If you did a search on Google and typed in the key words “guided missile”, you’d come up with a multitude of products such as Exocet, optically tracked, laser-guided, wired-guided and nuclear. Page down and you’ll probably find “Renault Megane Sport” — hardly a product designed for warfare — hidden among the listings.
Powered by a 165kW, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, “lively” doesn’t even begin to describe this spunky, rather strange-looking three- or five-door hatch.
Access to the front and rear seats is good, thanks to massive front doors. From the front, the Sport differs little from its siblings, but boasts a sportier, aggressive look, thanks to that square-shaped mesh in the grill.
The rear speaks volumes for the car’s electrifying performance, especially with the twin-chromed exhausts that are centrally positioned within the rear bumper.
The interior is racy and boasts body-hugging leather seats. Aluminium pedals, door handles and flashing add to the sportiness.
The dash and centre console are well laid out. There are steering-wheel-mounted controls for the front-loading six-CD/radio system and the digital speed regulator.
Activating the speed control is done via a button hidden on the lower part of the dash near the driver’s right knee, which is a bit awkward. The button to deactivate the traction control is also there. Auto headlights and wipers, a rake-and-reach steering wheel and climate control are part of the package.
Renault claims the Megane Sport is a five-seater, but rear legroom is not the greatest. Fitting four adults into the missile isn’t hard, but only if you’re planning a short trip.
The front seat belts are difficult to retrieve, and rearward vision is poor, thanks to a high, shallow windscreen and rear headrests. The boot isn’t great either at 330 litres, and there is a repair kit instead of a spare wheel. With the 40/60 split seat configuration you can expand boot space to 420 litres or 1 190 litres respectively.
Driving the Renault is pure adrenaline. The sound of the turbo spooling up like a Pratt and Whitney jet motor is addictive.
Swapping through the six-speed box needs to be a rapid, premedi-tated affair, and a good combination of clutch and accelerator input will see the Sport shoot past the 100kph mark in a rapid 6,6 seconds. Top speed is a claimed 236kph.
There’s a fair amount of torque steer, too, and although the front wheels won’t spin under brisk acceleration, they do squirm. The Sport is sold with an advanced driver’s course thrown in.
Arresting the lightweight (1 355kg) Megane is a pleasure, thanks to the anti-lock braking system controlled discs, with Brembo callipers clamping the ventilated discs up front via four pot callipers and via solid ones (single pot) at the rear.
Handling is exceptional, thanks to MacPherson-derived struts with a L-shaped lower arm and independent steering axis and a 20mm anti-roll bar at the front. Trailing arms with four transverse torsion bars and telescopic dampers do duty at the rear. Couple this with low-profile 40-series rubber measuring 225mm across on attractive 18 inch alloys and you have a car that will mix it in most circles.
The steering is direct, and feedback superb from the electrically assisted rack-and-pinion configured system, but harsh acceleration in slow corners will bring on some understeer.
Safety is provided by the usual pre-tensioning seat belts, as well as airbags for the front occupants, thoracic airbags and curtain airbags.
Consumption was reasonably good considering the car’s dynamic performance. About 11,5 litres of fuel is force-fed into the motor in the urban cycle, while the open road is easier on the pocket at 7,8 litres per 100km.
A three-year/60 000km maintenance plan is available and, although the price of R265 000 seems a little hectic for a hatch, the performance it delivers is well worth it.