Photo: autoevolution
It seem a little bit of a canundrum is going on in the hot hatch world right now. While the Polo GTI has been criticized for not being engaging enough due to the DSG gearbox, Renault's Megane RS models are not easy enough to drive every day because they don't come with automatics.
The Clio RS has already switched to a twin-clutch "Efficient Double Clutch" for the fourth generation model. Auto reviews have primarily criticized the car for this, but the buyers might be saying something else, since they're considering doing the same to the Megane RS.
A decision has not been made yet and is still a long way off. But a recent report from Australian magazine CarAdvice suggests the balance is heavily tipped in favor of the twin-clutch arrangement.
“Look, they’re keen to produce cars for the global market that will sell,” said Renault Sport Technologies CEO Patrice Ratti.
Obviously, there's nothing wrong with going for a dual-clutch. It's a good way to make the car faster, as Porsche's sole use of PDK ins the GT3 attests. Hot hatches do have some thing to lose though. You can't really do the usual hooning stuff if you don't have actual control of what gear you're in. Even the cheaper twin-clutch gearboxes are quite expensive and they don't have the same shift responses as they do in Porsche.
But what Renault is trying to do here is to make the Megane RS a global success story. The simple fact that we're talking about an Australian source means that the RS is no longer the French special for people who don't want a Golf GTI.
So why not both? Well, when VW developed the DSG six-speed, the costs were shared between four brands and many different models. Renault can't give the EDC to Nissan because they use CVTs. If only they could find a way to put the same gearbox in the regular Megane and Laguna models as well.
A decision has not been made yet and is still a long way off. But a recent report from Australian magazine CarAdvice suggests the balance is heavily tipped in favor of the twin-clutch arrangement.
“Look, they’re keen to produce cars for the global market that will sell,” said Renault Sport Technologies CEO Patrice Ratti.
Obviously, there's nothing wrong with going for a dual-clutch. It's a good way to make the car faster, as Porsche's sole use of PDK ins the GT3 attests. Hot hatches do have some thing to lose though. You can't really do the usual hooning stuff if you don't have actual control of what gear you're in. Even the cheaper twin-clutch gearboxes are quite expensive and they don't have the same shift responses as they do in Porsche.
But what Renault is trying to do here is to make the Megane RS a global success story. The simple fact that we're talking about an Australian source means that the RS is no longer the French special for people who don't want a Golf GTI.
So why not both? Well, when VW developed the DSG six-speed, the costs were shared between four brands and many different models. Renault can't give the EDC to Nissan because they use CVTs. If only they could find a way to put the same gearbox in the regular Megane and Laguna models as well.
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