Honest Review : Megane RS Trophy
Honest Review of the Renault Megane RS Trophy
I've been putting this off for sometime and I have no idea why, I dislike french cars, I'm not afraid to say that and there are many other people who dislike french cars mainly because of the whole 'reliability' issues they came with during the naughties..
Now...if you are like me and are not a French Hot hatch fan, do me a favour, go Drive a Megane RS and your whole world will change, your views on the French Hot Hatches will be High, VERY HIGH.
The amount of hype surrounding these cars is insane, yes the Civic Type R might be the King of the ring when it comes to Front wheel drive, but I honestly believe that the Megane RS is the true Front wheel drive king, it might not be as fast as the Civic but they're is a lot more hype with these than with Honda's new Civic and the Civic is a bloody brilliant car!
Let's start with how the Megane looks, oversized front wings, chunky rear arches and a chunky butt, what's not to like? It's not over the top, but its not like an Audi S model when you question if its an S6 from a distance, when you see a Megane RS you know it's an RS from a mile away they have a big road stance and anything with a centre exit exhaust is basically a racecar right?
Renault offered the Megane with 2 chassis options, a Cup chassis and a Non Cup chassis, I'm not 100% on all of the differences but I know the most important difference, Limited Slip Differential, that is a mega thing when it comes to a FWD pushing 250BHP+, visually i think the only way to tell the difference are the Brembo Brakes are painted red on the cup chassis and silver on the non cup chassis but obviously this is something that can be painted, I believe the Rev gauge may be yellow on a cup chassis too? I might be wrong on that one, without googling it I wouldn't know but I'll leave that down to you if your interested in this.
The Trophy is a whole different ball game, limited numbers, adjustable suspension, a different exhaust system, Recaro bucket seats and they remove the satnav to save weight along with many other parts to help keep weight down, I'm not fully clued up on these cars and I probably should read up more on them when it comes to doing these reviews, but my reviews are more about how the car makes me feel, how it drives, how it looks, not numbers..not figures not facts, everybody is different, people like different cars, different shoes, different clothes, not one person is the same, if you are a person driven my facts and figures that's all good, but how do things make you feel? That's whats important.
Megane RS Trophy
I usually like to use my own photos for these reviews as much as I can but to be honest, I took 2 photos of the Megane when I drove it so Google is my best mate for this Review!
I went to a Dealership in Wakefield while I was over at my friends in Barnesly to Test drive this Megane, I think it was called Synter Select Wakefield, it was at the back of the Guy Salmon Land Rover dealer but they was both interlinked, very nice place with a nice selection of car's and the salesman we're spot on!
Anyway I had been wanting to try one of these for a while and when I pulled up and saw it I thought ohh thats nice! Got the keys started her up had a look around it while the salesman cracked on with doing his job and allowed us to roam at our leisure, visually the Megane's are very pretty, I sat in the Drivers seat and my first thought was how nice to Recaro's are which are an optional extra for the Non Trophy models but everything else felt a bit plasticky, there wasn't much to the interior to be fair, it didn't stand out at me and amaze me but this is a Hot Hatch made for Drivers, if you want a fancy interior buy a German Hot Hatch its that simple.
Notice the Yellow Rev gauge, I think Non Cup chassis's have a white gauge
The interior may not very flattering but its not that hideous the main thing for these cars are the Controls, Steering input, Pedal positioning & feel, Gear Shifter again positioning and input feel and let me tell you, Renault needs a pat on the back for this, they are perfect, wether the Recaro Seats help with this I'm not sure but I was happy with my Driving position there isn't many car's I sit in and think this is perfect so well done Renault!
Time for the interesting part, what is the Renault Megane RS Trophy like to drive? I asked the Salesman if it was possible for a test drive even though I just turned up at the showroom without warning and he was nothing but helpful, he got us sat down in the Land Rover Dealership where we had free drinks and chocolates at our disposal while he unblocked the car off the forecourt and put some fuel in it for me, so well done to the helpful salesman! Doesn't usually happen like that!
So I hopped in the car, got my seat adjusted to where I felt comfortable and off we went, the first part of the test drive was about 5 minutes of normal town driving and the car was spot on, a bit stiff but that's what you expect from a hot hatch. Finally we arrived at some British Back roads, it was a typical British day where it had rained the night before so the roads were still damp and greasy so I was pretty cautious as to how much I'd be able to push the car but I didn't expect it to perform how it did.
These back roads I had never seen before, never driven on before and in a car I had never driven before, there's other traffic on the road, blind corners, tight bends and big hills everywhere all this while avoiding the giant craters we call potholes. Cheers Government. I opened the Megane up to be shocked at how well the Limited slip differential put the power through the wheels and onto the road, after driving a Mazda 3 MPS with similar power I was expecting to be clinging onto the wheel for dear life having to deal with the torque steer, but that was minimal in the Megane, obviously with any front wheel drive car with a bit of power it was there but it wasn't enough to surprise you.
