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.
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What do you think?
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Mikeado commented on this article
at 02:45 pm on 16 October 2009
So they've followed TopGear Logic - instead of charging more for the faster one (Cup), like Porsche, Lamborghini et al. do, they're charging less for the one with fewer parts. That performance meter sounds like a carryover from Carlos Ghosn's other company's (Nissan's) flagship.
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Da_Vincentius commented on this article
at 03:00 pm on 16 October 2009
Finally a car company gets it. If it has fewer parts, you charge less, Thank you Renault.
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Winbolt commented on this article
at 03:47 pm on 16 October 2009
I've never modified my throttle mapping before ... or I don't think I have, but I'm sure it's something I need to do. Perhaps I could shave a couple of tenths off my daily commute.
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AlKim commented on this article
at 04:02 pm on 16 October 2009
From that angle, it looks great. Unfortunately the front is nothing I would like to see in my drive.
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PetrolHead247 commented on this article
at 04:10 pm on 16 October 2009
I've never understood Porsche's, Lamborghini's and Ferrari's logic. That is if you buy a 'superlight' verison of a supercar, it's more expensive, yet has fewer parts. Thankfully the guys behind RenaultSport have (like what Mikeado said) applied a little TG logic. That's not the only reason why i love this car and indeed nearly all RS Renaults though. I've always loved hot hatches but i've found some to feel a little too heavy and slow for a hot hatch. But preety much all RS Renaults are mind-bogglingly good fun, but best of all, they're dead cheap.
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