09 Mar 04
Meet the Megane Renaultsport 225, now officially the hottest Renault Megane on sale. With 225bhp on offer from its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, the resulting headline figures are 0-62mph in just 6.5 seconds and a top speed a shade under 150mph. By any measure you care to apply, this is a very quick car.
It looks the part, too. Viewed from the front, the Megane 225 sports an almost comically large air intake below the bumper. Another unique touch is the foglights set down low on either side of the intake. I'm not sure about these - they make the car's face look like some sort of bottom-feeding crustacean. Moving around to the side, though, there's no doubt that those fat, 18-inch wheels do a great job of filling wheel arches. At the back, you get quite purposeful-looking dual exhausts mounted in the middle of the bumper. And on top of the tailgate, a very discreet spoiler that is said to increase stability at high speed.
To make the Megane 225 more of an enthusiast's car to drive, Renault has done much more than just sticking in a hot engine and tarting up the wheels. The rear suspension, for example, has been stiffened up to reduce body roll. At the front, the suspension has been completely reworked to improve traction and reduce torque steer, the bugbear of many powerful front-drive cars. In addition, the brakes are bigger and the steering has been recalibrated to be more responsive.
The result is a car that really does inspire confidence at high speeds on challenging roads. The steering, while feeling a little more numb than the best, has terrific precision for placing the car accurately through bends. Nothing much upsets the composure of the car, either. You pay for that with a ride quality that suffers over rough and broken tarmac. That said, it's better than we'd have guessed over most motorway and A-road surfaces.
