Jaguar XJ vs Renault Megane

What's the difference?

It might be old and facing German competition bursting with advanced technology, but the XJR is still a car you can buy with heart and head. But mostly your heart. It goes like stink, has a much better interior than the Quattroporte and is more interesting than just about anything this big or this grand.

It's also a better car than the Maserati Quattroporte if you want to get on with the driving yourself and is far prettier than the Porsche Panamera. It's a wonderful thing and even more wonderful that Jaguar continues to build it. Long live that supercharged V8 and the XJ is a great home for it.

If the Renault Megane RS Trophy is your dream car let me say this: there’s no overarching reason that I’d say you shouldn’t go ahead and buy it. 

But with so much amazing competition in this part of the market, it’s hard to put it ahead of its rivals. And it’s going to be even harder for it to stay high on the contenders list as more new metal arrives in the coming years.

The XJ has a marvellously exaggerated length, with a rear overhang redolent of Jag's sporting coupe and roadster pair of the time of its launch, the XK. There's nothing else in the segment like it, with the three Germans - Mercedes' S-Class, Audi's A8 and BMW's 7 Series - having gone all Hugo Boss and and in the latter two's case, almost shrinking violet. The only credible Japanese alternative, the Lexus LS, looks like a Lexused 7 Series. The XJR is a more emotional car, like Maserati's Quattroporte.

The R adds an aggro grille, 20-inch wheels with low-ish profile tyres, a bootlid spoiler, red brake calipers and vents in the bonnet. Bits and pieces get the black gloss treatment and there are V8 and R badges, as well as a rather large leaper on the bootlid. Capping it all off are four exhausts poking out from the bumper and distinctive vertical taillights.

Inside remains largely unchanged. The cabin is big and luxurious, leather-lined and very, very comfortable. The front air vents have to be modelled on the de Havilland Comet's integrated jet engine intakes and, again, the dash design stays away from the horizontal lines of its obvious competition.

There is probably a bit much chrome for my liking, particularly on the centre console and around the rotary dial shifter, which reflects sunlight into your face during the day.

The lovely 'Riva Hoop' - a band that sweeps from door to door across the top of the dash - is a great touch and remains a defining feature in the cabin. The last update brought an Audi-like digital dashboard, including maps, but it's not nearly as slick as the German. The graphics for the dials are good (and quick) but the maps are a bit so-so.

The Megane RS Trophy’s dimensions don’t really communicate just how chunky it really is. At 4364mm long on a 2670mm wheelbase, 1875mm wide and 1435mm tall, it is pretty conventional in terms of size for the segment.

But it packs a lot of style into that size. I for one love those broad hipped wheel-arches, the signature LED headlights and chequered flag lighting signature at the bottom of the bumper, and the bright, eye-catching colours available really just ram the message home that this isn’t your average Megane.

I could happily leave behind the red flecks on the wheels, which look a bit too blingy and not quite ‘lightweight racing-spec’ to me. But they obviously appeal to a certain buyer - maybe someone who wants a bit more drive-by flair, as opposed to track-day talking points.

The Trophy model builds upon the Cup variant, using the same chassis and hardware under the skin, and therefore running the brand’s 4Control four-wheel steering and a mechanical Torsen limited slip diff. More on that in the driving section below.

Exterior design and styling are one thing - but you probably spend more time sitting inside your car than just admiring it from a distance. How does the interior of the RS Trophy stack up? Check out the interior images to make up your own mind.

It might be over five metres long, but the Jag's cabin isn't as gigantic as that might suggest - luckily, if you want space, the XJ L has it. The SWB version is roomy enough, though, just not palatial. You can fit five people, but the big transmission tunnel will limit the size of that fifth.

Front and rear passengers have a pair of cupholders each, with rubber bubbles to help hold smaller cups in tight. The front and rear doors have pockets but aren't really for bottles.

Boot space is a reasonable 520 litres, with a space saver spare under the floor.

The Megane RS Trophy’s cabin carries over some of the design cues from the exterior. It looks and feels like a hot hatch should.

