By: Dave Abrahams
Johannesburg - While Volkswagen can justifiably claim to have invented the hot hatch, Renault has undeniably added some French chic to the recipe with its Renault Sport series.
And the latest addition to that family, the Mégane RS 265 2.0 Turbo Lux, released in South Africa this week, has plenty of that - as well as the muscle to back it up.
The zhoozh parade starts with Renault's bold new corporate 'face' underlined by Renault Sport badging below the bigger Renault logo, LED daytime running lights and an F1-style blade insert in the front bumper.
The cabin combines drilled aluminium sports pedals, RS door sills and band of stitching centre-positioned on the steering wheel with deeply supportive leather-upholstered sports seats - electrically adjusted and heated - and special RS instruments.
Standard kit includes TomTom Live navigation, Bluetooth connectivity for safe and convenient hands-free telephony and music streaming from remote devices while driving, a hands-free key card for keyless starting by remote control as well as locking and unlocking of the doors and boot, and a radio/CD/MP3 player with a USB port and satellite controls behind the steering wheel.
SUBSTANCE TO BACK THE STYLE
The Mégane RS 265's two-litre, turbopetrol four is rated for 195kW at a surprisingly conservative 5500 revs and 360Nm at 3800rpm. Driving through a six-speed manual 'box, it'll take the RS 265 from 0-100km/h in six seconds flat and on to a 250km/h terminal velocity.
All of which is kept in line by a standard-issue electronic stability programme with traction control, with eight airbags standing by in case all else fails.
To prevent that from happening, all Renault Sport customers are invited to attend, free of charge, the Renault Advanced Driver Training Programme, including not only high-performance race track and skid pan exercises but also practical street-driving techniques to help avoid the day-to-day hazards that face drivers.
PRICING
The Mégane Renault Sport 265 2.0 Turbo Lux retails for R389 900, which includes a five-year or 150 000km warranty and a five-year or 90 000km service plan. Service intervals are 10 000km.
We don't usually list the available options, such as a fixed glass roof at R8000, rear park assist camera at R5000 and metallic paint at R2500 extra, but thought it worth mentioning that the special Sirius Yellow paint job in the pictures will add a hefty R20 000 to the cost of your RS 265.