We flew into Malaga and picked up a non Cup model, then drove it on the motorway to the British Colony of Gibraltar which is about a one hour drive. The car was very quiet and not what we had expected. There was hardly any road, wind or engine noise intrusion in the cabin and it sat effortlessly at 130kph with just a light touch of the accelerator. We went over the border, onto the rock and had some fairly narrow streets to contend with but it was equally as happy in the town as it was on the motorway. We found that the small rear windows did hamper visibility if you needed to reverse or when pulling out of a tight road junction and some passengers may find sitting in the rear to be a bit claustrophobic but buyers of this type of car do not buy them for passengers. If they cared about this then they would buy a Scenic.

On the second day we got a Cup model to drive and we were prepared for a very hard ride. We didn’t have much for breakfast just in case, as we were going up into the mountains to Ronda and to the Ascari track. There were plenty of tight turns up in the hills and the Megane R.S. cornered around them beautifully with no hesitations. The handling was superb and surprisingly it was also comfortable; it could easily be used as an everyday car. We then drove the Cup version on the circuit of Ascari way up in the hills near Ronda, but we had to wait until the track had dried first as it had poured down all morning. Despite a few puddles, they let us loose in the R.S. with a couple of steady laps to get used to the car and the circuit and then we could give it a proper trial. I managed to almost lose the back end on a tight corner which was still laden with standing water but the systems on the car were instantly there and it was immediately back in a straight line. I was pleased to be off the track and back in our road car heading back to Malaga airport, as I am a ‘fair weather’ track person and those wet patches did scare me a bit, regardless of the Renault’s systems, superb handling, braking and precise steering.

The Renaultsport R.S. is powered by a 2.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine that produces 250hp and goes from 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds. It has a combined fuel consumption figure of 33.6 mpg and CO2 emissions of 195g/km. The R.S is built at Renault’s plant in Palencia, Northern Spain, alongside the Megane five door and the coupe. The exterior styling of the R.S. is very different to the standard Megane coupe as it has extended wheel arches, a front bumper incorporating a wide air intake, a central exhaust tailpipe, a rear under body diffuser, a large rear tailgate spoiler and LED daytime running lights. These attractive LED lights do make the front look special and give the car its own identity, but these unfortunately go off as soon as the main lights are turned on so the car loses its distinctive and unique appearance.

The interior looks very sporty with a yellow rev counter, optional yellow leather bolsters on the seats, yellow stitching on the steering wheel, sports seats and aluminium pedals. Another option that can be added to the Cup version, and can be used on motor sport or track days, is the Renaultsport monitor (on board telemetry) which gives the driver information such as G-force, oil pressure, lap times and performance data. It also enables the driver to modify the throttle pedal settings.

The new Megane R.S. is quick but not super quick. It has enough power for an everyday hot hatch but it is not in the same league as some of the other super hot hatches. However, it does offer a fun car that is extremely comfortable and has loads of standard equipment, at a sensible price. It looks great and certainly attracted plenty of attention in Southern Spain.