Megane Renaultsport 275 Trophy-R: Review
It's one of our favourite cars of 2014 - here's why
Built for this but actually good on the road too
The result is a £39,300 (as tested) hot hatch that also just happens to be the fastest front-wheel drive car around the Nurburgring with a lap time of 7min 54.3sec. But all this you probably already knew.
Belts and braces ... well, harnesses and inertia reels
It's a bit juvenile really but I admire Renault for doing that. Especially if it means building a few cars like this.
OK, it probably won't win any beauty contests
In the comment thread to follow there will, inevitably, be someone who immediately dismisses the Megane on the basis that it's French and front-wheel drive and therefore cannot possibly qualify as a real man's car or, indeed, a sound and rational purchase. A similarly priced German alternative - be that a BMW M235i, Porsche Cayman, Golf R or whatever - will be offered as evidence of this.
It's not a sound and rational purchase, I'll accept that. But it is, by some significant margin, one of the more driver-focused products ever sold in a mainstream dealership. We're talking the equal of cars like the BMW M3 GTS, caged up GT3 RS 911s, Black Series AMGs and the like.
This is one of those cars you know is just going to be brilliant before the wheels have completed an entire revolution from rest. The regular Trophy is hardly sloppy but the complete absence of play in any of the controls and the angry bark from the Akrapovic exhaust are immediate reminders of the Trophy-R's intent. In standard mode it gives you 250hp; pressing the Sport button once releases the full 275hp and relaxes the ESP, a longer push disables it entirely. With 21kg of sound deadening removed you can hear various relays around the car click and clack and as you pull away the super-tight limited-slip diff seems to bounce the front wheels around on full lock, the low-speed ride jiggly and tightly wound too.
Engine tickled slightly, chassis main focus
Myth buster
As is the Renaultsport way the springing is on the fierce side but the Ohlins dampers also have a mid-stroke cushiness about them not present in the standard items and permit a fair amount of vertical movement. This is quite hyperactive at low speeds but, such is the body control, the harder you hit stuff the plusher it becomes, be that suburban speed bumps or serrated apex kerbs on the track.
On a cold, wet and slippery B-road - say, a favourite back route to a Goodwood track day to pick an entirely random example - the Megane is absolutely stellar. Spray roars off the inside of the wheelarches, stones ping against the underside of the body and the uncorrupted feedback through your hands and your tightly clamped hips gives you an endless stream of information.
Offset struts, composite springs, Ohlins, Brembo...
Pitch it in and the front end goes exactly where you want it; nail the power and the rush of air roaring through the exhaust signals the turbo waking up and power going to the front wheels. Unlike the Haldex-based Golfs and SEATs there's no wait for the mechanical diff to wake or hook up either, the Megane's proactive front end able to cope with earlier applications of throttle than you'd credit. Saying that it's interesting hearing Renaultsport record setter Laurent Hurgon compare his driving style with that of SEAT's Jordi Gene. Inthe Leon's case Gene is early and brutal on the power to wake the diff and use the VAQ system's traction to haul it out of the turn, screaming tyres be damned; Hurgon's style is rather more precise and based on exploiting the Megane's livelier rear end to rotate it to the direction he wants before getting on the power. A more subtle and artistic style you can enjoy even at road speeds, the shift-up beep actually quite useful given the monotone roar from the exhaust gives you little sense of the pending redline. Chu-chu-chuff runs into the soft rev-limiter are frequent even so, this and the ripple of bangs and pops when you lift off the kind of NVH we can all enjoy.
Make sure those tyres are warmed up...
Other preconceptions the Megane delights in rubbishing include the idea a 'ring specific set-up has no relevance beyond that particular 13-mile stretch of German tarmac. Because the Trophy-R is actually more compliant than the non-Ohlins equipped car and capable of swallowing huge bumps and camber shifts without once deviating from the chosen line. It doesn't isolate you from them, simply filtering the information into useful feedback rather than distracting noise. I rather like the fact that Renault chose to focus on handling rather than outright horsepower as a route to record-breaking success - another example of the Trophy-R going against the grain.
