Renaultsport Megane 250 news - Renaultsport Megane prices announced - 2009

Prices are out for the new Renaultsport Megane 250, the almost-certain-to-be-completely-brilliant hot hatch set to land in the UK next January.

It'll start at £21,995 for the hardcore ‘Cup' version, which mates the 247bhp, 2.0-litre turbo engine to a proper mechanical limited slip diff, with a far harder suspension set-up including stiffer springs and dampers.

If you want a few more creature comforts, the non-Cup Megane 250 starts at £22,995. You lose the LSD and the rock-hard suspension, but you get some nice leather, automatic lights and wipers and a greatly reduced bill from your chiropodist.

Whichever version you opt for, you get three-way traction control, allowing you to toggle between ‘Properly On', ‘A Bit On', and ‘Completely Off, You're On Your Own Now, Best Of Luck And All That, I'm Off To The Pub'. Or ‘On', ‘Sport' and ‘Off', as Renault would have it.

There's also something called the Renaultsport Monitor, which gives you real time feedback on engine performance, acceleration, g force and a whole bunch of other stuff likely to make you want to drive too fast.

The monitor allows you to modify the throttle mapping too, with five different settings adjusting accelerator response in different conditions.

In short, it's going to be great. We'll drive the new Renaultsport Megane very soon - be sure to check back to find out exactly how great it really is.