It was still the height of summer, and in the Serra de Sintra the day dawned with contagious joy. Birds in love and flowers covered with dew on a less hot night were the messengers of a day that promised to be pleasant. In the background, the wind could be heard slipping through the trees, shaking off the morning laziness. Everything was beautiful, everything was so virgin and perfect until… "vruuuum, tse-páááá!"
“there were more people on the crosswalk, but it was only him that I noticed. I swear I thought that Mr. Padre was going to exorcise the car there on the public road”.
A Renault Mégane RS in shocking yellow tearing through the Serra de Sintra enters the scene. With only a cash reduction (accompanied by a brave ratér) he ordered the bucolic calm of the Serra de Sintra to "take a walk". Which is like saying "to the bark". Which is like who says, gone! Heading He finished.
That explosion must have scared the crap out of at least five birds. The Renault Mégane RS is like that: the antithesis of calm, puritanism, peace. From all that is serene.
Before continuing to kill birds and wither wild flowers, let me tell you a short episode. During the days I walked with RS, I stopped at a crosswalk to let a priest pass – there were more people on the crosswalk, but it was only him that I noticed. I swear I thought that Mr. Padre was going to exorcise the car there on the public road. The way he looked at me and at the 'yellow-roasted' Mégane RS was clearly one of disapproval.
Unfortunately he arrived late, by that time he was already addicted to the sinful charms provided by Renault Sport.
RS turned me into a troublemaker. It makes you want to turn on the «RS mode» at traffic lights – the exhaust tone becomes more audible, among other things (we'll be right there…) – just to impose the presence of RS in the urban jungle. Ridiculous isn't it? This scribe of yours, who is a “betinho” from the province – one of those who seems to catch bulls and wear the same hairstyle for years – was mad. I confess that a car hasn't kept my sleep for a long time. I know, I know, “it's just a Renault Mégane”. Wrong. It's much more than that.
“The telepathic relationship I established with Mégane RS extended to our portfolio. Our subconscious and the fuel needle became interconnected with the gas pumps"
What Renault Sport has done with the Mégane is remarkable. I can guarantee you that it's a completely different car from its brothers in the range, and it's not just because there's a 2.0 Turbo with 265hp at the front – which by the way could even lengthen the rev range a little more. From the Megane we all know, he only inherited the name and appearance. Suspensions, character, tact… everything is different.
Changing change is an experience in itself. You feel the front axle running wild looking for tar, and that split second where your hand goes from the wheel to the box seems like an eternity. Megane shakes us from left to right and scares the less experienced.
Returning to the interrupted calm of the Serra de Sintra. With day still breaking, the clock had not yet struck 7 o'clock and the Razão Automóvel team was already scattered around the curves of the mountain with intercoms. At the wheel, it was my responsibility within the legality to make some interesting «puppets» for photography.
The chassis tuning of the Mégane RS almost reminds us of a trophy car. Not only is it possible to point the front at the entrance to the curve and from then onwards make the curve with just the accelerator, it is also possible to sustain slight drifts at the rear that seemed impossible at first in a car with “everything in front”.
“The story of the frightened birds in Sintra was repeated, but this time with the dolphins of the Sado Estuary”.
But if we want maximum efficiency at the expense of stunt driving, the front axle withstands impressive mass transfers, always with the rear glued and cooperating. The best word to describe the behavior of the Mégane RS is: telepathic. Simply telepathic. Between what we intend to do and what the car gives us, there is not even a fraction of a second. It is an authentic precision machine. We think and it executes; we turn and he turns.
I have already driven, even on circuit, some renowned sports cars – those born and raised in the city of Stuttgart, you see? And when it comes to sensation and efficiency, the Mégane RS owes them very little.
It's a car that in the right hands (so, not mine…) is capable of embarrassing many people on a trackday. This was very evident in the four days we spent together. Or in the various laps he has completed at the Nürburgring in the hands of experienced Renault Sport drivers.
Above all, once you get used to its tough character, it doesn't scare you. It commands respect, but it doesn't scare. It makes us sweat and put all our concentration on the wheel but lets us explore the limit with ease. It doesn't betray us with sudden reactions or sudden loss of mobility.
Unfortunately, the telepathic relationship I established with the Mégane RS extended to our portfolio. Our subconscious and the fuel needle became interconnected with the gas pumps. The appetite with which the 265hp 2.0 Turbo engine consumes gasoline is only paralleled by the black holes of the Universe. Seeing values of 16litres/100km on the on-board computer is relatively normal in less calm driving. And if you eventually want to walk slowly, never expect to go down from 9 liters/100km. It's life, you can't have it all.
The Mégane RS is a car of extremes. Extreme fun, extreme sensations and of course… extreme consumption! If you don't want that, the Renault Mégane Coupé 1.6 dCI with 130 hp is an excellent alternative.
At 9 am, both our team and Mégane RS were already hungry. Our breakfast – for four elements – consisting of Sintra pillows, gallons and a few more snacks, cost €23. The Renault Mégane RS alone “spent” €40 in gasoline and was not satisfied.
With such an appetite, we were left with the doubt: are we going to the newsroom or are we going to Setúbal via Serra da Arrábida? Damn it… Let's go to Setúbal to have the famous fried cuttlefish for lunch. Days are not days, and it is not every day that we have a Mégane RS with us. And off we went. The story of the frightened birds in Sintra was repeated, but this time with the dolphins of the Sado Estuary.
“We had lunch and didn't leave Setúbal anymore. We stayed there until sunset. It was a day well spent, far away from the computer that keeps me company while I write these lines”.
It wasn't just nature's animals that were bothered. We had to turn off the «RS mode» because back there, Gonçalo Maccario was already complaining about the accelerations. Consumptions dropped and so did the pace (unfortunately, never to the same extent). We took the opportunity to contemplate the turquoise blue of the Sado Estuary, which on that day was particularly cloudy – nothing much. What is beautiful is always beautiful.
We had lunch and no longer left Setúbal. We stayed there until sunset. It was a day well spent, far away from the computer that keeps me company as I write these lines.
I wonder if I would ever have the courage to spend €37,500 on a Mégane RS (€41,480 for the rehearsed version). My head tells me to be sensible, but my heart doesn't follow. For this amount, I'm sure I couldn't find a new car with this performance and driving pleasure.
Like? Maybe the Volkswagen Golf GTI (trial coming soon) but it doesn't offer such an intense and rewarding driving experience.
The Renault Mégane RS is a car that deserves any and all praise it has ever been given, and I apologize if I have repeated many of them. Fortunately, the criticism is unanimous. As for comfort, I didn't write a word, did I? Let's put it this way: no one looks for affection in the arms of a boxer. Did you get it? Keep the photos.