2020 Renault Megane RS Review: Trophy

The Renault Megane RS is still here if you're interested. 

You may have overlooked this lately because there has been a lot of action in the hot hatch scene with the release of the new generation Ford Focus ST, a warm goodbye to the VW Golf R and constant talk of the upcoming Toyota Corolla GR hot hatch.

However, the Megane RS is more than just "here". The range of RenaultSport Megane hatchbacks has expanded recently and we just spent some time with the Trophy model, which first arrived in Australia at the end of 2019.

It certainly retains its presence in the 2020 Renault Megane RS Trophy specification, which is the most powerful and fastest version of the standard lineup before you get to the stunning (and incredibly expensive) Trophy R. 

So what is it? Read on and you will know all about it.

Renault Megane 2020: Rs CUP trophy
Safety Rating	-
engine's type	1.8 L turbo
fuel type	Premium unleaded gasoline
Fuel efficiency	8l / 100km
Landing	5 Places
Price from	$47,200

Does it represent good value for money? What functions does it have? 7/10

The Renault Megane RS Trophy list price is $52,990 for a six-speed manual or $55,900 for a six-speed dual-clutch automatic model, as tested here. These charges are in the Suggested Retail Price/Suggested Retail Price and do not include travel. 

Standard equipment on this top-of-the-line 'regular' RS model includes 19" Jerez alloy wheels with Bridgestone Potenza S001 tires, active valve exhaust system, Brembo brakes, LED headlights with LED daytime running lights, rear fog lights, front/rear/side sensors parking system, semi-autonomous parking system, reversing camera, auto-lock, smart card key and start button, and shift paddles.

Standard equipment includes 19-inch Jerez alloy wheels with Bridgestone Potenza S001 tires.

There are also automatic headlights, automatic wipers, dual-zone climate control, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, heated front seats with manual adjustment, a nine-speaker Bose audio system with subwoofer and amplifier, an 8.7-inch touchscreen media system with an auxiliary port, 2x USB ports, Bluetooth for phone and audio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, proprietary RS Monitor software for track synchronization and a 7.0-inch color TFT driver screen with customizable modes and digital speedometer.

You can find a summary of the safety precautions and equipment installed in the safety section below.

Available options include a power sunroof ($1990) and a choice of several metallic colors: Diamond Black and Pearl White metallic are $800, and Signature Metallic Paint colors are Liquid Yellow and Orange Tonic, as you see here - amount to 1000 dollars. Only Glacier White does not require additional costs. 

Want to know where it ranks among its closest competitors? If you're thinking of the Ford Focus ST (from $44,690 - with manual or automatic transmission), the Hyundai i30 N (from $41,400 - with manual transmission only), the outgoing VW Golf GTI (from $46,690 - with manual transmission only), the outgoing VW Golf GTI (from $51,990) USA - only with automatic transmission) or the powerful Honda Civic Type R (from $57,990 - manual only) Megane RS Trophy is expensive. More expensive is only the VW Golf R Final Edition ($3569,300 - car only)… unless you're thinking about comparing it to a Mercedes-AMG $AXNUMX ($XNUMXXNUMX).

Is there anything interesting about its design? 8/10

The Megane RS Trophy's dimensions don't really tell you how chunky it really is. With a length of 4364mm, a wheelbase of 2670mm, a width of 1875mm and a height of 1435mm, this is a fairly common size for the segment.

Megane RS Trophy has a length of 4364 mm, a wheelbase of 2670 mm, a width of 1875 mm and a height of 1435 mm.

But in this size, it combines a lot of style. I, for one, love those wide wheel arches, the signature LED headlights and the signature checkered flag lighting at the bottom of the bumper, and the bright, eye-catching colors that are actually available just get the message across to me that this is no ordinary Megane. . .

The RS Trophy has LED headlights and signature checkered flag lighting at the bottom of the bumper.

I could happily leave behind the red spots on the wheels, which look too shiny and not exactly "easy racing performance". But they obviously appeal to a certain buyer - maybe someone who wants a little more flair and not talk about track days.

The Trophy model builds on the Cup variant, using the same under-skin chassis and hardware, and therefore features signature 4Control four-wheel steering and a Torsen mechanical limited-slip differential. More on this in the driving section below.

