It's Nearly Farewell for the Iconic R.S. Performance Hatch

It's Nearly Farewell for the Iconic R.S. Performance Hatch

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Renault is bidding farewell to the Megane R.S. with a bang by giving it an aggressive new look before the iconic division hands the baton over to the Renault Group's dedicated sportscar-maker, Alpine. 

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While the Ultime will be the last-ever 'new' R.S, the Boulogne-based carmaker has an updated model on the horizon that happens to be clothed in the outgoing R.S. garment. Meet the Renault Megane R.S. 300 Trophy, an updated model of the performance hatch we had at our 2021 Speed Week.

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Visually, the changes are subtle – if ever subtle could be used in a sentence describing a Megane R.S. It gets a distinctive sport front bumper with an F1-style blade. Additionally, it features a sharkfin antenna, sharpened C-shaped LED headlights and taillights. It also comes with a specific diffuser and a central-mounted exhaust pipe while sitting on 19" Jerez Diamond cut alloys with red inserts. 

The new Megane R.S. Trophy 300 is available in three shades; Pearl White, Liquid Yellow and Orange Tonic. 

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Step inside the Megane R.S, and you'll be greeted by a sporty, high-performance interior. The steering wheel features a distinctive double-diamond design and paddle shifters for precise shifting. The supportive sport seats, wrapped in suave Alcantara and accented with bold red topstitching, are further testament to the Megane's sporty disposition. The new 7" touchscreen infotainment system may be smaller than the previous model, but it still packs all the necessary features, including support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

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It rolls out as standard with an automatic parking brake, a reverse camera for easy manoeuvring, lane departure warning to keep you on track, front and rear parking sensors for added safety and dynamic front and rear indicators that add an extra touch of style.

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The updated Megane R.S. is still powered by a 1.8-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that packs a punch with 221 kW and 420 Nm of torque – a seat-shoving improvement of 20 Nm over the previous model. 

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What Renault mentions is that the turbocharger's turbine is now bolstered on a ceramic ball bearing, resulting in a shorter response time. That said, it hurtles from 0-100 km/h in 5.7 seconds before maxing out a 260 km/h while shuffling through a 6-speed dual-clutch EDC transmission. 

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Eighteen years after the arrival of the first R.S. model in SA, the Megane R.S. 300 Trophy continues to progress in the hotly-contested yet slowly declining hot hatch segment. Priced at R899,900, it's one to keep and promises to hold its value for longer. 

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It is sold with a standard 5-year/90,000 km service plan, a 5-year/150,000 km mechanical warranty with a 6-year anti-corrosion warranty. Services take place at 10,000 km intervals. 

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