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Renault Mégane 250 Renaultsport Cup
YOU don’t have to look far into the Mégane Renaultsport 250 Cup to spot its competition heritage.
Check the car’s head-turning stance, its incredible responsiveness, the instant answer of the throttle, and a slick six-speeder that has the perfect choice of cog for an urban trundle or a twisty West Highland road.
This is a hatch for the committed enthusiast. Like the Focus RS, it is not the sensible choice if shopping capacity and economy are your bag! This is a flier.
It’s a hot sporting three-door that is rewarding to drive quickly – but surprisingly civilised if, like me, you have to spend your first hours at the wheel trapped like everyone else in nose-to-tail A96 traffic!
But clear the convoy, slip away for an evening’s drive on the quiet, twisty roads that criss-cross Dava Moor and the rest of upper Moray – and the 250 Cup comes into its own.
I revelled in the Cup. The steering is a bit lifeless, like most Renaults, but it’s accurate and much better than previous fast Renaults.
Crucially there’s enough feel to know precisely what the front wheels and tyres are doing.
There are two Mégane Renaultsports – the Cup and the more luxurious “standard” 250 that adds £1,000 to the £23,160 list price of my car.
Frankly there’s little in it, and the standard Cup seems to fit the bill perfectly. Why would you want to complicate the issue by forking out another grand for leather seating and some other luxury items?
The only point you might consider is fitting a pair of Recaro front seats to the standard Cup – an £860 option that would certainly add bum, thigh and shoulder support, but at the cost of a much harder seating experience.
I could see nothing wrong with my frantic standard yellow and black cloth Cup seats – in perfect keeping with the car’s sporty character, and comfortable enough to make commuting duties more than acceptable.
The Cup takes its power from a two-litre turbocharged engine delivering a perk 250bhp at 5500rpm.
But it’s the torque that makes the Cup sit up and go – 340 Newton metres of tugboat pull from 3000rpm.
On the road it means great acceleration. The sprint from rest to 62mph disappears in just 6.1 seconds, but through the gears where it really matters the effect is incredible.
Select third in a stream of traffic and you can safely clear slower vehicles effortlessly. Delivery is smooth, sure and highly satisfying – with only minimal torque steer evident, even on full throttle stamps.
Some owners might be tempted to take their Cup to a track day. I never could understand why anyone would want to do that to their own car – but there are drivers out there who just love it.
The Cup is the ideal platform for a few hot laps of Knockhill.
It’s fast enough to be excitingly quick on this demanding Fife circuit, and responsive enough to bite through the sharper corners without scrabbling and losing traction – thanks to its standard limited slip differential.
I’m not sure what that cruel use might do to the 18-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 2 235/40 covers – but I can assure you the Cup’s standard Brembo brakes would be well up to the job.
The red-calipered front brakes deliver a level of control and precision that no standard sporting brake set-up can manage.
They are also tough, shrug off high temperatures, and give the same reliable deceleration no matter how demanding your driving or road may be.
Of course, there’s more to the Cup’s sporting performance than Brembos! The chassis is one of the best you’ll find on an affordable hatchback.
It’s just stiff enough to ensure crisp handling, but not so stiff that it rattles, shudders and hops over every surface irregularity.
It’s a superb platform that works well with Renaultsport’s ABS braking system and the car’s standard electronic stability control.
As an added feature on the standard ESP – or the Renaultsport Dynamic Management as the manufacturers call it – you can alter the characteristics and choose to leave it on, opt for “sport” for a slightly less obtrusive ESP intervention, or switch it off completely.
The latter is really only sensible for use on a track or perhaps if you are unlucky enough to encounter deep snow.
And if you intend venturing on to a track for a bit of handling fun, you may also want to consider a £300 Cup option called the Renaultsport Monitor.
It takes its inspiration from motorsport, with a central dashboard display that provides information about the demands made of the main engine functions, real-time engine performance, gear change warning, calibration and display of the throttle pedal mapping, lateral acceleration, sprint acceleration, and lap times.
Better still, it allows you to “play” with the engine’s mapping and sharpen throttle response. It’s useful for the track junkies and great value for just £300.
Cars like this need to be safe. There’s little point in macho madness demanding absolute control over power and braking – it sounds great in theory, but the reality is that the kind of modern performance safety systems fitted to hot hatches such as the Mégane Cup are perfect partners for the driver and take nothing away from the car’s sporting feel and delivery.
But what makes the Cup stand out is not just its performance, its feel or its excellent value for money – it’s its practicality.
Remember that under its dramatic body kit, beyond its RS grille badge and inside its aggressively flared arches, the Cup is still based on a “cooking” Mégane three-door. And it’s none the worse for that.
When food gathering needs to take precedence over motoring, or when people carrying interrupts your driving, its boot will swallow an impressive 344 litres of luggage and it will carry passengers with space to spare and in reasonable comfort.
What’s more, this 1.38-tonne hatch is no lightweight buzz box and when the chips are down you can flip the standard split and fold rear seats and turn it into a rapid little cargo carrier with almost 1,000 litres of space.
That’s not bad for one of the best hot hatches you can buy for well under £24,000.
How easy is it to lay hands on? Well, demand is high but north main dealers Ness Motors has been selling the 250 Cup like hotcakes and reckons it can get you one by June.
Form an orderly queue!
Rating: 8.5/10
FINAL THOUGHT: Renaultsport cars have a justifiable reputation for fun and affordability – but none packs as much of both as the new Mégane Renaultsport 250 Cup. It has the character of an incorrigible terrier – quick, yet friendly. If you like driving, you’ll love this rapid French hatch.
Renault Mégane 250 Renaultsport Cup
Price: £23,160- Capacity: 1998cc
- Power: 250bhp
- 0-62mph: 6.1 seconds
- Maximum speed: 156mph
- Economy: Combined 34mpg; Urban 24.6mpg
- CO2 emissions: 195g/km
- ESP: Standard
- Insurance: Group 17