And on the track that sense that it's the GT3 RS of hot hatches simply increases. Like 'proper' 911s the Megane is not a car that makes allowances for the timid or lacking in talent. As I discover on just my second lap around Goodwood trailing the brakes to keep the nose tucked in for the left-hander at St Mary's. Fine in a 'normal' car but like my old 172 Cup the Megane has the kind of built-in instability you can exploit to your advantage if you know it's going to happen. Or leave you looking like an idiot if you haven't got your tyres up to temperature and aren't ready for it. Click on the RS Monitor telemetry here and see if you can spot the point it all goes a bit wrong...
Extra stickerage in case you missed the memo
For the relatively modest numbers on the spec sheet the Trophy-R feels seriously rapid too. The difference between this and the standard Trophy is a modest sounding 212hp/tonne against 201hp/tonne but the combination of the weight saving, higher cornering speeds and additional grip and traction from the Cup tyres (once warmed up, ahem) means the -R comfortably carries huge pace at all times.
It's a magnificent machine, the most focused built by a mainstream manufacturer for a long, long time and a car that reveals greater depths the harder you push. Cars like this don't happen often and we should celebrate the fact Renault is mad enough to let something like this loose on the market.
The Trophy-R isn't for everyone. But it's one of my favourite ever cars. And I hope with this missive I've managed to win over a few doubters.
MEGANE RENAULTSPORT 275 TROPHY-R
Engine: 1,998cc 4-cyl turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, mechanical limited-slip differential, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 275@5,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 265@3,000-5,000rpm
0-62mph: 5.8 sec
Top speed: 158mph
Weight: 1,297kg
MPG: 37.7mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 174g/km
Price: £36,430 (£39,300 as tested, including i.d. Arctic White/black roof paint for £625, 19-inch Speedline Turini wheels in red at £250 and Nurburgring Record Pack comprising lithium ion battery, Sabelt harnesses and uprated brakes for £1,995)
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Photos: Anthony Fraser
But for some reason, it doesn't push my buttons in the same was as the previous gen Megane R26R did.
I can't put my finger on it, but it lacks the charm of the original hardcore Megane.
The 275 is one car Im lusting after though, who knows, we might just get one or two in the fleet in2015.Sounds like the perfect mix of the other two!
This is one of those cars that does that, it will never be a Golf R and it should never need to try to be, its a better car because its had the correct thoughts put into it to make it so, this can also back fire on you, prices go up because of it and the market for such a car which lacks the comfort of the above Golf R make it a very limited market.
That doesnt mean that someone wont buy it though, its a good bit of engineering and a very focused car for what it is, yes its french but then again some of the best hot hatches of the 80's and 90's came from Peugeot/Citroen/Renault, their build quality has improved (just dont let me go on about the time my R19 16v had its service and they didnt tighten up the sump plug... ) and they are getting back to selling desirable cars.
This is going to be a fun car for the limited owners (100?) that are coming to the UK, I like it and I hope they do also.
While the Renault engineers probably still have a semi from developing it, I've a feeling the Renault bean counters will look at 2015 265/275 sales vs the Golf R and cry themselves to sleep at night.
te wheels.... And remove the red diffuser things. Little bit sleeper-ish. WOuld be mega thatTrack focused everyday road cars just see m to be a bit of a half measure compromise imo
And people complained about an AMG model Merc in that price bracket!
Trick bits or not, I simply couldn't justify it at that price point.
But for some reason, it doesn't push my buttons in the same was as the previous gen Megane R26R did.
I can't put my finger on it, but it lacks the charm of the original hardcore Megane.
Made it look like it was business only.
As a coupe it looks overweight with the chunky styling, regardless of what numbers say it weighs in comparison to other road cars in this form.
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