There’s a lovely part-Nappa leather, part-Alcantara steering wheel with paddle shifters and a ‘centre line’ marker - but some may lament the lack of a flat-bottom to the wheel, which is a current trend in the “trust me I’m actually very sporty” breed of cars.

The manually adjustable seats are very supportive though they are a bit firm, so those wishing for ultimate comfort over long distance trips might be left wanting. But there is good adjustment to the seats, and they’re heated, too.

There are some nice elements to the cabin including soft plastics on the dashboard, but the lower plastics - below the eye-line - are quite hard and not very pleasant. However, the inclusion of ambient lighting does distract from that, and add a bit of flair to the cabin.

The portrait-style media screen is fine most of the time, though it does take some learning. The menus aren’t as intuitive as you might hope, with a mix of on-screen buttons and off-screen touchpad-style controls that can be difficult to hit when you’re driving. We also had a couple of instances of glitching while using Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.

Storage is okay. There are shallow cupholders between the seats, a covered centre console bin, as well as a storage section in front of the gear selector that’s big enough for a wallet and phone, and bottle holders in the doors. 

In the rear seat there’s enough space for someone my size (182cm) to sit behind their own driving position, albeit with limited knee room and toe room. Headroom is good, and there are dual ISOFIX child-seat anchor points and three top-tethers for baby seats.

You’ll find a pair of small door pockets, two map pockets, and rear-seat directional air vents, which is nice. There’s a flip-down arm-rest with cupholders, too, and unlike some other high-price hatches with ambient lighting up front, the Megane gets LED light strips on its rear doors, too. 

The boot space is good in the Megane RS Trophy, with luggage capacity claimed at a healthy 434 litres. On test, the car fit all three CarsGuide suitcases (124L, 95L and 36L) with room to spare. Speaking of spare (ahem), there isn’t one: it comes with a repair kit and tyre pressure monitoring, but no spare wheel of any kind. 

The Renault Megane RS Trophy has a list price of $52,990 for the six-speed manual, or $55,900 for the six-speed dual-clutch auto model, as tested here. Those costs are RRP/MSRP, and don't include on-roads. 

Standard equipment for this range-topping ‘regular’ RS model includes 19-inch ‘Jerez’ alloy wheels with Bridgestone Potenza S001 tyres, an active valve exhaust system, Brembo brakes, LED headlights with LED daytime running lights, rear fog lights, front/rear/side parking sensors, semi-autonomous parking system, reversing camera, auto locking, smart key card and push-button start, and steering column-mounted paddle shifters.

There’s also auto headlights, auto wipers, dual zone climate control, an auto dimming rearview mirror, heated front seats with manual adjustment, a nine-speaker Bose sound system with subwoofer and amplifier, an 8.7-inch touchscreen media system with aux port, 2x USB ports, Bluetooth phone and audio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav, the brand’s RS Monitor track timing software, and a 7.0-inch TFT colour screen for the driver with configurable modes and digital speedo.

You can find a run down of the safety tech and equipment fitted in the safety section below.

Options available include an electric sunroof ($1990), and there is also the choice of a few metallic paint colours: Diamond Black and Pearl White metallic are both $800, while the Signature Metallic Paint colours - Liquid Yellow and Orange Tonic as you see here - are $1000. Only Glacier White will cost you no extra. 

Wondering where it sits among its closest rivals? If you’re thinking about a Ford Focus ST (from $44,690 - manual or auto), Hyundai i30 N (from $41,400 - manual only), the outgoing VW Golf GTI (from $46,690 - auto only), or the mighty Honda Civic Type R (from $51,990 - manual only) the Megane RS Trophy is expensive. Only the VW Golf R Final Edition ($57,990 - auto only) is dearer… unless you’re thinking of comparing to the likes of a Mercedes-AMG A35 ($69,300).