The appearance of the RS Trophy is distinguished by wide wheel arches.

Exterior design and style is one thing, but you probably spend more time sitting in a car than just admiring it from a distance. How is the interior of the RS Trophy arranged? Look at the photos of the interiors to form your own opinion.

How practical is the interior space? 7/10

The interior of the Megane RS Trophy retained some of the exterior design features. It looks and feels like a hot hatchback.

There is a lovely steering wheel, part Nappa leather, part Alcantara, with paddle shifters and a "center line" marker, but some may lament the lack of a flat steering wheel bottom, which is the current trend in "trust me, I'm actually very sporty" breed of car.

The manually adjustable seats are very comfortable, if a little on the firm side, so those who want maximum comfort on long journeys can go without it. But there are good seat adjustments, and even with heating.

The interior has nice design elements.

There are nice touches in the cabin, including soft plastics on the dashboard, but the lower plastics - below the eye line - are quite hard and not very pleasant. However, the inclusion of ambient lighting detracts from this and adds a bit of flair to the cabin.

The portrait-style media screen is fine most of the time, although it does require some learning. The menus aren't as intuitive as you might hope, with a mix of on-screen buttons and touchpad-style off-screen controls that can be hard to hit when you're behind the wheel. We also had a few crashes when using Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.

The 8.7-inch portrait-style multimedia screen is good for the most part, although it does take some learning.

Storage is ok. There are shallow cupholders between the seats, a covered basket on the center console, as well as storage in front of the gear selector, large enough for a wallet and phone, and bottle holders in the doors. 

There is enough room in the back seat for a person of my height (182cm) to sit in their own driver's seat, albeit with limited room for knees and toes. Headroom is good, with two ISOFIX child seat attachment points and three overhead child seat tethers.

The rear seats are spacious enough, though with limited knee and toe room.

You'll find a couple of small door pockets, two map pockets, and directional vents in the back seat, which is nice. There's also a fold-down armrest with cup holders, and unlike some of the other expensive hatches with ambient lighting up front, the Megane also has LED strips on the rear doors. 

The luggage compartment of the Megane RS Trophy is good, the declared trunk volume is 434 liters. When tested, all three CarsGuide suitcases (124L, 95L and 36L) fit in the car with room to spare. Speaking of a spare (ahem), there isn't one: it comes with a repair kit and a tire pressure sensor, but no spare. 

What are the main characteristics of the engine and transmission? 9/10

Engine specs matter when you're talking high-performance hatchbacks, and the Megane RS Trophy is no exception.

It has a 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, powerful for its size, with 221 kW (at 6000 rpm) and 420 Nm of torque (at 3200 rpm). This is for the six-speed dual-clutch automatic that was installed in our test car. If you buy a six-speed manual transmission, you will lose some power - it has 400 Nm (at 3200 rpm) and the same peak power.

The Megane RS Trophy is equipped with a 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that is quite powerful for its size.

In automotive specs, the RS Trophy "300" offers higher performance than the Sport and Cup "280" models (205kW/390Nm) and more engine power per liter of displacement than the Focus ST (2.3L: 206kW/420Nm). ), Golf GTI (2.0-litre: 180 kW/370 Nm; 2.0-litre TCR: 213 kW/400 Nm) and even the Golf R (2.0-litre: 213 kW/380 Nm). 

All Megane RS models are front wheel drive (FWD/2WD) and none of the Megane RS models are all wheel drive (AWD). The Trophy and Cup models feature 4Control all-wheel steering, which is an interesting aspect of driving. More on this below. 

There are several driving modes to choose from, including Comfort, Neutral, Sport, Race and a customizable Perso mode. They can change the engine, transmission, throttle, traction control, exhaust noise, fake engine sound and steering harshness, but not the suspension because shock absorbers are not adaptive devices. 

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How much fuel does it consume? 6/10

The claimed official combined fuel consumption for the Megane RS Trophy is 8.0 liters per 100 kilometers. This is for the tested EDC car model. The manual says 8.3 l/100 km.

You can achieve this if you drive carefully, although in my testing, which included hundreds of miles of highway and country roads, as well as a few spirited rides and some city traffic, I saw a return of 10.8 l / 100 km at the pump. .

The Megane RS requires 98 octane premium unleaded petrol and has a 50 liter fuel tank capacity. 

