The article was originally produced on May 10, 2012, some facts and prices may have changed since then.

Renault Megane RS

When you realize how many fingers Renault's F1 team had in the production of Megan Renault Sport, the image of this small everyday shopper changes quickly. More fun driving with a front-wheel-drive Hot-hatch you have to look for!

Renault has had the Megan model in its program since the mid-nineties and is a direct competitor in the Golf class. Key words for Renault have always been safety and economy, something that Megan can live up to with good margins. To add some image to the model, Renault did as Volkswagen did with the Golf GT and added a sportier bus variant of the Megane with the addition RS, Renault Sport. With a very successful Formula 1 team with loads of championship titles and decades of experience, the Megan RS was ready in 2004. The specification of the Megan RS was a lightweight front-wheel drive car with a lot of engine power, which was powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine of 250 horsepower. An aerodynamic skirt kit, large wheels with massive rims and powerful Brembo brakes inside, diff brake and a pair of tight shell seats from Recaro. A recipe that, with a high enough temperature in the kid, becomes a real bad thing for the street!

Renault has now released a facelifted version of the Megan RS, a little sharper, a little sharper. Voyage took the time to see what this strong spice in the 3-door hatchback segment has to offer, a segment that suffers from tough competition to say the least. Direct competitors to the Megan RS are the Ford Focus RS and the Scirocco R. Nowadays, the Golf GTI is not so much a competitor as it has too weak an engine and got a big brother in the form of the Golf R, but which is four-wheel drive and thus cannot be seen as a competitor to Megan RS and its front-wheel drive. Just like so many other car companies, the Nürburgring has become a benchmark for Renault and how fast a car really is. The performance numbers 0-100 are almost less interesting than a lap time on the infamous Nordslingan and Renault, just like all other major car brands, has a test center in the area around the track. For those who have not come into contact with the names Nürburgring and Nordslingan, a short review can be done, the Nürburgring is located in the Eifelbergen, a green and hilly area near Cologne in western Germany. In the early 20th century ADAC's Eifelrennen was run on public roads in the Eifel mountains but this was found to be too dangerous and in 1927 the Nürburgring was completed and the track became one of the most famous in racing history. In addition to competitions, the automotive industry has always used the track for testing new models. Currently, there are two parts of the Nürburgring that you can drive on. Partly the grand prix circuit where F1 is still run today, but also a number of other racing races. And then there is the approximately 2 mile long Nordslinga, a fiendish but wonderful hilly course with minimal or sometimes non-existent space for exits. The Nordslingan is a bit special compared to other tracks around the world and that's because it's a public stretch of road, you pay a road fee of €22 for a lap and then you just drive. The requirement for your car is that it is registered for street use and insured. On the track itself, there is free speed and overtaking on the left side. With a Megan version with the addition of Trophy, Renualt holds the time for the fastest front-wheel drive cars in this segment. To illustrate just how overwhelmingly potent this little car is, a whole bunch of Nürburgring regulars swapped their Porsche Carreras and BMW M3s for the Megan RS, precisely because it's so fast and well-balanced but at a reasonable price.

On the first ride of the Megan RS you are not impressed, not at all if you are completely honest. The car is very smooth and quiet during normal driving. On the other hand, you may be somewhat negatively affected by the fact that the ride is quite noisy and bumpy, things you cannot consider to be in the barrel of a car with an RS add-on. But thanks to the fact that the car is so subdued and doesn't hiss significantly in terms of engine, it's easy to forget about these small letters. In order for these two letters to live up to the evidence, however, not much needs to be done, a simple press of a button to the left of the steering wheel displays a message in the box in front of you if an ESP-Sport Mode is activated. Immediately when this message is displayed, the quiet little shopping cart comes to life, the throttle response becomes more direct and the engine revs more. In order to really experience these character changes in the car, curvy roads are a big advantage instead of dense city traffic. In these conditions, the Megan RS is so incredibly well-balanced and nimble that you completely forget what car you first thought you were driving. There is no doubt about how the Renault F1 team has been involved in working on this car. A big smile that can be deduced from miles away to disobey traffic rules has long been present, the Megan RS is the perfect combination of calm everyday car at the same time as a brutal mischief seed that you will soon tire of.