IF one thing can be guaranteed it’s a rip roaring speed machine from Renaultsport.
The racing arm of Renault is as hot as its cars and there is a heck of a line up in the sporting stable.
From the tiny Twingo to the outrageous Megane 250, Renault is definitely in politically incorrect territory and in these days of doom and gloom for petrol heads we are all glad of a bit of light relief.
My favourite is the one in the middle, the 200hp Clio because of its superb mix of performance and clever damping making it far and away the best baby hot hatch around.
Believe it or not Renault was achieving stunning performance from the 5 Turbo, (Clio’s great grand daddy) 30 years ago, with the mid engined rear wheel drive machine able to hit 62mph in a mind blowing 6.9seconds.
Yet that is nothing compared to the latest Megane 250. It is not that it is massively quicker in the sprint off the line - less than a second separates today’s Megane from the 1980 5 Turbo - it is just everything else that makes up this astonishing car.
Five minutes in this mean machine and you would swear you were ready to take the start line at a rally stage. The rock hard suspension tells the driver in no uncertain terms that this car will hum when it comes to hard cornering, while the delicate throttle is begging to be floored to release the 250 horses straining at the leash.
And Megane 250 looks the part as well. Renaultsport has been round to the company’s F1 garage and cribbed some aerodynamics secrets creating a Formula 1 inspired front blade, rear air diffuser and spoiler.
Throw in fattened wheel arches and side sills and flash see-through 19in alloys boasting 340mm front disc brakes with Brembo four-pot callipers, all of which are in full view, and you should be getting a picture of a car which has been on a serious course of body building steroids.
This is not all show, Megane 250 is even hotter to drive than it looks, a brilliantly extravagant driving experience with razor-sharp throttle response, super quick steering and performance bordering on the outrageous for a car under £25k.
The turbo engine is a beast with fabulous low down torque and the capability, if ever you got the chance, to wind up to nearly 160mph. What we have here is a motor which will burst into life at pretty much any time you put pedal to the metal.
As well as its body armour Megane’s edgy design makes for an eye catching package and there is no let up inside. My test car was fitted with wafer thin lightweight Recaro seats (an extra £1025), well shaped, not the most comfortable, but certainly in keeping with the car’s racing spirit.
We have drilled aluminium pedals, of course, ‘dirty’ yellow background for the rev counter and other yellow standouts on the leather steering wheel and upholstery.
A central dashboard display gives a lot of telemetry readouts including information on gear changes, throttle calibration and mapping, and you can even tone down the electronic stability programme to allow the car to slide just that little bit.
Any downsides? Some, mainly those of us getting on in years, will say it is a bit of a job to get into because of its low roof line and the sizeable drop into those skinny Recaro seats. And then there is the rear vision, which is almost non existent, but in my book vital to achieve such a racy, dynamic rear profile. The car has door mirrors to see behind so use them. Look, this isn’t a car for whimps, so just get in behind the wheel and enjoy it.
Renaultsport Megane 250
Engine: 2-litre turbo; 250hp
Performance: 0-62mph 6.1secs; 156mph
Economy: 33.6mpg
Emissions: 190g/km.
VED £425
Insurance group 34
Price: £24,650