Photo: mobile.de
The lack of a manual handbrake is something that seems to concern autoevolution editors and nobody else, just like the type of rear suspension used by various MQB cars. But maybe somebody else thinks this is weird too: we just noticed some Megane GT models are on sale with a conventional handbrake.
The press photos for this car all show the e-brake installed behind the shifter and accompanied by a drive mode button shaped like a little flower. But the center console for the cars with a manual handbrake is different. It's got two large cupholders and no place to put your key fob.
At first, we thought this was down to the market where it's sold, as other companies water down their performance cars to make them cheaper. But no; we found both configurations on German dealer's lots. It's not a part of the adaptive cruise control package, which all the cars seem to have too.
Our current best guess is that the e-brake is part of the premium package that gives you Alcantara seats, which costs about €2,000 extra. All the cars we found had cloth seats that aren't available in the German configurator. That could explain why a car with 10 or so kilometers on the clock is on sale for around €22,000 when it's actually supposed to cost around €30,000.
Overall, the cabin of the currently sportiest Megane is a nice place, thanks to a set of digital dials, the portrait screen, blue accents, ambient lighting and horn-like paddle shifters that are visible from a mile away. But the Alcantara pack definitely makes things better.
If you'd like to know more about the car, read or test drive review. But in a nutshell, it's got lower and stiffer suspension, a body kit and the 1.6-liter turbo engine from the Clio RS plus some extra power: 205 PS and 280 Nm of torque. The 7-speed EDC gearbox comes standard and has got a wet-clutch configuration, so it's smoother. Also standard is a four-wheel steering system called 4Control, which unfortunately adds about 40 kilos to the back axle. Oh, and did we mention the right exhaust is fake?
At first, we thought this was down to the market where it's sold, as other companies water down their performance cars to make them cheaper. But no; we found both configurations on German dealer's lots. It's not a part of the adaptive cruise control package, which all the cars seem to have too.
Our current best guess is that the e-brake is part of the premium package that gives you Alcantara seats, which costs about €2,000 extra. All the cars we found had cloth seats that aren't available in the German configurator. That could explain why a car with 10 or so kilometers on the clock is on sale for around €22,000 when it's actually supposed to cost around €30,000.
Overall, the cabin of the currently sportiest Megane is a nice place, thanks to a set of digital dials, the portrait screen, blue accents, ambient lighting and horn-like paddle shifters that are visible from a mile away. But the Alcantara pack definitely makes things better.
If you'd like to know more about the car, read or test drive review. But in a nutshell, it's got lower and stiffer suspension, a body kit and the 1.6-liter turbo engine from the Clio RS plus some extra power: 205 PS and 280 Nm of torque. The 7-speed EDC gearbox comes standard and has got a wet-clutch configuration, so it's smoother. Also standard is a four-wheel steering system called 4Control, which unfortunately adds about 40 kilos to the back axle. Oh, and did we mention the right exhaust is fake?
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