Renault Megane 2008 Review

The hot diesel arrives in Australia in October and will cost about $40,000. It blows most of the small-car oil-burners out of the water in power and torque and marginally tops the current benchmark, the Golf GT TDI ($39,990).

ENGINE AND ECONOMY

The engine is the same as in the Laguna, new Koleos SUV and Trafic van, but with improved engine mapping, earlier turbo boost and mated to a more aggressive six-speed manual. The five-door Megane pumps out 127kW of power and 360Nm of torque, compared with the Golf's 125kW/350Nm.

Meanwhile, RenaultSport claims it sips fuel at just 6.5 litres per 100km, against Golf's 6.6, proving you can have your gateaux and eat it too.

While its power may be down on the turbo model's 165kW, it more than makes up for it with a huge dollop of peak torque from just 2000rpm.

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ON THE ROAD

That makes it fun to drive; not just off the mark but heading towards the 5000rpm limit. Its acceleration and feeling of power is more akin to a petrol car than a diesel. And the 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine is very quiet, only giving away the hint of clatter at idle. There's also a tasty exhaust note that resembles a bigger petrol car.

Brakes are big and Brembo, so there is plenty of stopping power on board. On a short blast through the Parisienne countryside, the little diesel displayed predictable driving manners and despite all that low-down torque and heavy diesel engine there was minimal misbehaviour such as wicked torque steer or massive understeer. Indeed, turn-in is very good, although the electronic steering is somewhat numb.

CHASSIS

RenaultSport has fitted the engine to the chassis originally developed for Megane Renault Sport 2.0 Turbo. It features independent steering-axis front suspension and a 20mm-diameter anti-roll bar, but RenaultSport has stiffened the front springs and damper settings to cope with the extra 80kg weight of the diesel engine and gearbox.

The rear suspension is based on a programmed-deflection flexible beam with torsional stiffness of 80Nm which is equivalent to the Cup chassis version of Megane Renault Sport 2.0T.

TRIM LEVEL

Renault Australia senior communications manager Craig Smith says trim level will be similar to the current three-door model with leather upholstery as an option.

Inside and out there are several RenaultSport plates, badges and seat stitching, but it doesn't look like a tacky “boy racer”. However, missing from the badges is the word “diesel”.

“We did not want to put a diesel badge on the back,” Smith says. “The 2.0-litre diesel is the main stay of our range. This diesel shows what it is capable of.”

It certainly is a more attractive car than the standard Megane, the dual pipes and big rear diffuser shaving some vital kilos off the notoriously fat bottom.

And with safety features the same as those on all Meganes which scored five stars in EuroNCAP crash tests, it makes good sense. Smith says they're expecting to sell about 70-100 a year.