Review Stig Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 Renaultsport Megane 250 Cup review. Hello. I’m back from an intensive course of driving lessons on a Sheffield council estate with Grimsby’s finest to bring you a review of some French hatchback. ‘scuse the smell of Haddock. Anything with ‘sport’ in the title makes me think of budget hatchbacks with a rash of stickers, spoilers and foglights left permanently switched on regardless of the weather, and I expected the same of the new Renaultsport Megane 250 Cup. What I didn’t know (or appreciate) is that the Renaultsport models are all built in Dieppe, away from their regular humdrum stuff, with a considerable amount of genuinely unique Engineering input. We’ll come to the engine shortly, but the key thing that makes these Renaults so special is the chassis and suspension. The Megane 250 Cup has something very similar to the Ford Revo-knuckle, allowing big power to the front wheels without corrupting the steering or balance, plus a slippy diff (a real one, the non cup version gets an ‘electronic’ diff instead). The Megane 250 Cup offers various performance maps available on one of the stalks on the steering column and 250 horses to play with. So, disclaimer signed, skidlid on, belted up, out onto the track... The tyres took some time to warm up, so initial impressions were similar to my previous experiences of quick Renaults (Megane 225 and Clio 182), namely skittish, bouncy and understeery. However, as the tyres warmed up and I pressed on, I was increasingly impressed by the way the Megane put the 250 BHP down through the corners. It was a pleasantly strange sensation, being pulled round the corners, making me think of a husky sled with all the traction with the dogs at the front and the rear slipping round behind regardless of angle. I disabled the ESP and brutally hoofed it around looking for a weakness, and despite a greasy surface, the Megane just would not let go. At all. In fact, the best I managed was some high speed lift-off understeer and a hint of squirming from the rear under very heavy braking followed by a black flag and some rather sweary suggestions regarding my technique. The 6 speed manual box (none of your dual clutch nonsense here) was slick and precise, the brakes didn’t fade, and the thing even sounded good for a regular turbo’d 4 pot. I found that changing the performance setting to ‘extreme’ made no discernable difference, you still get the same feeling of bags of torque, and a real rush of speed. The ride was firm but nicely pliant although I didn’t get to try it on our potholed b-roads, the killer of most track-focussed stuff. The power delivery was smooth and very quick across the range with no lag with a comedy gearstick icon flashing on the dash accompanied by a ping, nagging me to change up, as if the rev limiter trying to give me whiplash wasn’t a firm enough reminder that I wasn’t zipping through the gears quickly enough. The Megane felt much quicker than the claimed 0-60 in 6.1 seconds but I didn’t get to try it flat out. Enjoying myself far more than I expected, and therefore suspicious that Renault had spiked my coffee, I pulled in to look at the car in detail... The interior is a huge improvement over the last Megane, decent quality plastics and trim, real metal in places and despite my utter beasting of the car, nothing fell off all day. The Coloured dials are a bit fancy-pants, but not offensive. The seats were spot on, some anorak who speaks ‘ICE’ told me the stereo is good too, although I couldn’t fathom the many stalks and switches to find out for myself. There is, buried under god knows how many key presses and stalk twiddles, a G-Force meter which is a pointless gimmick in an otherwise grown-up car. There are a few practical gripes – the rear seats are a gloomy place to be, the rear hatch is pretty small and the styling... well, styling is a very personal thing, so take a look and make your own opinions. Personally I dislike fake exhausts, fake vents and fussy wheels, and its glossy black gob will look awful when stonechipped. On the whole, and in any colour other than the Renault corporate pus yellow, it looks pretty cool though, dontcha think ? So, will dyed in the wool kraut-fans buy one ? Only if/when Renault demonstrates the long-term reliability of this model I would say. Put your preconceptions on the shelf (as I did, for a change) and try one. I will say that the Megane 250 Cup gives such a rewarding drive that it doesn’t need the electronic trinketry, ‘variable maps’ and G-force displays to sell them, and they’re invariably the first things to go wrong anyway. Would I recommend one over the Golf Gti ? Well yes, without considering reliability and residuals, I certainly would at £22k, but for an equally rewarding drive, I’d take a long hard look at the Clio 197 Cup* first. I really can’t believe I’ve just typed that.... The specs are on the Renault website here if you're interested. Must go, there’s a diesel Swift outside with L plates on, waiting to show me how to reverse round corners. I hope he doesn’t ‘accidently’ touch my thigh again. *More on that another time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now