What is it like to drive? 7/10

The Megane RS Trophy has what it takes to be the legendary hot hatch of all time, but they don't work well enough together to make it a truly great car to drive.

That is, they do not work together on public roads. I didn't get a chance to try the RS Trophy on the track and I'm sure it might change some of my opinions. But this was a review focused primarily on everyday driving, because if you don't have an adequate fleet of cars, you'll also be spending a lot of time mundane driving in your Megane RS.

Other hot hatches in this segment manage to combine great power and torque with incredible traction and steering prowess. Before Megane RS too.

The Megane RS Trophy has what it takes to be the legendary hot hatch of all time.

But this new version seems to have some issues curbing grunts, and the 4Control four-wheel steering system just isn't as useful as it should be.

I had a few instances where traction on slippery surfaces was lacking, while even in the dry I noticed a distinct torque tuck and the Bridgestone tires struggled to handle the hard acceleration. And this despite the fact that Trophy is receiving mechanical LSD.  

Also, that four-wheel steering is actually quite hard to judge the car's behavior at times, with an artificial feel that just isn't true. There will be some who will say that the four-wheel steering, which can tilt the rear wheels to help you turn more proficiently in corners, is excellent. But I'm not one of them. It was really hard for me to predict the behavior of this car. I never got along with it.

At least there's a non-intrusive lane keeping assist system that makes a pulsating sound through the speakers rather than actively vibrating or adjusting the steering. 

The ride is uncompromising in its stiffness - though if you're familiar with the history of the RS Megane models, that's to be expected from the Trophy chassis. This can be tiring on long trips, especially if the surface isn't perfect.

Although it's very fast on the straight - 0-kph is claimed in just 100 seconds - it's not as fast in the corners as I expected, and that mostly comes down to its four-wheel steering. along with the lack of useful thrust at times. It's just not as connected to the road as previous RSs. 

It was also a bit slow and then wobbly at lower speeds when taking off from a standstill, such is the nature of dual clutch in start-stop situations. 

Simply put, I didn't enjoy this car as much as I could. It's just not as clean a car to drive as I'd expect from the RS brand. Maybe I should try to try it on the track!

Warranty and safety rating

Basic Warranty

5 years / unlimited mileage


guarantee

What safety equipment is installed? What is the safety rating? 7/10

The Renault Megane was not awarded an ANCAP crash test rating, but the regular (non-RS) model scored five stars in EuroNCAP criteria back in 2015.

RS Trophy (manual or automatic) features adaptive cruise control with speed limiter, automatic emergency braking (AEB) from 30 km/h to 140 km/h, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning with audible warning , rear view camera, surround sound. parking sensors and semi-autonomous parking.

Missing rear cross traffic alert, front cross traffic alert, rear AEB, pedestrian detection, and cyclist detection. 

How much does it cost to own? What kind of guarantee is provided? 7/10

The Renault Megane RS range is backed by a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, giving owners some peace of mind.

In addition, service intervals are long, 12 months/20,000 km, although the brand says the Megane RS is actually "subject to adaptive service requirements" since the oil condition sensor may cause service checks to be needed before standard intervals.

Unlike other Renault models with a limited-price, five-year service plan, the Megane RS only covers three years/60,000 km. The maintenance cost of automatic dual clutch EDC models is higher than manual versions due to the need to change the gear oil (adding $ 400 to the first service). 

The cost of the first three services is: $799 (12 months/20,000 km); $299 (24 months/40,000 399 km); $36 (60,000 months/24 20,000 km). Consumables outside of these service intervals include: every 49 months or 63 48 km - air filter change ($60,000) and pollen filter change ($306); every 36 months or 60,000 km - accessory belt replacement ($XNUMX). Spark plugs are included free of charge and are billable every XNUMX months / XNUMX miles.

When the vehicle is serviced by a Renault dealer/service network, the vehicle is provided with roadside assistance for up to four years.

Verdict

If the Renault Megane RS Trophy is your dream car, let me say this: there is no overarching reason why I would say you shouldn't go ahead and buy one. 

But with such amazing competition in this part of the market, it's hard to get ahead of the competition. And it will be even harder for it to stay at the top of the list of contenders as more new metal emerges in the coming years.