Jaguar's lovely 5.0-litre V8 with supercharger continues under the XJ's long and shapely bonnet, delivering a walloping 404kW and a tyre-shredding 680Nm. The sprint to 100km/h for all 1875kg of XJR is completed in an impressive 4.6 seconds, which was very competitive at the car's launch in 2009.

Power reaches the rear wheels via ZF's eight-speed automatic and you can control it with the tacky plastic paddles on the steering wheel. Oh, and it has stop-start.

Engine specs matter if you’re talking about performance hatchbacks, and the Megane RS Trophy is no exception.

It has a 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that punches hard for its size, with 221kW of power (at 6000rpm) and 420Nm of torque (at 3200rpm). That’s for the six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, as was fitted to our test car. If you buy the six-speed manual, you miss out on a bit of grunt - it has 400Nm (at 3200rpm) and the same peak power.

In auto spec the RS Trophy “300” offers higher figure vs the Sport and Cup “280” models (205kW/390Nm), and more engine performance per litre of capacity than the Focus ST (2.3-litre: 206kW/420Nm), Golf GTI (2.0-litre: 180kW/370Nm; TCR 2.0-litre: 213kW/400Nm), and even the Golf R (2.0-litre: 213kW/380Nm). 

All Megane RS models are front-wheel drive (FWD/2WD) and no Megane RS is all-wheel drive (AWD). The Trophy and Cup models both get 4Control four-wheel steering, which is an interesting aspect of the drive experience. More on that below. 

There are multiple drive modes to choose from, including Comfort, Neutral, Sport, Race and the configurable Perso mode. These can alter engine, transmission, throttle, traction control, exhaust noise, fake engine sound and steering sharpness - but not suspension, because the dampers aren’t adaptive units. 

The combined cycle figure for the V8 is listed at 11.1L/100km but fully expect to see the 16.1L/100km we got, especially as you try and fail to tyre of the monstrous power delivery and lovely (if muted) V8 roar.

Luckily, even if you're belting it, the 82 litre tank is a generous size and you'll cover a fair amount of ground.

The claimed official combined fuel consumption for the Megane RS Trophy is 8.0 litres per 100 kilometres. That’s for the EDC auto model as tested. The manual is said to use 8.3L/100km.

You might achieve that if you drive gently, though over my testing - which incorporated hundreds of kilometres of highway and country road driving, as well as a few spirited stints and some urban snarls - I saw a return of 10.8L/100km at the pump.

The Megane RS requires 98RON premium unleaded, and the fuel tank capacity is 50 litres. 

Indecently quick, surprisingly agile and heaps of fun. While the first descriptor applies purely because of its size, the next two shouldn't when you're in command of 5.13 metres of motor vehicle. As with the Audi and now the 7, the Jag has a lot of aluminium to help keep the kilos off and good gracious, it has worked.

The R is based around the short wheelbase version of the XJ for perhaps obvious reasons. Even so, it appears to be the shorter-again XF's because this thing turns in like a demon. No, it won't stay with the dearly-departed XF-R but it does a mighty fine impression of one, just with a better ride quality.

Rear seat passengers should be prepared to feel a lot of wheelslip, especially when in Dynamic mode, as even the fat Pirelli P-Zero's struggle for purchase when the right foot hits the carpet. The V8 rumbles rather than bellows, but the rears cheerfully spin up until the computers and active differential rein things in. Traction control off and you've got a proper tyre-smoker if you're not playing by the rules. Jag's engineers are clearly hooligans at heart.

As always, ZF's eight-speed transmission does an incredible job of marshalling the horses in a rearward direction and when you're not after a bit of sound and light, have achieved a tremendous amount with the damping. When in normal mode, the car glides along, so much so that the lady of the house wasn't so sure it was a sporting sedan.

Once she was apprised of dynamic mode (you have to cycle the button through winter mode first, for some reason), her only complaint was that it was too long and the steering wheel too big for this type of car. I was persuaded of the latter, especially after stepping out of an Audi S3 which has a tiny wheel. Long story short, the XJR is now 'her' car (to be more accurate, the XFR is, but that hasn't arrived yet, so...), as it felt smaller than it was when not parking and she's a sucker for a torquey V8.

