Renault Megane vs Renault Clio 2004

Even Renault admits sales of the turbocharged Megane 225 and its Renault Sport stablemate, the Clio 182 (numbers represent horsepower), won't be high in Australia. It predicts monthly figures of only 25 of each.

But it's supposed to be an important step towards giving the Renault brand a shot of sex appeal.

"We are trying to avoid setting concrete targets," managing director Rudi Koenig says.

"Obviously, with this type of car, initial demand is going to be high. Then, like most sports vehicles, expectation dies down.

"But we want to use Renault Sport to enhance our brand awareness in this country."

The Megane Sport 225 has a turbocharged version of Renault's 2.0-litre engine, boosting power to 165kW and torque to 300Nm, compared with the standard Megane's 98kW and 191Nm.

The twin-scroll, watercooled turbocharger has what's called a "double-incident flow" that is supposed to reduce the amount of exhaust coming back into the cylinders. Basically, it reduces turbo lag and that means the engine doesn't have to be wound up to high revs to get the most from the turbo.

Apart from the turbo, the Megane Sport has 17-inch wheels, a wider track, stiffer suspension, lower ride, and four-wheel Brembo disc brakes and calipers with electronic braking distribution. The Luxury pack includes full leather trim, a sunroof and six-CD audio.

The more familiar Renault Sport Clio has also had a mild boost in power (up 7kW to 131kW), along with new standard features such as leather/anthracite trim, twin tailpipes and cruise control.

It also has a wider track (12mm front and 16mm rear) and wider Michelin tyres.

The biggest news is the arrival of the Cup variant, a track model with stiffer suspension (20 per cent stiffer in front and 16 per cent at back).

Apart from grey metallic alloys, rather than the silver of the regular Clio Sport, and a (barely noticeable) 3mm lower ride height, there's little visual difference between the Cup and regular versions.

ON THE ROAD
IF THE Renault Sport Clio is the genuine article hot hatch, the Renault Sport Megane 225 comes across as a bit "not quite".

It's not quite edgy enough to be a hot hatch in the same sense as its stablemate, the Renault Sport Clio 182, which makes it hard to work out exactly what kind of buyer would go for it.

While it's undoubtedly sporty, in the sense of having a reasonably stiff suspension, the Megane loses the edge with its steering.

The best description is it feels "woolly". It's not sharp as you'd expect from a car with a sporty attitude, whether it be a genuine sports car or only a hot hatch.

The ride itself is a bit "midway" as well, though in this case that's not necessarily a bad thing. Grip and control is good without the choppiness you can get in cars that have a very hard suspension.

The Megane 225's biggest plus is the turbo engine, which is a delight from low in the rev range to the top. No noticeable turbo lag means it's also easy to live with.

Through the windy stuff the engine gives the driver plenty in reserve to fire out of corners and dart up hills.

The six-speed manual, however, isn't quite slick enough to take advantage of the motor. The shift from second to third, in particular, is fairly hit-and-miss. The Clio's five-speed is much more usable.

But the car's biggest letdown is its drab and not especially sporty interior. The plastics are a dull dark grey and do little to excite. The orange seatbelts only partially compensate.

The instruments are sparse for a car that will sell for $42,990 and the orange-lit display might be functional and easy enough to read, but look industrial rather than sexy.

In contrast, the Renault Sport Clio, even the relatively "standard" one pushes all the right buttons.

After driving the turbo Megane, power and torque feel a little bit light on, but everything else screams fun.

Through the Tasmanian backroads, the Clio feels like a go-kart, the grip so impressive you can maintain speed to the point that the lack of brute power is hardly relevant.

The steering and transmission are much more enticing for the driver than the larger car, as is the interior with its black and brushed aluminium highlights. The personality of the car shines through, whereas the Megane feels pale.

For an extra $1500 you get the Club spec version with stiffer racetrack suspension and grey-coloured wheels. The wheels certainly look the part, but, except for those who intend to use the car on the track, the Cup has a noticeably bumpier ride without any noticeable improvement in grip.

Now if we could just squeeze that turbocharged engine into the Clio . . . But I guess that's just being silly.