2018 Renault Megane RS Runs on Spa Francorchamps Before IAA Debut

Well, if only cars were reduced to their exterior design and their cold hard technical data, choosing one would be so much easier. We've seen so many cases where certain models looked and sounded great on paper, and then turned out to be real turds once you got to drive them.

The reverse can be true as well. Look at the old Suzuki Swift Sport, for example. It's got perfectly tame looks and a 1.6-liter four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine with 136 horsepower. Normally, you wouldn't touch it with a stick if you were out for a fun-to-drive car, and yet had you tried it, you would have been hard pressed to find anything even remotely as much fun for that kind of money. And the same could be said about a Mazda MX-5 as well.

The Renault Megane RS is far from a sleeper like the Swift Sport was, but that doesn't mean it's not full of character as well. The fact it once held the Nurburgring record for front-wheel-driven cars says a lot about the heritage of the model and the pressure lying on the new one's shoulders.

But the French seem to have prepared it well. With 300-odd horsepower from either a 2.0-liter or a 1.8-liter four-pot turbo and four-wheel-steering, the hot hatch is ready to take its crown back from the Honda Civic Type-R which posted a 7:43.8 time on the Nordschleife.

This clip shows the RS on another legendary European track - the Belgian circuit of Spa Francorchamps. Don't expect to see much of the car - it seems Renault is doing the corporate thing and ignores the fact the pictures have been leaked - but do get ready for a dose of adrenaline.