Filthy out there, eh? Not really the weather to be enjoying the roads, or fast cars thereon. But following a new year planning meeting with that man Harris I faced a choice. A literal 50/50. Turn right and sit in a ball of spray on the M4, catching up on phone calls at a cruise controlled trundle. Or turn left, into the rain, puddles and rolling west Berks countryside with only a vague notion of the route home.
Foul conditions, car in its element
Speaking of berks 'vague' it would remain, because whichever one it was who specced the Megane 265 Cup I was in had opted for the Renaultsport Monitor, an either/or choice over nav before the upgraded 2.0 version from the Clio 200 filters through.
Honestly, what kind of idiot would prioritise a pixellated boost gauge and G-meter over nav?
Oh, it was me. Yes, this was my emotional reunion with HY62 KEK, the PH Fleet long-termer I carefully, lovingly specced up ... and then never got to drive (other than a few fleeting laps of Blyton) following my medical licence suspension. Joking apart given my only previous was vicarious 'enjoyment' from the passenger seat it was actually quite an emotional experience, much, as it turned out, like the process for pairing my phone with it.
But where was I? Oh yes, pondering whether to sit on the M4 or venture into the unknown, personified in this instance by the roads south of Didcot. It was stinking. Deep pools of standing water. Rain lashing down. A permanent fug of damp mist lingering over the fields. Not weather for exploring previously untrodden B-roads.
Some idiot didn't spec nav - back to the old school
Now, I'd seen how potent the Megane was in these kind of conditions up in Yorkshire with my brother at the wheel almost a year ago to the day. And I now appreciate a) why he felt emboldened to drive that hard and b) why he was grinning so much. The way this car takes apart a back road is simply astonishing. If you're looking for a reason for the death of the Japanese rally rep on British roads this is it. A few years back I'd have said my old classic Impreza was in its element in these conditions. But, honestly, four-wheel drive or not it wouldn't see which way the Renault went.
Why's it so good? In a word, confidence. The way the diff tears into the tarmac is just astonishing. Yes, the wheel wriggles and writhes a bit but the tyres just chew at the road like they're on sticky dry tarmac, not inches deep in standing water. Getting so hard on the power so early seems counter intuitive but passive dampers and a mechanical limited-slip diff mean the Megane is proactive rather than reactive, with none of the gizmo lag you get with the e-diffs or multi-mode adaptive dampers seen on fancier rivals.
Welcome home KEK - good to have you back
Likewise basics like control balance. Everything is just so. You flick the lock on and off and catch it at precisely the point you wanted. No second guessing. Pedals are perfectly weighted and positioned, throttle response unusually sharp for a turbo engine and blips instantly intuitive and rewarded with the occasional pop and bang. The shift is light and positive, the damping beautifully matched to the spring rates and - get this French car bashers - even after 13,000-odd press miles KEK is squeak and rattle free and everything works. And I was definitely right about the 18s on the Cup chassis. Perfect.
Bittersweet though. Because I know I've only got a week with it, not the six months I was looking forward to when I specced it. Still, mustn't grumble. It's great to be reunited. It'd probably be a more realistic dream than that GT3 when they de-fleet it too...