Developing a first class hot hatch is arguably one of the hardest tasks in the car industry; not only does it have to be a riot to drive and look special, it needs to comfortably carry a family and their luggage too. The Renault Megane R.S. hits that brief, if perhaps not quite nailing it as well as some rivals. It’s utterly composed at speed and incredibly nimble but it feels like a car that has more to give; it lacks that last degree of aggression and engagement that the Honda Civic Type R delivers with aplomb.
Visually, the R.S. also cuts a striking shape on the road; it’s squat stance emphasised by bulging arches housing beautiful 19-inch alloy wheels. In our eyes it sits squarely between the GTI and Type R in terms of aesthetics, striking a perfect balance between aggression and subtlety.
The cabin is a similar story; there are enough sporty Renault Sport flourishes, such as the Alcantara steering wheel and deep bucket seats, to give it a sense of occasion. Of course it’s not perfect, the fake carbon fibre effect fabric on the doors look like an aftermarket part and some of plastics on the dash and centre console feel rather cheap.
[gallery:14]
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
The infotainment system – plucked from the standard Megane – still isn’t the easiest to navigate and the lack of haptic feedback from the screen often leaves you wondering if you selected the correct menu. There are also a lot of menus and sub-menus, meaning it’s easy to get lost in the system if you’re trying to use it while driving.
In Comfort or Normal mode you’d be hard pressed to tell the different between a standard Renault Megane and the R.S in terms of refinement. The hot hatch is quiet, smooth and incredibly compliant, even over rutted surfaces.
As the road tightens and becomes faster toggling through Sport and Race modes sees everything become a little more aggressive. The engine note is synthetically enhanced by the cabin’s speakers, which sounds sub-optimal but is executed well and proves convincing, while crackles and bangs erupt from the exhaust when shifting down through the gears. For a four-cylinder turbo the Renault Megane R.S. sounds fantastic.
The six-speed dual-clutch auto reacts immediately to your every command; the box is able to jump gears on the way down through the ratios if you pull and hold the left paddle in Sport or Race mode. It’s a shame the paddles don’t operate with a satisfying thud; instead the action feels a bit soft and mushy.
The steering isn’t brimming with feel but its accurate and combined with the Megane’s four-wheel steering means this hot hatch has gymnast levels of agility. Below 62mph in Race mode the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction the fronts to boost precision on the entry to corners; you can feel the rear end begin to swing round and the nose tuck tighter into a bend as you apply more lock.
[gallery:2]
Initially you find yourself recalibrating the amount of steering angle you need to apply because the Megane R.S. turns in so quickly it almost catches you off guard. Then, when you get on the throttle, because the Sport chassis only gets torque vectoring rather than a proper mechanical limited slip differential, you can feel the R.S. begin to scrabble away at the tarmac, hunting for grip. It’s a sign you’re being over enthusiastic with the right pedal.
Where the hot Megane really excels is its ability to cover bumpy and rutted ground at speed with real composure. The hydraulic compression stops fitted to all shock absorbers are the kind you’ll find on rally cars; it means the R.S. is able to absorb big compressions and road undulations without any fuss. The superb body control gives you huge confidence to hustle the car over poor roads at higher speeds.
Like before there are two chassis setups available on the Renault Megane R.S. - Sport and Cup. You can spec either with a manual or automatic gearbox. The Sport chassis is the standard setup and kits the R.S. out with redesigned hydraulic compression stop shock absorbers and torque vectoring on the front axle to tame understeer. Opt for the Cup chassis, which will set you back around £1,500 to £2,000, and Renault throws in a mechanical limited slip differential and 10 per cent stiffer dampers.
Engines
The Renault Megane R.S. uses a 1.8-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that generates its 276bhp at 6,000rpm. Maximum torque of 390Nm is delivered to the front wheels at 4,800rpm and that’s enough to get the car from 0-62mph in 5.28s before it advances on to a 158mph top speed.
At the end of the year Renault will launch a more potent Trophy version of the Megane R.S., which promises 296bhp and 400Nm of torque from the same 1.8-litre turbo powerplant.
A raft of safety kit such as cruise control, blind spot monitoring and lane keeping assist ensure the Megane R.S. will be safe on the road but from a owner satisfaction perspective, Renault has been less than impressive in the past.
In the 2018 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey the French brand finished 24th out of 26 car firms. The biggest gripe with Renault customers was surrounding fit and finish with their vehicles.
Warranty
Every Renault Megane is covered by Renault’s three-year/60,000 mile warranty. The French firm also throws in UK roadside assistance as part of that package.
Servicing
Renault advises that, as a specialist performance vehicle, the Megane R.S. is serviced annually, to ensure that it operates correctly. Being a performance car, you can expect to see more degradation to brakes and tyres compared to regular models and that replacements will be more expensive.
The Megane R.S. is now only available as a five-door model and the transition from standard hatchback to hot hatch hasn’t robbed the car of any of its practicality. So if you’re a keen driver with a family to transport around, the Renault Megane R.S. isn’t really much less suitable than a standard Megane model.
Legroom, headroom
Like the standard Megane, space inside is pretty good. There’s decent headroom for those in the back but the deep buckets seats steal a fair bit of knee room and space in the foot well so although you have the ability to sit three people across the back bench (unlike in the Honda Civic Type R, which only has two rear seats) you probably wouldn’t want to spend too much time back there.
Boot
The boot is unchanged from that of the standard hatchback at 384 litres, which is more than you’ll find in a Golf GTI. If you drop the rear bench the amount of space available increases to 1,247 litres.
[gallery:24]
The Megane R.S. is one of the cheaper hot hatches on the market to buy and run. The French firm says the Megane’s 1.8-litre engine will return over 40mpg on average, however, on test we have recorded a figure just below 30mpg – which isn’t bad for a 279bhp performance car. If you drive up to 12,000 miles per year it equates to around £2,377 per year in fuel alone.
[gallery:7]
CO2 emissions of 161g/km mean annual road tax will cost £140. For company car drivers the RS attracts a Benefit In Kind rating of 33 per cent, meaning the 20 and 40 per cent tax payer will have to pay out £1,876 and £3,752 annually respectively.
Insurance groups
As the Megane R.S. uses a smaller engine and is less powerful than some of its rivals, it sits in insurance group 35, which is between the Civic Type R in group 40 and the Golf GTI in group 33.
Depreciation
Over a three-year period and 36,000 miles the Megane RS will retain 41.4 per cent of its value. That means a top spec model with the Cup chassis will be worth around £12,000 when it comes to second hand value. It loses £16,994 of its value over that period.
from Featured Articles https://ift.tt/2MHhIEU
No comments:
Post a Comment