Kia Stonic vs Renault Megane

What's the difference?

Unlike a lot of rivals in this segment, the Stonic's actually quite a bit of fun to drive, and that alone earns it a tick from me.

Yes, it can feel underpowered in places, especially when you're trying to do high-speed overtakes or if you're on a really engaging road and on and off the accelerator. But just cruising around, the little powertrain gives you plenty to get around the city.

And I guess that is the point. This does feel like a very city-friendly vehicle, even if it is undeniably showing its age in places.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer with meals provided.

Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics (https://www.carsguide.com.au/ethics), and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

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.

I'm not gonna spend too much time on the exterior design, because from most angles it largely looks a lot like a Kia Stonic, right? The big exterior change occurred up front, where the old Kia 'face' was retired, and replaced with an LED-trimmed front-end more in keeping with modern Kia models.

It is a tale of good and bad in the cabin of the Stonic. The good is the fact that it all feels very familiar and very Kia, which isn't a bad thing.

Th bad is some of the door materials aren't just cheap and hard plastic, but they feel a bit flimsy in places as well. Same with the centre console plastics. There are some elements where you could definitely lift up the ambience in the interior.

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.

In the GT-Line trim, you get the twin screen setup, which looks sharp, and I do like Kia's multi-function control bar, which takes care of things like navigation and media on the one digital screen.

It really is feeling a little bit old school in places. There's no wireless phone mirroring, for example, so you need to plug in. And even then you need to plug in with a USB-A rather than a USB-C, despite having both plugs at your disposal.

The other thing is that the GT-Line is almost $36k before on-road costs. And there are places where it just doesn't feel like that much money.

It's a case of what you see is what you get in the back seat of the Stonic. And what you see is... not that much.

There are two USB-C ports in the more expensive trims. There are bottle holders in each of the doors, but no cup holders, and no pull-down seat divider. It is a fairly sparse back seat experience.

What you do get, however, is the luxury of space. Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had absolutely no problem with knee room and no problem with head room. In fact, even as an almost full-size adult, I reckon I could sit back there pretty comfortably, even on longer road trips.

The big news is the addition of a 48-volt mild hybrid system, and that 48-volt battery is under the boot floor. But because it's hidden under a flat partition, it actually doesn't impact boot space.

Kia is still claiming 352 litres with the rear seats in place and 1155 litres with the rear seats folded flat. You do, however, miss out on some under-boot storage. And there's no spare wheel to speak of, just a tyre repair kit.

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).

All Stonics get the same powertrain. A clever three-cylinder, 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with 48-volt mild hybrid assistance. That means 88kW and 172Nm (up from 74kW). It has a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

We don’t have an official zero-to-100km/h time, but I’m estimating in excess of 10 seconds.

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 48-volt system helps drop both fuel use and C02 emissions, with the Stonic pegged at 5.0L/100kms on the combined cycle and 116g/km for emissions, both of which are lower numbers than the last model.

The Stonic’s 45-litre tank could theoretically deliver a circa-900km driving range.

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. 

It is a really interesting drive proposition, this Stonic.

First and foremost, it does feel really well sorted in places. The steering has a nice weight to it. It's nice and direct. The ride is comfortable. It can get a little bit crashy over the harsher bumps, which actually isn't all that common in Kia products – like if you hit a cat's eye at speed, for example, you can definitely feel it in the cabin – but generally it's an engaged and comfortable drive.

Similarly, going around corners, even at speed, there's not a huge amount of body roll. The tires grip up pretty well, and it's really not a bad thing to throw around corners.

Where it gets interesting, though, is in its power delivery. At city speeds, so 50 or 60km/h, it's nice and easy and quiet. If you're gentle with the accelerator, and patient, it accrues speed in quite a calm, considered manner, without feeling overly sluggish.

Where it does start to fall apart a little bit, which is when you're at speed, say on a freeway for example, and you pull out to overtake and really plant your foot, and find there's really not a lot there. It can mean overtaking takes a lot longer than you might think. 

If you're on a really challenging road and you're kind of on the gas, on the brakes, on the gas and on the brakes, it can feel a little bit wheezy and uncertain, too, which is no doubt a byproduct of that relatively tiny powertrain.

We're definitely not talking rocket ship acceleration, and nor is it all that quiet in the cabin when you really start to wring its neck, which you will do occasionally.

But I think I've really stepped away from what this vehicle is supposed to be and what it's supposed to do. If you are easy with the accelerator, it can be a really calm, quiet cabin experience. And if you do find yourself on a twisting road, it actually sits and grips better than you might be thinking as well.

But there is no doubt the Stonic shines brightest in the city.

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. 

The Stonic is covered by Kia’s seven-year unlimited-kilometre warranty, with capped-price servicing covering the warranty term.

Servicing is required every 12 months or 10,000kms, and all seven services will set you back $3780 combined.

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.