2018 Renault Megane RS CUP (ENG) - Test Drive and Review

New Renault Megane RS has 280 hp, and 0-100 km/h takes 5.8 seconds, regardless of the gearbox. At 34000 euro it’s one of the cheapest compact hot hatches taking performance into account. However this test car is R.S. Trophy model with CUP package, which includes CUP sport suspension, mechanical diff and red brake calipers among other things. CUP suspension is so hard, even on motorway the car shakes all the time. Seats give great lateral support, but they are also so hard, you have to five yourself a break every couple of hours, because driving Renault Megane RS is like being constantly beaten on the back.
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Starting price: 34 000 EUR
As tested: 40 000 EUR
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[@g00dfeeling]

Beautiful car, like it much more than Focus, Golf, Leon, i30N and similar dull crowd.

[@numbereightyseven]

Favourite hot hatch? For the money (c. €4,000-equivalent), my 2007 "Toyota Blade Master": a Corolla body with the 276bhp 3.5L Lexus engine. JDM only, but imported by Toyota where I live. In daily use i.e. less than 3,000rpm, it's as fast as the Golf R 7 that I had. Not a great handler, but it's a lot of cheap reliable practical understated fun.

[@hedydd2]

Renault have superb colours at the moment. That red reminds me of the red Mazda use on the CX5. Pity about the extreme hard suspension on this version, otherwise it looks like a great performance hatchback. Oh, and the gearbox [in case you think I slept through it]. Oddly the Renault gearbox used on my [daughter's] Qashqai 1.5 diesel is very pleasant indeed to shift, but no doubt this thing has a much higher torque rated gearbox. Could it possibly be shared with the Trafic van I wonder? If so, it doesn't have the best of long term reliability records either, the gearbox being a common weak point on the Trafic.

[@DennisBloodnokPhotographyVideo]

Good review. The ratio of price-per-performance is very good (The equivalent Golf GTi is much more expensive here in the UK). But the very harsh ride would make this car a poor car for commuting and long distance cruising (which are my two main requirements for my next car). I am looking forward to your reviews of cars such as the Honda Civic Type R, Golf GTi etc...

[@bradenjanderson]

Wish my 275 had a bloody cup holder FFS

[@swanblake]

Perfect hot hatch is the Focus RS or I30N

[@benamarayoucef9402]

The result 1.type R 2.cupra R 3.club sports 4.N30 5.M1 6 . 7. Maybe The 4 RS CAUSE of The look , Really RENAULT broke this model 👎😔

[@johnboy2436]

The real result, which includes speed, handling and track times:- Megane RS Type R GTI clubsport. I30 N Any BMW there all slow except the M3 comp

[@VladicD]

I don't know why is he mentioning Trophy all the time. This car is not Trophy, it is only a CUP edition. Trophy is a different beast and not avaliable yet. Different suspession, Recaro seats, more power, different steering rack so on.

[@antonlasmarias6606]

Do you know when it will be available?

[@johnboy2436]

This car is the exact same as a trophy except 20 bhp less what are you saying hahaha

[@rc4625]

Seats and suspension are softer on this than the mk3 megane and gearbox is the same as the mk3. The mk3 is an awesome car! I would rather have it!

[@TheRorymcloughlin]

Good on you Marek, nice car, great review

[@MarekDrives]

Filmed with Panasonic Lumix GH4: amzn.to/2CEhUDw and DJI Phantom4: amzn.to/2CDPidz Edited on MacBook Pro: amzn.to/2EMKa9E And my sunglasses, because some of you are asking Ray-Ban Justin: amzn.to/2CG49nI (The above are affliliate links. If you buy products through them I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks!)

[@dariuszciesielski5104]

honda civic gearbox ? after 700 km it will be worse like megane :D . It's rubbish...even after latest FL

[@Hiluxtaco]

Timing chains are far more durable than timing belts. And, they don't need to be changed every 60K miles (or so)...

[@ced5960]

Nice test ;) Really love this red color, amazing ! Manual gearbox is... well not my choice :/

[@trk958]

A better combo is french cologne and a german car.

[@k20dude41]

Its normal this car doesn't shift right. The way YOU pull that gearstick will kill any gearbox.

[@coss7684]

Marek, are you sure this is the "Trophy" version? I didn't hear of Renault launching this version yet...

[@philu2949]

It's not really clear how or if you like the RS? Would you mind telling? cheers

[@MarekDrives]

I think it's a very good weekend car, but everyday usable hot hatch like Golf GTI.

[@tinoschneider6350]

I really enjoyed this honest review!

[@PETSETAKIS]

soo beautiful

[@fastwithjesus5722]

bravo ... semplice ed efficace nelle spiegazioni ...

[@alliejr]

How (where?) did you get that cool turntable footage in the opening sequence?

[@MarekDrives]

I teamed up with a local car market research firm, which is also developing a new car comparison app. They have a studio, and they let me use. Beta's out in Polish language version (Auto Katalog Samar in Apple and Google stores).

[@DavidLyon]

Great Review, well done.

[@sasicuomo9217]

Renault the best

[@BillyNoMates1974]

interesting it's not a turbo charged engine of smaller displacement

[@MarekDrives]

They downsized from 2.0 to 1.8.

[@vvp1002]

great review

[@delboy2596]

M140i is where my money would go.

[@ast5515]

For the price of a Megane RS you can get a 120i at best. At least if you equip it properly.

[@delboy2596]

Berry Heathrow are doing M140i for £28k. The RS starts at £27.5k. Like I said I know where my money would go.

[@ast5515]

@@delboy2596 Don't know if the M140i is poverty spec or there is such a big difference between countries. The Megane RS is about 20% cheaper over here. But my money would go to the i30N.

[@andreacaucino927]

For me, Leon cupra or Golf GTI thanks.

[@mircea5013]

Yep. Don't forget to get a pillow when you drive the Golf GTI, ya gonna fall asleep in it. Seriously, drove one, boring as hell. Megane 3 RS, megane 4 rs >>>>> Golf 6, 7, 7.5 GTI any single day. Test them out, I dare you.

[@musicselecta5554]

Good driving car, but very cheap interior!

[@MarekDrives]

Agree!