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Renault Megane 205 GT review:  Sportiest new Megane GT majors on the fun factor

Megane GT dynamic
Good-looking - Renault Megane 1.6 TCe 205 GT

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15 December 2015

What is it?

The Renault Megane 1.6 TCe 205 GT is the sportiest version of Renault’s new family hatch challenger. To arrive in the summer of 2016, it is the hottest until the full-fat RS version arrives in a couple of years.

Still, the GT shows promise, as it’s been breathed upon by those clever bods at Renaultsport.

Is this the perfect warm hatch for business users? We took one for a test drive to find out – but won’t get the full UK pricing and spec details until closer to launch next summer.  So, let’s start with our Renault Megane 205 GT review

What’s hot?

  • We like the way the new Megane looks and the transformation to the sportier GT version is well executed. Highlights include the honeycomb grille, deep and more aggressive front air dam, with a chunkier air dam at the back with diffuser and twin exhausts. In addition, our car had attractive 18-inch alloy wheels.
  • Other interesting design features of the new Megane include the curvy bonnet, upswept window line, distinctive lower cut out and a different take on the Clio-like wedgy rear quarters. In fact, I’d go as far to say that from the back, the new Megane looks remarkably similar to the current Mercedes A-Class.
  • The Megane sits lower and wider due to revised suspension geometry and wider tracks – it really suits big wheels, especially the attractive, if fussy 18-inchers fitted to our car.
  • Inside the new GT, like the standard Megane, Renault has worked hard on improving the quality and finish. This becomes immediately obvious the moment you get behind the wheel. Soft slush plastics are the order of the day for the dashboard and tops of the doors. Get past the dash and then you’ll notice other ‘surprise and delight’ features such as the pleasingly premium feel to the leather-trimmed steering wheel – which along with the optional bucket seats was stitched blue to match the colour of our car.
Megane GT interior
Megane GT interior
  • New Megane’s modern dashboard design is attractive, the switchgear although not quite up to the quality of German rivals, feels solid and logically-placed and the mixture of analogue and digital instruments is easy to read at a glance. Then there’s the 7-inch tablet-style infotainment system which dominates the centre console and is home to the R-LINK2 system that operates the navigation, telephone, apps and radio. On the GT, it also controls the Neutral, Sport and comfort chassis settings. Plus, Neutral, Sport and Comfort engine sounds.
  • The Megane’s driving position is comfortable and particularly supportive with the likely to be optional bucket-like sports seats.
  • Underpinned with the new Renault-Nissan Common Module Family (CMF) chassis, like the standard Megane, the upshot is more interior space. Highlights include 20mm more knee room, with another 22mm shoulder room in the front – this growing to 27mm in the back. It might be the sportiest Megane, but it still has the same practically-sized 434-litre boot – which expands to 1,247-litres with the rear seat folded.
  • That modular chassis also means the new Megane benefits from a slew of clever safety kit. These include Adaptive Cruise Control, Active Emergency Braking, Lane Departure, Blind Spot, and Safe Distance warnings, Traffic Sign Recognition, Automatic high/low beam lights and 360 degree parking sensors.
  • Go for the Megane GT and the steering continues to be nicely weighted, with a sharp 2.3 turns lock to lock. Even on the optional 18-inch alloys and considering it’s a sporty car, we think Renault has got the mix of comfort and dynamism about right. Body roll was virtually non-existent in corners too.

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