Renault Megane RS

By Martin Pretorius 

Long a favourite of hot-hatch enthusiasts with a taste for real driving involvement, the Megane RS has matured into a civilised, sophisticated all-rounder. It even has 5 doors now. But underneath, there’s still the heart of a properly engaging driver’s machine – you just have to dig a little deeper to find it.

After two generations and a multitude of special editions, there can be absolutely no doubt that the Renault Megane RS has earned its place among the hot hatchback legends. In a class loaded with fun machines with excellent driving dynamics, the Megane RS has always stood out as the keen driver’s first choice.

But the class has moved on somewhat in recent years. The Golf GTI has added layers of polish and user-friendliness to the virtues of strong performance and secure handling, while the Focus ST makes a strong case for itself on value and driver engagement. Meanwhile, the Civic Type-R comes to the battle with all guns blazing, featuring more power than any other front-drive hatchback, and simply stunning handling dynamics to offset its extremely juvenile styling. In the face of such talented opponents, the latest Megane RS has some catching up to do, it would appear...

Megane RS drivetrain

One of the things the RS never lacked was straight-line speed. The old F4RT engine, featuring in all Megane RS cars up till now, had a great reputation for being potent, flexible, and responsive, but it was getting on in years, and making it meet upcoming emissions- and consumption standards would have proven nigh-on impossible, even for the talented folks at Renault Sport.

This is why there’s an all-new 1.8-litre turbo mill doing duty in the third-generation RS – slightly downsized, but featuring a whole bunch of modern technology such as direct injection and variable camshaft timing. It exceeds the old engine’s output figures, but cuts exhaust emissions and uses less fuel. Outputs are very respectable at 205 kW and 390 Nm, while official fuel-consumption claims drop by around 6%.

For the first time in a Megane there’s a 6-speed twin-clutch gearbox (EDC, in Renault-speak) on offer, and unlike the similar unit in the smaller Clio RS, the Megane’s is programmed to be both smooth-shifting and responsive. The EDC transmission is standard equipment in the RS Lux, and at the moment, this gearbox isn’t available with a limited-slip differential. Instead, it makes do with a fairly effective brake-based torque-vectoring system – which thankfully doesn’t tax the upsized brakes too much, unlike many other systems of this type.

Fortunately, there’s another RS on offer as well, named the Cup, and this one uses a 6-speed manual gearbox – which does feature a limited-slip differential. The Cup derivative also uses a sportier (read: stiffer) chassis setup, but has identical engine specifications to the Lux variant.

New Technology

One of the main attractions of the latest Megane is the availability of some pretty high-tech equipment under its skin. Most noteworthy is the presence of an active rear-wheel steering system, such as you’d find in a Mercedes-AMG GTC, which manages to both sharpen the Megane’s handling while improving its stability in extreme cornering situations and at high speeds.

Another highlight is to be found in the shock absorbers, where both RS variants feature a unique two-stage system, which basically translates into two-in-one dampers being fitted to each wheel. This clever piece of tech means that the RS maintains firm body control even over very uneven surfaces, yet retains a high measure of compliance in spite of its very firm springs.

As has become traditional with the Megane RS, the front suspension design and geometry is completely revised from the lesser versions, all in an effort to contain torque steer and maintain steering accuracy in the face of all that power. This combines with an increased track width front and rear, to ensure leech-like road grip and predictable behaviour, even when the driver asks some pretty serious questions from the chassis.

The details set it apart

Cosmetically, the Megane RS will instantly be identified by its aggressive front bumper arrangement, complete with the “chequered flag” motif for the clever “RS Vision” LED driving- and fog lamps in its lower corners. There’s also a contrasting insert which tries to look like a Formula 1 front wing, and strategic application of gloss-black detailing.

Moving towards the rear, all the fenders are fatter to accommodate the wider track, creating room for functional air vents behind the front wheels – dressed up with RS-specific trim pieces, just to make sure that challengers know exactly what they’re dealing with. The rear bumper is similarly unique and has the RS-signature central exhaust outlet taking pride of place in the middle of a functional diffuser. Up top, the tailgate spoiler adds some more downforce and also does its bit to improve high-speed stability.

It’s a similar story inside, where some subtle changes to the cabin trim sets the RS apart from the lesser Meganes. The centrally-mounted touch-screen control system offers all the setup functions you could possibly want in a car of this caliber and can show all manner of performance-related data – which can also be downloaded to a USB stick for analysis or bragging among your friends. The screen can also show various performance data items and lap times.

The deep bucket seats are upholstered in Alcantara and offer excellent support in hard cornering while remaining comfortable in normal use. Nice luxury touches include configurable ambient lighting, as well as a digital instrument cluster which changes its display, depending on which of the five available drive modes are selected (Comfort, Normal, Sport, Race, or “Perso”). That last drive mode allows the driver to mix and match chassis-, engine-, and stability control settings for a personalized setup.

The tech makes you go faster

The cars available to drive during the launch event were all of Lux specification, meaning that the jury is still out about the merits of the harder-core Cup derivative. Even so, a day spent haring around Port Elizabeth’s Aldo Scribante race track proved the new Megane RS to be an extremely accomplished hot hatch, even in the “softer” Lux configuration.

For starters, the downsized engine packs a mean punch, with a free-revving character and a wide power band. The EDC transmission makes an agreeable companion for the new engine and fired off snappy gear changes on track as readily as it slurred through its ratios while driving in traffic on the way to the airport after our track session. Performance is as strong as you’d expect with such staunch output figures, with the 0-100 km/h sprint quoted as taking only 5.8 seconds – no doubt helped along by the launch control system. It even goes “Vrrr-pha!!” under hard acceleration in the manner of that other hot-hatch favourite, so showy types will revel in the attention this will garner.

More importantly, the new Megane RS is a genuinely enjoyable car to hustle along a twisty road (or around a race track). That trick four-wheel steering system (named 4Control) really does help to make the Megane go exactly where the driver points it, and plays a large part in the car’s ability to resist both under- and oversteer. It’s not as if the old Megane RS was exactly useless in these departments, of course – but the new one adds a measure of real-world fluency and predictability its predecessor never could approach – probably due in large part to those clever dampers.

All these attributes combine to make the new Megane RS even more adept on track than its predecessor was, while hugely improving on its ability to cope with almost all road conditions. The brittle ride quality of the old car is just about completely banished, while the handling balance at the grip limits shows very little sign of the old car’s slightly tail-happy antics.

It’s a solid win in the chassis department, although fans of the old car’s hairy-chested bravado may mourn this smoothing-off of the edges. Fortunately, those enthusiasts can take heart in the fact that there will be an even-hotter Megane RS on its way soon: the forthcoming Trophy variant promises to return a large measure of all-out aggression, as well as a helping of extra power.

Smooth and sophisticated... and surprising value

While its sporting credentials may not be quite as immediately apparent as it was in earlier Megane RS models, the new car still oozes driver’s appeal from every welded pore. The raw nature of the older cars is largely absent but, while some RS enthusiasts may miss that uncompromising character, there’s no question that the all-round improvements applied to the new RS have broadened its appeal across the board.

And then you look at their prices: both new Megane RS derivatives carry exactly the same price tag, and it’s one which makes a conspicuously strong value statement. With list prices of R549 900, the new Megane RS (in whichever format) offers stonking performance, brilliant driving dynamics, and comprehensive specification levels at what must be considered a bargain price. Renault projects that they might sell 20 of these every month... but I suspect that, once word gets out, they won’t be able to keep up with demand.