Renault Megane RS 275

Renault Sport Megane drivers don’t mind a good F4RT. But their F4RTs could be louder, and angrier, thought Renault itself, so it called in Akrapovič a bunch of Slovenians who really know how a F4RT should sound.

Thanks to this, Renault Sport’s new Megane RS275 has a nicer-sounding F4RT the engine code for its 2.0-litre turbo four (what did you think it meant?) making it the RS265’s more powerful, better dressed and louder sibling.

At $52,990, the RS275 Trophy is also five grand more than the RS265 Cup Premium. In a way, it’s Renault’s answer to the Golf R.

For your extra moolah you get more aggro Recaro front seats, an Alcantara dipped steering wheel and handbrake, stickers up the side of the car (not to everyone’s taste, admittedly) and a silver ‘blade’ insert in the front bar. (Like an HSV from 2004.)

Fortunately, they’ve also let the engineers have a go. Minor changes bump power 6kW to 201kW at 5500rpm, although like the RS265, torque is 360Nm, 3000rpm to 5000rpm.

Thrust wriggles through the same mechanical front LSD but there’s more grip, Renault swapping 235/35ZR19 Continentals for stickier Bridgestone Potenza RE050As in the same size.

That F4RT-enhancing titanium, carbonfibre-tipped Akrapovič exhaust sheds 4kg. But mechanically, that’s it.

Unsurprisingly, you will need to swap brains with Sebastian Vettel to notice any significant difference over the RS265, which itself is one of the best front-drive fast cars on sale today.

You certainly notice the RS275’s snugger seats, tight like they’ve been through the drier a few times. And in your hands the soft, Alcantara steering wheel is utterly lovely.

Full throttle, you might notice a poofteenth more top-end urge thanks to Renault extending the redline to 6800rpm in first and second gears, but actually, the RS275 is no faster than the RS265, both nailing 100 clicks in six seconds dead, claims Renault.

And like the RS265, the RS275 accelerates strongly rather than explosively. As is the case for all modern turbo engines the RS275’s 2.0-litre turbo donk is all about mid-range muscle than kissing redlines. The bonus 800rpm is hardly worth savouring.

The Akrapovič exhaust brings a richer, louder note but it’s not anti-social nor the leap over the RS265’s note you might expect. It’s rorty and with an aggro upchange you can even solicit a hilarious tailpipe pop, but overall it’s still polite and frankly the turbo is a bigger attention seeker, inhaling like a vacuum cleaner as you give it some clog.

On the road, like the RS265, the RS275 is unapologetically enthusiast-focused: the ride is firm and the tyres noisy. It’s made for lapping tracks, not the Hume.

But when the road gets crooked it pays off. That firm suspension turns the RS275 into a slalom weapon, sitting flat, unflustered by aggressive steering inputs. Talented damping deals with mid-corner bumps giving you confidence to lean into those grippy front Bridgestones a physically easy exercise thanks to lovely, light-but-tight steering that loads up sweetly and offers acceptable feel.

There’s polite understeer if you ham up your corner. With ESP off and a steering flick, braver drivers will even find corner-entry oversteer. Although such antics are a little gnarly on the road.

In the ride, steering, gear shift, clutch, seats, there’s an all-purveying feel of tautness about the RS275 that’ll exhaust commuters and thrill enthusiasts.

But while it’s entering its sixth year on sale in 2015, the Renault Sport Megane is still immensely satisfying, easy and engaging to drive fast and the RS275 is the best version yet. That is, until the Nürburgring-bred Trophy R arrives one F4RT we can’t wait to hear.