1976 units… That’s how many Mégane RS Ultime cars Renault recently put on sale. What does this number mean? Quite simply, it’s related to the year Renault Sport was born. The department will be closed soon and its activities taken over by Alpine. The Renault sub-brand will be in charge of the most dynamic electrified models. Welcome to a new era…However, if you’re tempted, you can still grab a French sports car with an internal combustion engine. Go for it! Admittedly, this RS Ultime offers no technical changes over the regular model, apart from some cosmetic details like a few decals. Fortunately, Renault based it on the Trophy Megane RS, the last remaining sports car in the range since the Clio RS was pensioned off.
Bodywork was revised : there are new larger front (+60mm) and rear (+ 45mm) wings, side air extractors, R.S. Vision headlamps, central exhaust, shark antenna, front spoiler and rear diffuser. Many details got black paint to set this limited edition off : logos, door handles, side window frames, wheels, wing trims and rear diffuser. The front bumper F1 blade even gets gloss black paint with an Ultime logo. Under the bonnet lurks the 300bhp 1.8 Turbo mated to the EDC automatic gearbox. Brakes, suspension and steering come straight from the Cup. It’s an exhilarating cocktail that gives you a real buzz.
Admittedly, the weather was pretty bad during most of our test drive. We were lucky it got a bit better for the shooting session, providing us with some beautiful pics. As our test car was shod with Bridgestone Potenza S007 semi-slicks, it’s easy to understand why yours truly was never able to get the most out of this yellow rocket during the test. However, that didn’t stop us from enjoying this brilliant piece of kit to the full ! It’s such a far cry from all the electric cruise liners we now test on a regular basis.
I like it
The interior won’t surprise anyone. In order to set them apart, the Recaro buckets are upholstered in titanium-black Alcantara and get an embroidered R.S. logo. Some unique door sills and a numbered metal tag complete it. The Mégane RS Ultime is a pleasure to drive, the steering wheel feels good in the hands and the two paddles are spot on. The whole thing might be getting with its older design screens but that doesn’t really matters as the Mégane RS is a real driver’s car. The back doors and generous boot space are enough to make it look like a reasonable purchase, how great.
Quite clever
This sports saloon forte is its sporty handling. It was made possible using all the Renault Sport wizardy : the 300 bhp 1.8 turbo engine (shared with the Alpine and the now-defunct Trophy) mated to the EDC gearbox (by the way, it never convinced us : it’s too lazy, even in Sport mode). The rear-wheel steering, set up helps the rear axle to swallow bends with alacrity. At first, it’s a little bit weird but you soon get used to it. If the road is dry and wide enough, why not try the Race mode ? That one switches off the ESC. Obviously, the Cup chassis is quite firmer but it wasn’t too hard downtown even though our female passengers thought otherwise.
I don’t like it
Every time we test a car featuring this robotised gearbox, we can’t help but complain. It’s too slow, and too intrusive, definitely spoiling the fun. However, the highly sensitive and directional front suspension and limited slip diff are incredibly efficient. Thanks to these, this Megane Ultime can keep up with its two rivals : the Hyundai i30 N and the Type-R Honda Civic. For us, the Japanese car still tops both thanks to its manual gearbox.
Why I buy it
Because it gives you a real buzz… The Mégane RS Ultime features unique details and is available in four colours: Star Black, Pearl White, Sirius Yellow and Tonic Orange. Our anorak readers will notice that the right-hand stripping includes a small « 1976 », the year Renault Sport was born. On the road, the Mégane RS Ultime is a real delight to drive fast and far. Its small 4-cylinder turbo engine pushes up all the way in a very linear way and will wake you up once the Sport or Track mode is selected. The gears follow one another and the driver quickly gets a big smile. The Brembo brakes feature red calipers. They were fade-free and powerful, while the steering is set in such a way as to ensure memorable track time. That’s provided you take good care of the fragile transmission, according to track racers using it. As an everyday car, the 5 door body is definitely a bonus and it remains decently comfortable, even if the Ultime gets the Trophy chassis.
Why I don’t buy it
Damn, it’s already sold out… This limited edition retails for €52,000, but don’t rush to a dealer near you as the 41 cars allocated to Belgium are already sold out. Eventually… our test drive was only intended to get you mouth-watering. And having us mourning the disappearance of such 100% fun cars! At the end of our 500 miles test, average fuel consumption was 28,3 MPG. To be fair, the shooting session, its many U-turns and spirited driving surely didn’t help. To sum it up, from now only Asian carmakers still offer sports hatches… (Translation: Dimitri Urbain – Pictures: Pierre Fontignies)