I was booting it down a straight but bumpy backroad and the salesman says to me 'A guy test driving a GTR hit 120 down here the other day' now, if that isn't asking me for a challenge then I don't know what is, sadly I only reached around 110, which for a Megane RS compared to a Nissan GTR is a very good effort if you ask me! We went to Mexico for the test drive. The Megane was fantastic, the car dragged you round the corners without putting up a fight I was very surprised, it didn't feel like the fastest thing in the world as the power delivery is very linear and smooth but once you looked down at the speedo you are quickly doing speeds that would get you into a lot of trouble, but the car was capable, it felt capable, it didn't feel at any point that it couldn't handle what I was going to throw at it and that is what to me, shows the capability of a car, if you can drive it to your best ability, obviously I tamed my driving down as it wasn't my car, but for it to not slip, slide, squirm or get sketchy at any point, after checking what tyres the car was on when we got back and they was 4 different budgets, shows that the car itself is capable of a lot more in the hands of the right Driver, there is only so much you can do on a public road.
Once I got a bit of seat time and had a small feeling of the car I felt a bit more confident to give it some more beans through corners, the car was so planted, it didn't get upset from the bumps and camber changes on the road it just kept gripping! Steering response and feel was spot on, I knew at every moment exactly where my wheels were pointing, gear changes were smooth but notchy enough to let you know your selection had been made. Having the yellow centre mark on the top of the steering wheel makes it just that bit more Racecar I don't think there is any benefit from it, maybe slightly subconscious your brain read's it as a bit of a guide to where your going, I'm sure there is a purpose for it. Once you get driving down the road you forget about the plastic like interior, the fake carbon dash trims and the cheap centre console because it is such an experience to drive fast, its another one of those cars that fill you with confidence and talks to you enough to let you know if the car is going to get upset with your inputs, the only thing I didn't find breath taking were the Brembo brakes, but I've since spoken to a friend who owned a Megane only last year and he told me they we're the best brakes he's ever had on a car so maybe these ones didn't have much life left in them? Pedal positioning though is fantastic! I haven't really found many french cars to have friendly pedal positions, they are usually all over the shop, to close, to far apart, to small, brake and clutch a lot higher than the accelerator but the Megane, was spot on, it made heal and toe-ing into corners perfect, no struggle what so ever and at the same time this is a car you could drive across country in, drive to the shop or chuck it round a racetrack and drive home afterwards, it honestly is a fantastic car, I think that is why I've put off this review, sounds weird but writing it and thinking more about it makes me want to get myself one, which is why I test drove the car originally, to see how it was! I've set my goal though, Summer 2019 I will have a Megane RS with a bit of luck and determination!
Obviously my Review is of a Megane RS Trophy and I am yet to drive a Megane RS250 non Trophy, but I am going to look into this, if anyone has one and wants to let me have a feel of it, give me a shout!
All in all I was very impressed with the Megane which coming from a mad JDM fan is a very brave thing to say, I've learnt a few things being in the car community, one thing is you can never judge a car by the owner, the brand, the reviews and you can only ever truly judge something once you have given it the opportunity.
STOP YOUR BRAND SNOBERY!
Thanks for Reading, if you have any constructive criticism or there is anything else you would like to know about the Megane give me a shout and I'll do my best.
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Comments (15)
Sounds like you really enjoyed it! I used to have a Renault Scenic and for what it was, it was a nice drive. I used to REALLY want a CLio V6, but given the electrical problems I had with my Renault whilst it was still fairly new, I'm going to avoid French cars for now. A pity, as they CAN make nice cars, just not reliable ones. :(
Nice to see you back Adam! This sounds absolutely incredible, Renault broke the mould when they made the Trophy!
Thank you!
Sadly, I cannot drive any French Hot Hatch becuase I live in America. Found your tribe through the one post for helping get other tribes on their feet. Good luck. I shall follow you.
The only thing i would say is cars are getting to big this goes for all brands though. So not really relivent
Can’t disagree at all but, I think this year of Megane is around the right size? It’s not excessively big but it’s not too small either, I’d say the Clio’s of the same year would be to small, but I see your point of view totally!
I look at cars from the 80s on. They keep getting bigger and bigger. There are a few companies going back to the small idea again. I hope more do it
Great artical i should say.
Fully agree to your review! Went on to buy an m235i and ended up with a megane rs cup chassis. The first ride impressed me that much tho change my mind about these cars.
Glad we share the same opinion man! I was blown away by the Megane, i need to try a normal RS250 to see if that still impresses me, although I believe it will!