering and punchy engine, it’ll certainly give the rivals something to chew on.
 

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