Living with Renault Mégane R.S Trophy
Review by Jacob Lerklint
If you could own only one car, which one would that be? I may have found it. The 2020 Mégane R.S Trophy uses a turbocharged 1.8 litre 4-cylinder engine with 300hp and 420NM, all to the front wheels via an optional 6-speed dual clutch transmission. To get that power down to the ground the Trophy uses a Torsen limited slip differential which works great pushing it hard through corners and tight bends. Going flat out from a standstill using the (EDC only) launch control the car struggles to get that grip down and you definitely feel quite a bit of torque steer. You better hold onto that alcantara steering wheel with a firm grip. With that said, the overall grip and agility is superb. It never seems to want to understeer. That might be the 4 wheel steering working, yes it actually has 4WS or 4Control as Renault calls it. Tyres, Renault worked hard to find the right tyres for the trophy and the fitted Bridgestone Potenza S001 (245/35/19) works a charm. The Trophy comes fitted with the cup chassi and hydraulic compression shock absorbers which makes it pretty stiff but still manageable on a day to day basis. You definitely need to get used to the 4Control four wheel steering, it can feel quite unnatural at times, especially at higher speeds, but you get used to it after a while and then all you want to do is take som extra laps round the roundabouts to feel the car rotate around you.
"Dual clutch gearbox in a hot hatch?!"
The car was fitted with the optional six speed (EDC) dual clutch transmission. Dual clutch gearbox in a hot hatch?! Sacrilege! Actually it’s pretty damn good, up & downshifts are super responsible and in the auto mode it’s shifts perfect like any other dual clutch transmission. If you plan to use it daily the EDC gearbox is a option I would tick, and you get 20 extra NM with the EDC compared to the manual transmission. As sounds go, the Trophy actually makes a great sound with pops and crackles on up & downshifts. It sounds real fruity in the higher RPM’s. The most impressive thing about the car except its ridiculously agile and well balanced chassi, is the brakes. The stopping power from the 355mm bimaterial front discs brakes are immense. Never seems to fade or loose pressure. The car came with the standard alcantara sport seats which were very comfortable and supportive around twisty roads. You can option it with Recaro bucket seats but the standard seats were good enough. To answer my question in the beginning, is this the perfect “one car” to own? It might just be, it’s not without flaws but the pros exceed the cons. One of the best FWD cars out there.
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