Guilherme Marques
This is not the original piece I wrote on the new Mégane RS. I should have submitted that one last Friday but here I am, on Sunday night, rewriting it. The reason? Simple, I didn’t like the first piece. The reason for that? Even simpler, I didn’t think it fully disclosed how good this car is, or how much I love it.
So, let me try to pass the correct message this time. First, by saying that during the six days I ran the Mégane RS, I also had in my garage a press car from BMW, in the form of the mighty M6 Cabrio.
That means 560 horse power and a price tag of €163,000. But you know what? Given the choice, I would take the €38,000 Renault any day of the week.
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The M6 is a statement of automotive technology, a real tour de force from the Bavarian make, and although I cannot but recognise its technical greatness, it leaves me feeling a bit cold. On the other hand, the Mégane RS makes me want to keep driving long after I am done with the M6.
It is a simple recipe for a sports car, or hot hatch in petrolhead speak: a two litre turbo engine, 265 horse power channelled through a six speed manual gearbox, with the help of a limited slip differential at the front axle, excellent brakes and an appealing exhaust note. The secret? The Cup chassis option – it is just sublime.
Renault offers two chassis options – Sport or Cup – with the latter adding stiffer springs and dampers, 18-inch wheels and the all-important diff.
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On the road, the RS Renault combines a mix of speed and fun few cars can master, no matter their power output or price tag.
To unleash the full 265 horse power, you need to press the sport button, which also makes the ESC more permissive. Keep it pressed and you disconnect the electronics altogether, leaving just your driver skills to play with arguably the best front-wheel drive car in the world.
The mechanical limited-slip differential is still working though, and you start to realise that this car is just that – mechanical, with superb cornering forces and an otherworldly capability of getting you out of corners at amazing speeds.
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This particular RS is number 8 of a limited edition series called Red Bull Racing RB7, which includes some special elements, like red brake callipers, Sirius yellow front blade and rear diffuser, Recaro seats and the F1 team official logo on the sides.
The Mégane RS holds the record for the fastest lap around the Nurburgring Circuit – the measure by which most cars are judged – for a front-wheel drive car, with a time of 8 minutes and 8 seconds. Want a little perspective? Renault’s biggest rival, the Ford Focus RS, takes 8:23 and the 457 horse power Mercedes C63 AMG crosses the line in 8:13.
So here it is. Almost 500 words to say this: I love the Mégane RS. It is subjectively and objectively very, very good. For the price, I cannot think of a better car.
