When we talk about high-performance hot hatches, only few come to mind. These few include the Volkswagen Golf and Scirocco R, the Ford Focus RS, the Mazda 3 MPS and as the title suggests, the Renault Megane RS 250 Cup. Just like its competitors, the RS 250 is often referred to as a hot hatch which you can drive to work on the weekdays and at the same time, something which you can bring to Sepang on the weekends and practice your driving lines :)
Under the hood lies a 2.0 litre 4-pot turbocharged (twin-scroll) unit which has over 25% of new parts compared to its predecessor. 0 – 100 km/h can be achieved in 6.1 seconds with a top speed of 245 km/h. As highlighted in the “250” designation of this French beauty, it makes 250 hp at 5,500 rpm at-crank and 340 Nm of torque at 3,000 rpm with 80% of it available from 1,900 rpm. Or does it?
There are two ways to look at horsepower. One is at-crank (direct output from the engine) or on-wheel (horsepower measured on-wheel after transmission losses). The latter would naturally be lower than at-crank and auto makers use the former in the spec sheets. Most of the time, it is very hard for an owner to get similar horsepower figures when they carry out their own dyno tests. The conditions have to be right and the right fuel has to be used. So, you can safely say that most of the numbers are slightly optimistic.
Interestingly, with the Renault Megane RS 250 Cup, it’s the other way around. We were recently at a dyno session where the RS 250 was being tested, and it turns out that the RS 250 can actually give you an on-wheel horsepower figure that is almost similar as the at-crank figure showed in the brochure! The demo vehicle used in the video is an all-original unit, with no modifications whatsoever and it was used for media as well as customer test drives by Tan Chong Euro Cars and the vehicle has already clocked 25,000 kilometers.
During a test at GT Auto in Sunway, using RON97 fuel, the car actually achieved 248 hp and 355 Nm of torque on-wheel. After a simple math work, we managed to come up with an equivalent at-crank figure of approximately 295 hp which is almost similar to the at-crank number of the Ford Focus RS! The 295 hp number was derived from the 16% transmission loss calculation (from crank to wheels). Now we all know that the actual numbers will run off a little, but 45 hp is no joke.
Furthermore, reliable sources have confirmed that higher on-wheel horsepower figures were also achieved in two other units (you can view the dyno charts in the gallery). It was also said that the Renault Sport cars are tuned to work well in various climate conditions and ambient temperature. These sportier Renaults can also run on RON 95 fuel and the engines are built on a mass production line and that slight variances in horsepower from one engine to another is common.
It was also said that due to the slight differences, Renault Sport is being rather conservative with the published figures. Moreover, tests were also carried out overseas and these tests also confirmed that the RS 250 actually produces more power than promised. EVO UK also carried one out and they learned that their RS 250 media car recorded 270hp at-crank. You can check out the video here.
Other than a power mill with interesting figures, the Megane RS 250 comes with a sports-tuned chassis and suspension setting which helps give it its sharp maneuverability and chuckability, with comfort still in mind although there is a hint of acceptable stiffness to it. Suspension features include a 10mm lowered chassis as well as uprated dampers, springs and anti-roll bars.
Strong stopping power is also vital for a vehicle of such nature and this is provided by Brembo. The front wheels tease 340 mm vented and slotted discs along with 4-pot calipers. The brake tune strikes a good balance of stopping power and reliability in terms of maintaining brake pressure even during demanding driving scenarios such as pushing the car’s limits on the track.
No fancy or sophisticated dual-clutch transmissions here, just a good old, precisely weighted six-speed cog box which works well in shifting gears. All you need to do is acquire the skills of heel and toe, a dying art if you ask me, to ensure smoother shifting. There is also a mechanical LSD working in the background. Overall, the RS 250 retails for RM229,800 OTR without insurance and with that additional 45 hp, it gives the RS 250 better value for money.
If you want to learn more about the Renault Megane RS 250 Cup, you can read a full test drive review right here.
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This car is very good looking coz i saw one on the road ! it’s hotter than the VW Scirocco and GTI ! but more people still prefer the VW…people just like prefer the Toyota over Kia…
simply because this car is more “hardcore” than the scirocco or GTI. The market out there is just filled with people who want to look cool in a sports car.. not many people can really appreciate real cars like this. :)
definitely prefer this over gti/scirocco/mazda3mps
Well.. in my opinion,i prefer VW more than this. I like the design of GTI,it has much better appearance.
new stock for megane re250 is arriving on 2nd dec. 26 unit will be arriving only 8 units is available pls contact me Nadim 012-3740828 for booking & test drive
mybe renault enginer mistakenly produce the paper…
wow, another dyno day story!
http://paultan.org/2010/10/25/bmw-320d-dyno-tested-does-it-make-the-full-177hp/
do a volkswagen dyno test next!
We need a Golf GTI dyno result..
Looks like all the dyno results coming from GT Auto are showing high figures (including my own car). If you ask me, I think the dyno is a little too ‘happy’..
Haha like weighing machines in slimming centres???
They should dyno at a few tuners and take the average figures to be more realistic with their numbers…Anyway 245whp is impressive….6-speed manual is delicious…the looks however is subjective….some may say it’s nice, some not…i think that the front could be nicer especially the headlamps….but that’s just me…different folks different strokes..
