Even when you look back to as far as 2004 when French carmaker Renault launched its first-generation Megane RS in 2004, you will still rank it among some of the best performance-bent sports cars we have around. Truth it, besides remaining unbeatably distinctive, it brought around plenty of new levels of dynamics that hadn’t been experienced hitherto in the segment. It was a proper race-bred chassis with a tonne of character and a huge ability to boot.
With time, and as good wine does, the Renault Megane RS became even better. When the next-generation arrived in 2010, it came with even more power, admirable levels of road holding and outright performance.
It was so far ahead of the game at the time that it became the first of the new ‘super hatch’ segment we have today. That group now includes rivals like the Honda Type R, Hyundai i30 N, Ford Focus RS, Volkswagen Golf R and even the Peugeot 308 GTi, all vying for top billing.
And now, having read the signs of the times and realized that there would be no room for slumber, Renault has come out with guns blazing ready to face and beat down the competition with its latest edition of the Megane RS. It has produced, on the overall, one great revolutionary machine that is heavily juiced up with too much new tech.
Among changes that Renault has effected is the downsizing of the engine to a more formidable 1.8-liter direct-injection turbo-four. With this, the Meganne R.S produces 205kW and peak torque of 390Nm from 2400 to 4800rpm. It is touted as the most powerful 1.8-liter motor on the market and will go from 0-100km/h in 5.8 seconds.
One of the greatest elements of the Meganne is its comparatively easy handling. Whether you want to press the pedal a little harder or browse through the screen, the response is quick and impressive. With this trend, it will take some time for competitors to beat the Meganne.