The Megane RS Trophy has the ingredients to be an all-time legendary hot hatch, but they don’t work together well enough for it to be a truly great car to drive.

That is, they don’t work together on public roads. I didn’t get a chance to sample the RS Trophy at the track, and I’m sure that may well alter some of my opinions. But this was a review focused around everyday driving first and foremost, because - unless you’ve got quite a fleet of cars - you’ll be spending a lot of time in mundane motoring in your Megane RS, too.

Other hot hatches in the segment manage to combine big power and torque with immense traction and steering prowess. The Megane RS used to, as well.

But this new version seemingly has some issues harnessing the grunt, and the 4Control four-wheel steering system simply isn’t as rewarding as it should be.

I had several instances where the traction on slippery surfaces was lacking, while even in the dry I noticed distinct torque steer and the Bridgestone tyres struggled to cope under hard acceleration. That’s despite the fact the Trophy gets a mechanical LSD.  

Further, that four-wheel steering actually makes it pretty hard to judge the behaviour of the car at times, with an artificial feel to it that just doesn’t do it justice. There will be some who say that the four-wheel steering - which can angle in the rear tyres to help you pivot in corners more adeptly - is excellent. But I’m not one of them. I really found it hard to predict this car’s behaviour. I never really gelled with it.

At the very least there’s a non-interventional lane keeping assist system, which emits a pulsing sound through the speakers rather than actively vibrating or adjusting the steering. 

The ride is unapologetic in its firmness – although, if you’re across the history of RS Megane models, that is to be expected for a Trophy chassis. It can be tiring on longer road trips especially if the surface isn’t great.

While it is extremely fast in a straight line - 0-100km/h is claimed at just 5.7 seconds - it wasn’t as quick through corners as I was expecting it might be, and that comes down to its four-wheel steering mostly, along with a lack of usable traction at times. It simply isn’t as connected to the road as the previous RSs have been. 

It was also a bit laggy then lurchy at lower speeds when taking off from a standstill, such is the nature of the dual-clutch in stop-start situations. 

To put it bluntly, I didn’t enjoy this car anywhere near as much as I thought I might. It just isn’t as pure a driving machine as I’ve come to expect from the RS brand. Perhaps I should aim to try it on a track!

The Renault Megane has not been awarded an ANCAP crash test rating, but the regular (non-RS) model scored five stars against EuroNCAP criteria back in 2015.

The RS Trophy (manual or automatic) comes fitted with adaptive cruise control with speed limiter, auto emergency braking (AEB) at speeds between 30km/h and 140km/h, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning with audio alert, reversing camera, surround parking sensors and semi-autonomous parking.

Missing is rear cross-traffic alert, front cross-traffic alert, rear AEB, pedestrian detection and cyclist detection. 

Jaguar offers a three year/unlimited kilometre warranty and roadside assist for the same period.

Like the F-Type, XJ owners benefit from three years/100,000km free servicing.

The Renault Megane RS range is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which adds some peace of mind for owners.

Further, the service intervals are generous, at 12 months/20,000km - though the brand states the Megane RS is actually “subject to adaptive servicing requirements” as the oil condition sensor may trigger a service check requirement prior to the standard intervals.

Unlike other Renault models with a five-year capped price servicing plan, the Megane RS is only covered for three years/60,000km. The service costs for the EDC dual-clutch auto models are higher than the manual versions, due to replacement transmission oil being needed (adding $400 to the first service). 

The costs for the first three services are: $799 (12 months/20,000km); $299 (24 months/40,000km); $399 (36 months/60,000km). Consumables beyond those service intervals include: every 24 months or 20,000km - air filter replacement ($49) and pollen filter replacement ($63); every 48 months or 60,000km - accessory belt replacement ($306). Spark plugs are included at no cost, due every 36 months/60,000km.

The car is backed for up to four years of roadside assistance when serviced within the Renault dealership/service network.