Renault Megane Sport F1 edition 2007

December 2, 2009 by Editor/Moderator
Filed under Renault

The Renault Megane was a controversial car when it first came out due to its looks. Not from the front or side but from the back, with an almost vertical window and a boot that bulges out. However over time this shape has grown on me and I rather like it now.

The sport F1 edition really does look good from the outside, with large black mags, and low profile road hugging tires, Brembo brakes, lower suspension, bigger front grill and twin exhausts out the back. Not to mention the little blue and yellow Renault f1 decal on the front bumper, which to me is a really nice touch, even if Renault do harp on about their Formula one successes.

The interior has very supportive and stylish bucket seats in the front that allow for a sporty and comfortable driving position. But the centre controls give the impression they are made from very cheap plastic and seem to be somewhat dated now. The gear changes are quick enough but the actual change could be shorter and more positive in movement. Compared to the207 GTI and the Golf 5 GTI, the interior really doesn’t match up to competitions current spec level as it should. Steering feedback is good and the car sits very well on the road, the only disadvantage being all the power has to go through the front wheels. This can cause a lot of understeer when pushing the car to the limit, requiring an adaptive driving style.

When revving the car up, the turbo comes in soon enough and really propels the car forward, but from 5000 rpm to 6000 rpm the car seems to be very flat. In other cars the power keeps on increasing up the rev range but in the Renault Megane sport the power remains the same from 5000 rpm to 6000 rpm. You might as well change gears at 5000 rpm leaving a whole 1000 revolutions at the top of the rev range for nothing. The Renault Megane sport pushes out 165 KW and 300 NM of torque at 3000 Rpm. The 2 liter 4 cylinder turbo will get you to 100 km/h from standstill in 6.5 seconds and run onto a top speed of 236 km/h.

The Megane sport F1 edition has great looks and a lot of performance for its cost, however newer stronger hot hatches are arriving on the market in a ball of furious speed and anger and the Renault, soon will not have what it takes to keep up.