Thursday 22nd June 2017

New Renault Sport Megane spied on the Nurburgring

Is another FWD record being planned?

---

Yes, yes, another batch of fast Megane pictures. But we make no apologies for featuring them because a) it's replacing one of the best hot hatches ever made and b) we're still a little wary of what it might be like.

One for the exhaust hall of shame

When the previous-gen Clio was replaced by the current car, its range of abilities was broadened but its raw edge was lost. While it would be understandable for that to happen to an extent with this Megane - how many of the previous model did you actually see on the road - let's hope the magic is not smothered quite as much as with the smaller car.

So far we know the Megane will be five-door only, have a dual-clutch gearbox option and be revealed at the Frankfurt motor show. Here we have our first look at the car on the Nurburgring and the roads around it; Meganes and the Nordschleife of course have some history, with both the R26.R and Trophy-R claiming FWD lap records in their time. Could Renault Sport now be attempting the record with the first of a new generation, rather than the last?

Go Megane, go!

We'll have to wait and see, but the test laps have at least afforded us a better look at the car. New details that have emerged on this mule include a rather dubious fake exhaust/diffuser combo but also big Brembo brake calipers and some more aggressive (disguised) front intakes. There are also a selection of wheels on show here, suggesting there could be a more focused track package of wheel and tyre.

Whatever is offered, this is going to be a different Renault Sport Megane to the cars we have become used to. Will that make it a better Renault Sport Megane? We can't wait to find out!

[Photos: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien]

[Porsche911R]

If it's a 5 door it's dead to hot hatch fans.

[Mafffew]

Porsche911R said:

If it's a 5 door it's dead to hot hatch fans.

Is it? There are a fair few 5 door hatches doing quite well these days.

[MustardCutter]

Porsche911R said:

If it's a 5 door it's dead to some inexplicably shallow hot hatch fans.

Fixed that for you

The latest batch of FWD hot hatches seems to be shaping up nicely with the new highly praised CTR revealed and the i30n and Megane not too far away. Incidentally, all have 5 doors!

Edited by MustardCutter on Thursday 22 June 10:40

[culpz]

Porsche911R said:

If it's a 5 door it's dead to hot hatch fans.

Yeah, the new Focus RS has been a complete flop...

I honestly don't think people care anymore. New cars are getting so big now that having 2 massive doors just seems a bit silly for the sake of it looking a bit less "family". Hatchbacks have practicality in mind for the most part anyway.

I prefer 3 doors myself but it's not really a deal breaker anymore. Not for a new car anyway.

[MikeGoodwin]

Hope it wipes the floor with everything in its class for the next decade.

I think Renault are aware of how the Clio 4 was received and what the New Megane RS has to live up to. Doubt itll be as fast as some of the new hot hatches but hopefully be fun and somewhat engaging to drive like the outgoing 275.

[Mike1990]

5dr's don't bother me in the slightest tbh. All the current crop are 5dr and the rumoured upcoming Astra 'K' VXR will be 5dr only.

I really do want the Megane to be the king of Hot Hatches again but it'll be very tough, the manufacturers have upped there game, hell even Hyundai are getting into to game and from what I've read in Evo Magazine, that is shaping up to be a cracker.

[Quickmoose]

culpz said:

Porsche911R said:

If it's a 5 door it's dead to hot hatch fans.

I honestly don't think people care anymore. New cars are getting so big now that having 2 massive doors just seems a bit silly for the sake of it looking a bit less "family". Hatchbacks have practicality in mind for the most part anyway.

I prefer 3 doors myself but it's not really a deal breaker anymore. Not for a new car anyway.

this.

Cars grow with the new tech.
Crash regs grow to keep pace
Cars grow to keep in line with crash regs
SUVs
Crash regs grow to cater for SUVs
Cars grow to keep in line with crash regs
Car weight continues to grow to allow for even more (mostly pointless imo) car tech
Crash regs change to cater for car weight
Cars grow to cater for crash regs

Big cars need design tricks to keep them looking in any way decent.
Massive headlights
floating roof lines
blacked out pillars
Huge door mirrors
complex creases and panel shut lines
massive wheels
massive doors...or additional doors

"Hot hatches" started out as 3 door.
now they're 5 door
It's not particularly shallow to bemoan the change if you don't like it... yes they're meant to be a mix of practicality and 'sportiness'... fine...so give us choice maybe? the mass majority direction isn't always the right one.... every lazy driver chooses DCT so now we can't have a manual? I think a few cars recently have shown there is still room for the stick....
I know I won't be happy the day the top of the line Lamborghini goes forced induction, fully auto, ev and 4 door....
that'll be fine for the majority though right...so equally as acceptable?



