Feelgood Factor
by Ian Lynas (18 Apr 07)

Against the backdrop of the Braga circuit in Portugal, the latest fast lane offering from Renault certainly looked very much in the right environment. Except for one little difference, this new number is powered by a diesel engine; in fact it is the first ever hot hatch from the French carmaker to be powered by such an engine.

The Megane Renaultsport 175 dCi is a car with two personalities - easy to use as an everyday form of transport, but take it to a place where you can explore its performance potential and the horns come out.

I would have liked to have had a few laps of the Braga circuit, the reserves of another go-faster Clio. Instead, over roads which would have been perfect for any tarmac rally in the European theatre of motorsport, this Megane delivered handling, performance and a high fun element. This is one car which puts some joy back into the business of driving.

This turbo diesel engine from Renault, one of the most powerful in its class is not exactly new, it is one of the most powerful in its class; however, Renault engineers have done some tweaking, modification of the throttle mapping to optimise response time. Mated to a six-speed gearbox with short, rally-style changes, this just adds to the overall feelgood factor.

Thanks to the efforts of the Renault engineers, a full second has been shaved off the Megane Renaultsport 225's 50-75mph sprint, an area where performance is greatly appreciated.

More . . .

More Renault Megane Photos
Renault Gallery
Back to Renault Launch index
Back to main Launch index