SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Unseen attributes: 2019 Renault Sport Mègane RS LUX EDC

Wallow in the secret

Posted: 6 December 2018

The numbers
Price: R549 900
Engine: 1798 cc, 16-valve, four-cylinder, direct injection turbopetrol
Power: 205 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 390 Nm between 2400 and 4500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 5.8 seconds
Maximum speed: 250 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9.8 l/100 km
Tank: 50 litres
Luggage: 434 – 1247 litres
Standard tyres: 235/40R18
Puncture? Pump kit
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km at 10 000 km intervals   

Be warned. There are two of them. The other one’s called Renault Sport Mègane RS CUP and has marginally different specs. Those include larger wheels, wider and lower-profiled tyres, a mechanical handbrake, manual transmission, a Torsen limited slip differential and stiffer springs and shocks. To identify it from the outside, its front brake calipers are painted red. Both are priced at     R549 900.

The engine is slightly smaller than in 2015 when last we drove one but the new unit claims an added four kilowatts and 30 Newton-metres. It takes two-tenths of a second less time to snarl from standstill to 100 km/h and is zero-point-three seconds quicker over the standing kilometre.

As for appearance, it looks much the same although practically every detail has changed; grille, headlamps, bonnet, wheels, side mirrors, tail lamps, roof spoiler, tail gate, rear diffuser, two more doors and air scoops in the widened fenders. Big ones. That’s just the outside. The interior is different too, with an 8.5” touch-screen control centre and redone vents, instruments, steering wheel, switchgear, gauges and dashboard.

What you can’t see is 4Control four-wheel steering. At speeds below 60 km/h it nudges the rear wheels as much as 2.7 degrees left when you’re aiming right and vice versa. It quickens steering response and adds a feeling of playfulness to winding and twisty roads. Go faster and the back wheels point very slightly in the same direction as those in front. This enhances handling stability and provides a “relaxed yet sporty experience” they say. Race, one of four selectable modes (five if you include “Personal Settings”), raises the changeover point to 100 km/h.

Another unseen attribute is hydraulic compression stops. Put simply, the shocks incorporate internal dampers near the ends of each stroke. These soften the blow so you don’t feel the usual thump against conventional rubber bump stops. It works well, eliminating harshness from a naturally firm ride. Also unseen are bigger front brake discs; 355 mm in diameter compared with 340 mm previously.

This car can be tame. If driven by your mother, in Comfort mode, the gentlest available, perhaps. Until she applies heavy foot to the pedal in the lower right corner; when it snarls, shifts down a cog or two (more on the dual clutch transmission later) and rips the horizon rapidly closer. That’s in Comfort mode, remember, identified by a snowflake symbol suggesting soft responses.

Then there’s Neutral, supposedly the standard or normal mode, that's about as neutral as a knee to the ‘nads. The snarling sound when foot is applied is much the same as in Comfort but the steering tightens noticeably and its self-centering action is more intense. Sport and Race add yet more dramatic responses and the sound effects are harsher – like somebody swapped the standard muffler for straight pipes. Note: There is no artificial sound box. Stand outside the car and listen.

Its factory settings and those tunable in Race mode aren’t quite as entertaining as what’s offered with the Cup version unfortunately but this is the street car, not the track machine, remember. Just remain aware that this thing is for driving - with intent to do grievous fiscal harm - should Officer Aggro catch up with you.

Which brings us, eventually, to the Efficient Dual Clutch (EDC) transmission that Renault seems intent on bolting to every engine in its fleet. We wish the firm would just do the right thing and fit regular automatics to its regular cars because EDC only works properly when there’s a decent motor to attach it to – like this one.

Driven gently, the car whispers along quietly and efficiently, but when provoked it kicks down, howls like a demon and holds the selected ratio until you release pressure. It will hang on until Red Line if you let it, whereas a lesser car would wimp out and gear up because its computer has chosen to, arbitrarily, on your behalf.

Details like this differentiate characterful drivers’ cars from “that” GTI which is really no more interesting than your father’s Audi in a boxy body. Mègane RS, in either form, is more powerful, develops more torque and accelerates faster. It costs less too. Get one and wallow in the secret.

Test unit from Renault SA press fleet.
We drove an RS 275 Trophy in 2015

Now read about the 2020 Megane RS 300 Trophy

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.