Review: the 202bhp Renault Megane GT

It’s a fierce looking Megane. Is this the new RS?

Nope. The fourth-generation Renault Megane enters the market with a GT version topping its range, and it’s the fastest, most exciting model until the RS lands in 2018.

Like the rest of the new Megane range, it’s five-door only, and comes with a huge suite of tech available, with everything from crash avoidance and self-parking to head-up displays and adjustable driving modes available.

This GT has something a bit more special up its sleeve, too, in the shape of four-wheel steering. It combines with your choice of 163bhp diesel or 202bhp petrol power, and the sole option of a paddleshift. We’ve driven it in petrol form, both abroad and in the UK, where it’ll cost £25,500.

Does a hatchback need four-wheel steering?

It’s a good question, for it ensures this Megane is a far cry from the simplistic fun of old Renault hot hatches. Called ‘4Control’, it operates like the system in Porsche’s 911 GT3 and GT3 RS.

So at low speeds, it turns the rear wheels in the opposite direction to those at the front, making it easier to manoeuvre and more nimble in tight corners. Above 50mph, the front and rear wheels angle in the same direction, to boost stability - and therefore confidence - in faster corners.

And does it work?

When we first drove the Megane GT on fast, sweeping Portuguese roads, we concluded yes. In quick stuff the system is subtle and imperceptible; you have a mature, grown up hatch with heaps of stability.

But show it the tighter, bumpier roads that seem to uniquely scythe their way through British countryside, and it feels a lot less natural. When the rear wheels are opposing the fronts, in really tight corners, the car pivots very abruptly about its centre. Instinct might tell you it’s oversteering like an aggressively driven 5 GT Turbo, but the car is perfectly in control of itself.

It’s actually a pretty neat trick, for it makes this Megane – longer and wider than it’s ever been – feel half its size. But it also robs this hot hatch of the consistency and satisfyingly natural responses a Golf GTI owner likely craves. You’d get used to it over time, no doubt, and further tweaks down the line may make it subtler in operation. But four-wheel steering is not the immediately natural fit here that it is in a 911 GT3.

So how quick is it?

Its 1.6-litre turbo engine produces 202bhp and 206lb ft, enough to yield a 7.1-second 0-62mph time and 145mph top speed.

Those feel about right in the real world, though the engine isn’t one you’ll relish revving out. There’s plenty of torque, and it feels effortless to access it, but stray too close to the redline and the noise can get a bit coarse. Better to shift up early, enjoying the short, tightly stacked ratios of its seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox.

Is it better than the Clio 200's 'box?

It’s considerably less sluggish, yes, to the point you might feel compelled to pull at the paddles rather than leave it to do its thing as an automatic. Which does make us wonder if a manual would be more fun yet, were it available.

Renault Sport insiders suggest the next Megane RS will get the option of both manual and paddleshift ‘boxes, which strikes us as very good news. We’re currently hoping they avoid the weight penalty (and other, more subjective issues) of adding four-wheel steer, too.

What about the rest of the tech?

The Megane’s infotainment screen - available in landscape or massive, 8.7in portrait form - is wonderfully simple to use, with smartphone-like pinch-and-zoom, and big ‘buttons’ that are simple to read and press while driving.

The TFT instruments can also be personalised, thanks to several different layouts and five different colours. You can, should you wish, have a massive purple rev counter to accompany some purple mood lighting on the door cards. OTT, perhaps, but if you don’t like it, you’re not forced to fiddle with it.

Less successful is the ‘Multi-Sense’ drive select system. Pop everything in Sport, as the GT’s assertive looks naturally goad you to, and you get a synthesised engine note and, when left to shift itself, a gearbox that aggressively hangs onto second and third gears as you trundle through villages.

So what mode should I put it in?

Avoid fiddling, and the car will stay in its perfectly acceptable ‘Neutral’ mode with subtle blue lighting and a more natural feel to the steering and entirely natural noise from the engine. Prodded thus, and driven below its very limits, this is a pleasant and effortless car to travel about briskly in. Then, the GT badge feels spot on for this car’s demeanor.

Which leaves us to ponder the Renault Sport badge on the boot (and front wings, and dashboard…). If that dizzying array of technology seems a world apart from the raw, focused nature we associate with full-fat Renault Sport products, then rest easy that this Megane's wonderfully judged damping is rich with Dieppe's DNA.

The hugging front sports seats are simply fantastic, too, and the whole interior pervades a classiness and build quality one wouldn’t have associated with Renault five years ago. Not all of the plastics are plush, but it's comfortably north of a Ford or Vauxhall on the quality scale.

So it’s a mixed bag, then.

This GT is broadly successful, and its reams of technology should hopefully be enough to increase public awareness compared to the underrated, off-the-radar Megane GT it supersedes.

But we can’t help but feel that old GT was closer to the Renault Sport ethos than this car, and that this replacement would be sweeter overall if it came with a manual gearbox option and with just its front wheels steering. Yes, we’re luddites.

At £25k, mind, it does undercut the VW Golf GTI or Seat Leon Cupra – similarly mature hot hatches – by a useful few grand. If it’s a sharp driving experience you prioritise, though, both will justify their extra money.