Renaultsport Megane 265

The Renault still sets the standard for driving thrills. With its razor-sharp handling and intoxicating power delivery, this fast and frantic three-door feels like a rally car for the road. It’ll leave you grinning from ear to ear.

The racy Renaultsport Megane has been around for nearly three years, but it still sets the standard for hot hatch driving thrills. Not only does it offer the most power here, it also has sharp, race-bred handling. It looks the part, too.

Despite its advancing years, the boldly styled Megane still turns heads. With its sleek, coupe-inspired lines, muscular bodykit and 18-inch alloys, it makes no attempt to disguise its performance potential. The bright LED running lights, centre-exit exhaust and gloss black grille add to the visual drama.

Unfortunately, the Renault’s sleek lines and three-door-only layout come at the expense of practicality. There is space for five at a push, but rear access is tricky even though the front seats slide and tilt forward, while a sloping roof and small side windows create a claustrophobic feel in the back. The steeply raked tailgate also compromises boot capacity, which is only 344 litres – 36 litres less than the Golf.

Happily, there are no such problems for the driver, who gets a low-slung seat position and slickly designed dash. Racy additions include a large, light grey rev counter, body-hugging sports seats and an eye-catching red strip that runs the length of the dashboard.

And while quality can’t match the VW, there are lots of soft-touch materials and a decent finish. Climate and audio controls aren’t the easiest to use, but there’s loads of kit, including leather, heated seats and keyless entry. You’ll pay £2,050 to add all this to the VW.

Prod the Renault’s starter button, and the 2.0-litre turbo burbles purposefully into life. With 261bhp it’s the most powerful engine here, yet surprisingly the car was two-tenths slower than the Golf from 0-60mph, needing 6.5 seconds.

However, thanks to its shorter gearing and muscular 360Nm torque output, the Megane had the measure of the VW during our in-gear tests. Better still, the hard-edged engine note makes the Renault feel even quicker than our figures suggest, while selecting the Sport mode sharpens the throttle response.

It’s on twisty roads where the Renault really shines, though. Even without the optional Cup suspension, it darts through corners with incredible agility. The steering is direct, well weighted and responds naturally, there are huge reserves of grip, and body control is excellent. A quick and precise gearshift adds to the back-road thrills, while the excellent Brembo brakes provide progressive and fade-free stopping power.

Only at cruising speeds does the Renault’s age become obvious, as it suffers from a little more road and wind noise than its rivals. Still, its seats are supportive and, while the ride has a firm edge, it’s not as uncomfortable as the Cup’s.

The £26,455 Megane looks like decent value, too. It’s not as cheap as the Ford or three-door Golf, but it’s packed with kit. And it’s backed up by Renault’s 4+ aftersales package, which includes four years’ free servicing. Will this be enough to offset the lack of practicality and high CO2 emissions?