The mass market sectors are struggling to hold on to 'style'

[GTEYE]

Quickmoose said:

culpz said:

Porsche911R said:

If it's a 5 door it's dead to hot hatch fans.

I honestly don't think people care anymore. New cars are getting so big now that having 2 massive doors just seems a bit silly for the sake of it looking a bit less "family". Hatchbacks have practicality in mind for the most part anyway.

I prefer 3 doors myself but it's not really a deal breaker anymore. Not for a new car anyway.

this.

Cars grow with the new tech.
Crash regs grow to keep pace
Cars grow to keep in line with crash regs
SUVs
Crash regs grow to cater for SUVs
Cars grow to keep in line with crash regs
Car weight continues to grow to allow for even more (mostly pointless imo) car tech
Crash regs change to cater for car weight
Cars grow to cater for crash regs

Big cars need design tricks to keep them looking in any way decent.
Massive headlights
floating roof lines
blacked out pillars
Huge door mirrors
complex creases and panel shut lines
massive wheels
massive doors...or additional doors

"Hot hatches" started out as 3 door.
now they're 5 door
It's not particularly shallow to bemoan the change if you don't like it... yes they're meant to be a mix of practicality and 'sportiness'... fine...so give us choice maybe? the mass majority direction isn't always the right one.... every lazy driver chooses DCT so now we can't have a manual? I think a few cars recently have shown there is still room for the stick....
I know I won't be happy the day the top of the line Lamborghini goes forced induction, fully auto, ev and 4 door....
that'll be fine for the majority though right...so equally as acceptable?



The mass market sectors are struggling to hold on to 'style'

Its called "progress".

If you don't like it there's always the used or classic market.

I'm trying to remember the last Golf R 3 door I saw....actually they are nearly all 5 doors...but is it a problem? Not really.

[Speed Badger]

Personally as a hot hatch fan that has given up his child-like ways and acquired a small baby a year ago, I couldn't be happier that they seem to be moving more to 5 doors.

We are so spoilt for choice nowadays with good cars - the 'warm' hatches like the Fiesta ST, Suzuki Swift Sport can still have 3 doors and a wide appeal, but for a proper performance hatch, 3 doors are as dead as flicky out indicators.

[Quickmoose]

GTEYE said:

Its called "progress".

If you don't like it there's always the used or classic market.

I'm trying to remember the last Golf R 3 door I saw....actually they are nearly all 5 doors...but is it a problem? Not really.

It's not progress.....actually...define progress.
It is movement along a direction of change
but it not betterment when building bigger and bigger and heavier and heavier vehicles use more resources, more fuel, that require more and more 'systems' to negate the damage they do anything they hit, when the structures required limit the visibility out of them... when the on board tech requires you to 'not' look where you're going, to require computers to compensate for the sheer weight of thing and manage the torque and damper settings to allow it remain in control....to offer up systems that negate the need for a driver at all....
If that's 'progress' we're not in need of 'hot hatches' at all....

So yes... the used market is certainly where it stays for me...

[Jimmy Recard]

Porsche911R said:

If it's a 5 door it's dead to hot hatch fans.

As a hot hatch fan who bought a hot hatch that was available only with five doors, I don't recognise the premise.

I'll be much more likely to consider one if it's a five door

[Ultrafunkula]

Hot hatches seem to be aimed at 30 somethings now, most of whom have small families so need 5 doors.

It does make it difficult for older singletons like me to get a 3 door version but they are still being made, when they are no longer, I'll have to go coupe.

[kayzee]

Though it seems I'm definitely in the minority I actually agree with Quickmoose! If I'm after a performance car, be it a hot hatch or not, for me it has to be a 3 door. I'm not pissed off that this is the way things are going at the moment though... as I could never afford a new car. Give it 10 years and yeah things might get harder for me! At least there are a few still hanging on i.e. Golf GTI/R, Fiesta ST & 208 GTi.

