Renault doesn’t have a massive market share when it comes to its passenger line, but every once and a while the French brand with the quirky name delivers a good RS kicker of a car. Meet the Megane.
I’ve always liked the Megane; I especially liked it back in the early 2000s when the car bearing the badge had a ‘bustle’ – hey, I like big butts and I cannot lie.
The first time we saw a Megane, we saw a hatchback with a bum that rivalled J’Lo’s. And the sedan – well, seeing it from the back, you knew you’d been mooned.
Originally, the Megane had a cool aircraft-style handbrake that made you feel like Top Gun, or at least a taller version of Mr Cruise in his F14 jet ‘hitting the brakes and he’ll fly right past us’ mode.
But I digress. Today’s Megane RS looks nothing like the 2000 street model. Somewhat ironically, the RS end of the 2021 Megane has been slimmed down extensively.
You could expect this after a double decade’s worth of performance workouts, although to be fair, we did see the first incarnation of the performance Megane RS back in 2019.
Back then, the launch was on a racetrack which is the natural hunting preserve of the RS. This was followed up with a road drive which is umm, also the natural hunting preserve of the RS.
How so? The RS falls into that lovely little area where road and track driving come together in one car by virtue of sophisticated design, sports technology and smart pricing.
Renault NZ has decided there is a niche for Jekyll and Hyde cars like the RS in our market and red-blooded drivers will likely agree.
The RS is a tarmac weapon, and while that sounds high in praise – it is – there are some inherent cautions. The first being the tarmac bit.
On smooth asphalt, the Renault is a wundercar. It has all the performance characteristics promised by the RS and offers a refined ride.
On chip seal, yeah, you want to be going fast because at regular road speeds, the Megane tends to forget its road manners and it gets more than a little jiggly with it.
And you do have to be prepared for torque steer. To get the best out of the Megane’s ‘aural symphony’ – and it DOES sound good – you do need to use that right foot.
If you do so from a standing start, that 1.8-litre turbo is going to send a lot of twist to the front wheels and things start getting a little busy in that well upholstered / side bolstered sports seat.
In addition to the anticipated safety features like eight airbags, electronic stability control, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, a vertical 9.3” touchscreen with navigation, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the RS Megane has some pretty trick kit:
First up is the 4CONTROL 4-wheel steering system, the RS Drive Activation button, Renault Multi Sense 5 drive mode system (which includes Race mode) and the launch control standing start system.
Add to this the limited slip differential and sport chassis along with the advanced downshift system this last being a significant piece of Renault-tech.
There is a manual or an auto available for the RS, with the largest uptake likely to be the auto six speed.
Travelling the nine to five grind makes a self-shifter more appealing and there is little difference in terms of endgame performance between the manual and the auto in any case.
The advanced downshifting system effectively double de-clutches the auto (yeah, that sounds weird) on downshifts which no doubt, protects it during higher rev shifts and sounds seriously cool to boot.
Specifications:
BODY TYPE 4 door performance hatch
DRIVE Front wheel/ 6 speed auto
ENGINE TYPE 4-cylinder, direct turbo petrol
ENGINE CAPACITY 1748cc
MAX POWER 221kW
MAX TORQUE 420Nm
L/100KM (COMBINED) 8.0
CO2 EMISSIONS 182 g/km
LOAD CAPACITY 434 – 1247 litres
ANCAP RATING 5 Star (2019 model)
PRICE $68,990
