Renaultsport Megane 265 Cup video review

The 2012 Renaultsport Megane gets the power and torque of the limited edition Trophy, raising it to 261bhp and 265lb ft. However you can only access this extra power if you put the car in Sport mode, which also relaxes the ESP a notch.

As before, buyers can specify one of two different chassis – Sport or Cup. The Cup chassis has stiffer springs and dampers, 18-inch alloys with stickier tyres and also gets a mechanical limited-slip diff. Otherwise chassis settings are unchanged from the Renaultsport Megane 250.

Prices start at £24,825 for the basic Renaultsport Megane 265 Cup edition (which is lighter on luxury, but gets the Cup chassis as standard), then rise to £26,025 for the standard 265 (which is more luxurious) to which you can add the cup chassis for an extra £1350. Confused? All you need to know is that even in luxo-cup spec it’s still cheaper than a less powerful Golf GTI Edition 35 (although admittedly the interior still can’t quite match the feel good ambience of the VW).

But what's the new 2012 Renaultsport Megane like to drive? Video of it in action below.

Specifications