Renault Megane RS 275 Review

Renault Megane RS 275 Cup Premium
Road Test

If you’re after the ultimate front-drive performance experience, there’s been little to touch the current-style Renault Megane RS since its 2010 local launch. Refined with time, the $53,000 (plus on-road costs) RS 275 Cup Premium boasts more power than its 265 siblings, as well as being lighter. Premium also hints at its impressive equipment specification. Forget front-drive performance… the RS 275 Cup Premium is an overall performance hero capable of embarrassing several mid-engine or all-wheel drive alternatives.

“But it’s front-wheel drive.”

The amount of times I’ve heard ‘enthusiast’ acquaintances attempt to dismiss the Renault Megane RS as inferior due to its drivetrain layout has become tiresome.

The reality: It’s one of the best driver’s cars on the market today, completely capable of playing daily driver on weekdays before hitting track or tarmac rally stage on the weekend.

Renault hit the magic Megane mark when the last-generation body was refined when a mechanical limited-slip differential was mated to the stiffer Cup chassis and independent steering axis front suspension layout. Suddenly, the Megane would dig in and drive through corners, making the most of its torquey 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot.

Moving to the current third-generation styling that was locally launched in 2010 saw further refinement of the mechanicals in the form of the RS 250, before the RS 265 that we’ve campaigned at Targa Tasmania on a couple of occasions, with giant-killing results.

With a series of final tweaks before the fourth-gen Megane arrives, we now have the RS 275, the number representing the engine’s power output in PS.

Translated to the local currency, the Megane RS 275 Cup Premium makes 201kW/360Nm, up 6kW over the still-available 265 but with the same torque output.

Perhaps more importantly the $53,000 (plus ORCs) Cup Premium cops all the upgrades from last year’s 275 Trophy limited edition, including the titanium (and very lightweight, saving 4kg) Akrapovic exhaust and its carbon-fibre outlet.

Other details include aluminium lower wishbones, lightweight 19-inch Speedline Turini alloys shod in 235/40-series Bridgestone Potenza RE050A rubber (these have a strong Megane RS history, being responsible for the 8:08 Nurburgring lap time that spawned a limited-edition RS 265 a few years back), shiny Brembo four-piston front brakes and platinum grey front blade to further distinguish the Premium’s top-spec status.

Inside the upgrades continue, with lightweight, tactile alcantara trim to the steering wheel, Recaro seats and gearshift boot and a Zamac alloy gear knob.

All up the 275 Cup Premium weighs 1376kg compared to the 1411kg of the 265 equivalent. So it’s more powerful and lighter: The best of both worlds.

Despite the diet there’s still a strong array of standard equipment including a 7.0-inch touchscreen with sat-nav and a reversing camera, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, rear parking sensors, idle-stop function, keyless entry and go and Renault Sport’s RS Monitor data display capability.

In an experience not entirely new with Renault product, the key card is sporadic in its operation. Sometimes the door unlatches with ease, other times it’s a fumbling process to extract the card from your pocket.

Once you’ve dropped yourself over the Recaro’s hefty side bolstering (and missed its manual seat adjuster with your leg) you’re greeted with a high-set driving position as you reach out for that gorgeously-trimmed alcantara steering wheel, which tilts away from the driver at quite an angle.

From this point on, there’s going to be little in the way of niggle, so I’ll just tick off some negatives before moving to the good stuff.

As is well documented, you have to disengage the awkwardly-positioned (on the centre console) cruise control to engage sport mode, the infotainment ‘joystick’ remains flimsy in its operation and the clutch pedal on this example feels a little sticky, though seems to smooth out once the car has warmed through. It’s not the first time I’ve experienced a new Megane with this trait, though a quick swap into a friend’s 20,000km RS 265 reveals a lovely weighting and bite once run-in.

The fixed-back seats force a certain focused posture; indeed, the whole car forces a focus upon its driver.

Although sounding flatulent at times (it is known as the F4Rt, after all) there can be no doubting the Megane RS 275’s turbocharged power delivery, especially when you’ve moved up from normal to sport mode and you gain a more aggressive throttle map. It comes on thick and strong from low revs and, though its best work is done before the upshift beep it doesn’t mind revving through to redline, either.

The exhaust does provide a louder soundtrack, but it’s when you back off the throttle that the crackles and pops come to the fore, egging you to drive the Megane RS harder and harder… as if you need any encouragement.

The Renault’s electric steering is sharp and responsive, the red-stripe alcantara wheel allowing you to size-up the next apex with accuracy and feel. There’s weight to lean against and, while you can feel the Megane is driven through its front wheels, that’s not really a hindrance.

Instead, you can jump on the brakes late and hard, heel-and-toe downshift through the slightly rubbery gearshift, use the weight transfer to turn-in, then return the right foot to the throttle to drive through and out of the corner with more traction and accuracy than you may think possible. Indeed, it takes a mental adjustment to realise this amid a bevy of torque-steering high-powered front-drivers past.

Firm suspension creates a ride that could be described kindly as firm (and there’s a bit of tyre and road noise transmitting through the cabin), but beneath that occasional bumpy jolt you realise the suspension’s mastery of bodily movements. It can even cope with consecutive mid-corner bumps with more composure than something like an STI.

So the Megane remains mightily impressive dynamically, but it’s the repeatability it provides that sets it apart. Where something like a Golf GTI can wilt under similar pressure the Megane will run hard all day, with brakes being the first to show signs of wear through a progressively longer pedal. Until then, they perform well, the pedal providing strong feedback.

Driven as intended, you can only dream about the claimed 7.5L/100km, with figures in the 11-13L/100km range seen during our time with the car. Its idle-stop system may help that in traffic, but the slight delay to it redeploying power once the lights go green had me turning it off soon into the loan.

Beyond the unrivalled driving experience Renault offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty with included roadside assist. Capped-price servicing for the first three visits is available, priced at $299, with 12 month/10,000km intervals.

As a dynamic package that can work hard all day and then drive home, I’ll wager that the only other machine to come close also wears an RS badge… but costs a heck of a lot more.

2016 Renault Sport Megane RS 275 Cup Premium pricing and specifications:
Price: $53,000 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 201kW/360Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 7.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 174g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP)