You wanted a sport car, but those big names Ferrari, Lambo, Porsche are not in your pocket favour, and the VW Scirocco only look like one, then the Renault Megane could be the good addition to your garage. The first version of the Megane RS250 landed here some years ago, where you could get a decent used unit for < RM150k or you could visit to the Renault showroom and put your order in for either of the 3 versions it is offering, which are the Cup Edition, Trophy Edition and the RedBull RB8 edition. All 3 editions uses the same 2.0-litre turbo engine mated to a manual 6-speed stick, that could produce 265hp/360Nm of power, that could send you flying on the road. In fact, besides the Kangoo that keep the local Renault distributor alive for a while, the Megane is what keep it running. Tan Chong seems to have capture the right crowd with a focus on the Renault RS models, which sell decently in numbers.
For the RB8, blue is the only colour option. Yellow for the Trophy edition, where the Cup edition gets Grey, White or Red. Almost all colours are striking for the Megane, as the design looks really handsome. Best of all, the Megane comes standard with Limited Slip Differential which all sport cars should have, and the RS Monitor that shows the torque, G Force, and others telemetric data. With the 4-piston Brembo brake, Renault ensure the driver that the stopping power is as good. The Cup edition gets 18" wheels, where the others get 19". Other differences are mainly on the trim, and with the RB8 getting a full colours navigation screen with the latest RS Monitor 2, which looks even more impressive. Let's hope other edition will get this upgrade in time to come. Malaysia is only allocated with 15 units of the RB8 from a limited pool worldwide, still available at RM246k (w/o insurance).
With a top speed of 250km/h, this car is meant for the track. It is just not practical to have this as your daily drive our city road. There are jams, traffic lights, junctions and corners that forbid one to go beyond 90km/h most of the time, even in the expressway, unless you have a lot of money to spare for the speeding summons, you are limited to a steady of 110km/h. Don't, and do not drive like an idiot, please be safe and join the track days to maximize the fun of being a Megane owner.
Particularly, I love the red stitching in the RB8 compare to the Cup and Trophy edition which is yellow. Though yellow does look distinctive, but the bold "bloody" red is the choice! Seat belts in the car also carries the matching colour of either red of yellow insert on the interior. As for the meter cluster, Renault has been boring, as a car of this standard should has the analog needle pointing at 6-o'clock position or even better at 4 or 5-o'clock position to give it the ultimate sport car look. Position at the usual 8-o'clock is too plain.
On the safety and equipment level, the Megane comes with everything one could ask for, with full round airbags, ESP, ASR, CSV, ABD, TPM, dual zone aircon, DRL, and best of all, the body hugging Recaro seat that keep the driver in place!
It is a nice sport car, but the Megane does not keep its used value in the market. However, it is the one easier on the pocket at about quarter million each. Expect to lose about 40% of the value after 2-3 years of ownership. There are still limited service centers that could handle the car well, and Tan Chong is bundling it with 3-year warranty or up to 100,000 km. With a low population in Malaysia, expect to pay a premium for maintenance, especially if you like to test your limit on the track. If you don't participate on any track day event, why own this car?