[E65Ross]

Quickmoose said:

GTEYE said:

Its called "progress".

If you don't like it there's always the used or classic market.

I'm trying to remember the last Golf R 3 door I saw....actually they are nearly all 5 doors...but is it a problem? Not really.

It's not progress.....actually...define progress.
It is movement along a direction of change
but it not betterment when building bigger and bigger and heavier and heavier vehicles use more resources, more fuel, that require more and more 'systems' to negate the damage they do anything they hit, when the structures required limit the visibility out of them... when the on board tech requires you to 'not' look where you're going, to require computers to compensate for the sheer weight of thing and manage the torque and damper settings to allow it remain in control....to offer up systems that negate the need for a driver at all....
If that's 'progress' we're not in need of 'hot hatches' at all....

So yes... the used market is certainly where it stays for me...

But most brand new cars are lighter than their old counterparts, so I'm not sure that point stands.

Building cars that use more resources and fuel etc.....erm.....cars are getting more fuel efficient across the board, if you hadn't noticed?

Progress....cars are faster, more fuel efficient, have more "creature comforts" and are much safer than cars of yesteryear. So in objective terms, I don't think one can deny progress. For those who prefer NA engines, more "involving" feeling steering etc then perhaps, but that's subjective.

So, from an objective point of view I'd like to think I've outlined a few reasons how these cars have shown progress. How would you show that they haven't? You've mentioned weight, but that's not really true. Have you got any others?

[Quickmoose]

I'm going to stick with the modern counterparts weighing more than their ancestors
Using more resources to build - materials
Reduced visability
Increased systems to counter the above

in fact other than.. yes, modern engines are more efficient...I'm sticking with all that I previously wrote.
Bigger, heavier, technically more complicated for no good reason, increased levels of resource to build.
A bulb has not changed it's size, so why has the lamp unit?
How come a car now really requires an 18" rim to look anywhere near proportional?
Why do we need a computer to decide if it's dark enough to put our lights on?

[DoubleD]

Are they not all going 5 door because of cost? Its cheaper to produce just a 5 door rather than a 3 and 5 door. If you just sell a 3 door then you will lose sales.

[Fetchez la vache]

DoubleD said:

Are they not all going 5 door because of cost? Its cheaper to produce just a 5 door rather than a 3 and 5 door. If you just sell a 3 door then you will lose sales.

I do think they're missing a trick not making both, it's not as if the German brands hold back with door options, is it? It's not doing them any harm.
For the record I couldn't care less - the last hot hatch I had was a 205 gti...

[Quickmoose]

DoubleD said:

Are they not all going 5 door because of cost? Its cheaper to produce just a 5 door rather than a 3 and 5 door. If you just sell a 3 door then you will lose sales.

most probably....maximise the profit... doesn't stop BM selling a 2 door and a 4 door and a 5 door span off the "3 series"...
I guess it's profits vs choice.
And for cars of this kind of sector, it ain't worth their while offering less doors, or a manual... The general public want lazy, soft, auto everything products...they're tools for a job.
Sadly then when it comes to making a little halo model the engineers have limited options to funk it up...

[E65Ross]

Quickmoose said:

I'm going to stick with the modern counterparts weighing more than their ancestors
Using more resources to build - materials
Reduced visability
Increased systems to counter the above

in fact other than.. yes, modern engines are more efficient...I'm sticking with all that I previously wrote.
Bigger, heavier, technically more complicated for no good reason, increased levels of resource to build.
A bulb has not changed it's size, so why has the lamp unit?
How come a car now really requires an 18" rim to look anywhere near proportional?
Why do we need a computer to decide if it's dark enough to put our lights on?

Name me 5 car models where the current generation is heavier than the last. I'll start with the opposite....

New 5 series, new 7 series, new MX5, new Audi A5 and Lamborghini Huracan.

Over to you.

[KPB1973]

I'm not sure about this new Megane. It looks/sounds like it'll be a by-the-numbers hot hatch now, compared to the unapologetically hardcore/left field previous model.

Fingers crossed it has an epic chassis and aggressive price otherwise it might be a bit of an also-ran in the generic 5dr / 4 pot turbo hot match market.