Photo: SB-Medien
The Megane RS is a hero hatch of the moment, bringing a brand new engine and rear-wheel steering to the segment. However, it's based on a family compact that's slightly older and in need of a makeover.
Almost every compact car in Europe gets updated after three or four years, and the Megane should be no exception. Corporate fleets are filled with enough of these for us to hate the basic headlight design or worry about some engines' reliability. Given that the 4th-generation hatch came out in 2016, we're actually surprised that the facelift isn't out yet.
Various prototypes have been spied throughout the summer, but now we have an RS too. The first thing we thought when we saw these photos were "that guy must be having a lot of fun," the second being "what the heck are they changing?"
The funny thing is that some of the facelift changes were leaked way before the Megane RS was even revealed. Back in July of 2017, we showed you photos of the potential refresh from what looked like Renault's 3D models. And thanks to those, we know the headlights will probably have an array of LED projectors rather than the two beams per unit you get right now. Also, the taillights will be concentrated around little dashes, a bit like Porsche's.
We hope Renault will do some cool stuff to the interior as well, which sadly now lags behind the smaller Clio hatch. Better use of colors, materials and new infotainment would help even the RS model. And just like with previous RS facelift, you're probably going to hear how the gearbox changes faster (talking about the EDC), the suspension is stiffer at the front or weight is slightly down.
But the fact of the matter is that we're already dealing with a hardcore machine here, and you especially shouldn't get your hopes up in the engine department. The Megane RS maxes out at 300 HP (Trophy) and that's almost class-leading despite the 1.8-liter being slightly smaller than everybody else's engine.
Various prototypes have been spied throughout the summer, but now we have an RS too. The first thing we thought when we saw these photos were "that guy must be having a lot of fun," the second being "what the heck are they changing?"
The funny thing is that some of the facelift changes were leaked way before the Megane RS was even revealed. Back in July of 2017, we showed you photos of the potential refresh from what looked like Renault's 3D models. And thanks to those, we know the headlights will probably have an array of LED projectors rather than the two beams per unit you get right now. Also, the taillights will be concentrated around little dashes, a bit like Porsche's.
We hope Renault will do some cool stuff to the interior as well, which sadly now lags behind the smaller Clio hatch. Better use of colors, materials and new infotainment would help even the RS model. And just like with previous RS facelift, you're probably going to hear how the gearbox changes faster (talking about the EDC), the suspension is stiffer at the front or weight is slightly down.
But the fact of the matter is that we're already dealing with a hardcore machine here, and you especially shouldn't get your hopes up in the engine department. The Megane RS maxes out at 300 HP (Trophy) and that's almost class-leading despite the 1.8-liter being slightly smaller than everybody else's engine.
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