Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy Review

Caroline drives the new Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy!

The Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy arrived in my life in a blaze of Liquid Yellow glory. This grand event has been preceded by weeks of driving the usual motoring journalist’s blend of SUV, small hatchback and saloon in varying shades of silver, grey and maybe a pop of blue for 2019.

There I was, sitting in traffic in the Mégane R.S. Trophy when I became aware that I was driving the most obvious car in Dublin city. Why was everyone watching me? Suddenly, I felt completely conspicuous and slunk a bit lower into my Recaro seat.

Of course, leaving the car park I had devilishly slipped the Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy into Sport mode. Though it was pointless, other than for the gnarly engine note. For the first time, there is a valve in the exhaust of the Mégane R.S. that allows you to adjust how noisy and anti-social your Trophy becomes. And for test purposes it was best to get right into the thick of things.

Through slow-moving city traffic, the Mégane R.S. Trophy felt tense, but well behaved. This was hardly its ideal environment but a few swift starts from the traffic lights, and pops and bangs summoned by lift off from the accelerator, beckoned to this car’s potential. I was driving the EDC automatic version, and on the downshift even at speeds below 50 kmh, there were some beautiful burbles and crackles from the exhaust. I was getting excited for the open road.

What’s so special about the Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy?

The Mégane R.S. and I have history. Late last year I had another momentous week with the Renault Mégane R.S. 280 (priced from €41,995), but the Trophy is the more hardcore version of Renaultsport’s crowning hot hatchback (priced from €46,995). The Trophy uses the same 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol unit but power is up from 280hp to 300hp, and torque is up from 390 Nm to 420 Nm in the Trophy EDC automatic. It’s shed some weight and it comes as standard on the stiffer, more track focused, “I’m going to make your jaw rattle” Cup Chassis.

Cosmetically, it’s a beautiful car in the metal, with Liquid Yellow being more like liquid gold. Swoon. The Trophy gets special 19” ‘Jerez’ alloy wheels, red Brembo® brake callipers, increased front and rear track with bespoke front and rear wings and a rear spoiler to improve aerodynamic performance.

Inside it’s a pretty standard Mégane interior but there are beautiful (optional) Alcantara-finished Recaro bucket seats, carbon grey trim, aluminium pedals and an Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel! It’s a sporty ambience but there are quite a few hard plastics, which are harder to stomach considering the list price of the car. But that’s a foible you could aim at rivals also.

Of more frustration is the infotainment system, which is fiddly to use on the move. However, the inclusion of Apple Car Play and Android Auto mean that you can bypass it more simply too. The standard BOSE stereo system is awesome.

But back to the story! What happened when I left the city?

I took the long way home of course, through the Wicklow Mountains National Park. It was midsummer, the sun shone and the tourists decided to pull in to let me have some fun. It turned out to be a fantastic test route. Not only will the scenery take your breath away, but the long straights, tight corners and mixture of road surfaces make the drive interesting too.

Under the skin of the Trophy, the limited slip differential and four wheel steering add up to amazing precision, stability and agility. The torque steer under heavy throttle is eliminated. When you quicken the pace, the Trophy flows so beautifully through corners. In these magic circumstances, I felt “at one with the car”, words I don’t utter lightly. The Trophy is elevated to the arena of the Honda Civic Type R and the Ford Focus RS with a mechanical and tactile feel behind the wheel that marks out the very best.

Yes, the Trophy is a fine piece of engineering. The ride is firm and for day to day use the firm but less firm Mégane R.S. 280 on the Sport chassis is more comfortable and refined. But the Trophy is beguiling in its own way, with the tension of a true racer and the handling to match. The Trophy is not the fastest hot hatchback of all time in a straight line but sometimes the “slower” way around is more interesting. That’s certainly the case here. A true alternative.

Caroline Kidd

Model tested: Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy EDC Auto
Price: €49,995 (Trophy from from €46,995)
Engine: 1.8-litre turbo petrol
Power: 300 hp
Torque: 420 Nm
0-100km/h: 9.5 seconds
Top speed: 254 km/h
Fuel economy: 36.7 mpg
CO2 emissions: 176 g/km
Motor tax: €750 per year