When it comes to hot hatches, why do people always forget the hatch king SUBARU STI V10 ?
When it comes to hot hatches, why do people always forget there’s a hatch king , SUBARU STI V10 ?
When it comes to hot hatches, why do people always forget there’s a hatch king… the SUBARU STI V10 ?
but the STI looks is errrrr questionable…. :) and the interior on the STI doesn’t look as nice as this.
however, both cars are more difficult to drive vs say the golf gti or golf R (or whatever VW hot hatches we can think of) but both cars also reward the driver more with loads of fun on the limit! i believe both are more predictable and need to be driven with balls up against the wall to really enjoy them. kudos to renault and fuji heavy industries!
i have driven the rs250 before – absolutely BRILLIANT chassis and handling. love the car.
people also forget proton satria R3 hehe!
Some Manufacturers have been known to provide media cars and test drive units that have more HP than the standard cars – I’ll believe it if a customer delivered car was dynoed and showed similar figures.
hp = horse power —> measured at engine flywheel
bhp = brake horse power —> measured at wheel / brake
this is why bhp reading for one particular car is lower than its hp reading.
oh dear.
Please do not give wrong info la…. BHP is at Flywheel and WHP is at wheel.
ahaa… someone kind enough to do correction.
tp tuner or people like to modify car still prefer v-dub, because engine part and larger turbo is available for gti n r.
If it really does make 300hp stock, then shouldn’t it be getting better time than 6.1sec? Its already in STi and Evo territory. IMHO, i think this car is overated.
I would trade a slower 0-100kmh time for a better 0-400m time.
A better mid range or rolling acceleration gives better satisfaction.
0-100kmh time is just for kids. (They can only do that kind of speed anyway)
You are comparing a awd to a fwd.. But yes, i feel it’s overrated as well.
imho..very difficult for a front wheel drive standard car (even though a performance car) to accelerate to 100km/h below 6 seconds.
Dynojet dynos always gives higher figures. Try it on a Dyno Dynamics and you’ll get lower numbers. Which is acurate is debatable…
The looks are ok but I am not sure you want to drive this car to work everyday, the seats are so uncomfortable. Anyway, this engine has the best note at high rev, the change in tone at around 5500 to 6500 rpm is the sweetest.
the 6.1sec is the magane official performance figure given by the maker only. On the road megane may go faster than that as on this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur_J8Qd48Lw&feature=related. Need to mind also that this car is fwd, so it will smoke n steer the tyre b4 it go, unlike awd in sti n evo which has traction advantage. wow to long already write
few things why ppl choose VW over this.
1st, resell value
2nd, reliability
3rd, 2 door (most malaysian likes 4 door)
4th, manual over the VW DSG
not to mention Neo R3.. one of affordable hot hatch with the decent power and good handling..
I think when it comes of hot hatches, it’s about lap time. Power is one thing, handling must be equally brilliant too. And another important aspect of a hot hatch, at least this is observable, it must be decently practical too. A hot hatch is not just a hardcore racing machine, it should be an everyday all-rounder car.
The Renault, albeit the superb performance, is not as practical and comfortable as the VWs and Focus RS, because at the end of the day, not many of us actually bringing hot hatches to the race tracks. Mostly I see are modified GTs. Kinda like those luxury SUVs. I’m sure no one in their right minds will bring their SUVs outside the comfortable confines of the urban roads, right? I’m not dissing the Renault here, no. It is an amazing car, no doubt about it, but practical-wise, one would opt for a more “family-friendly” one.
GT-Auto’s dyno he got a switch there to cheat the dyno to make high or low hp. look under his keyboard!
Yeap,i heard that they play around with Weather Correction Setting so you always get over optimistic result..I think uncorrected/untempered number is closer to 220whp or so
Thanks Tan for highlighting this. When I earlier saw this, I thought that this is too good to be true. There are obvious reasons why people want to see good results on a chassis dyno. They’ll be coming back for more.
There is no way that torque readings at the wheel can be the same as engine dyno. You definitely have mechanical losses in the clutch, gearbox and tyres. Not to mention that the 8000 scfm fan blowing into an engine with its hood open does not change speed with the speed of the wheels. Why is this of a concern? The faster you get, the more flow goes through the snorkel and into the engine.
A chassis dyno is good for ECU/Piggyback/Standalone tuning. It’s good for a measurement of improvements done to volumetric efficiency. Or even identifying shift points. Nothing more. If you do another dyno at a different tuner, it would always be different. We should stop doing dyno comparison amongst ourselves. These tests are always done at full throttle positions. It does not take into account handling, weight distribution and aerodynamics and how good the driver is.
The real test is on the track. But we know the Megane is good at it. Let’s see it in S1K in December.
Dynojets always gives a higher read out compared to other dyno manufacturers … So take it with a pinch of salt
Mazda3mps rule. More practicality and similar power output.
Albeit handling loses out by abit.
But then again if u dont intend to bring this to a track, handling doesn’t matter as much. In addition the comfort of the ride is being compromised in the Meg’s stiffer suspension set up.
Only on paper. Put them side by side on a highway and see which one gets through traffic faster. MPS only gets torque at higher RPM, the Megane RS can pull at lower RPM and slip through gaps very quickly. And after comparing them side by side, the Megane feels a lot more solid and composed.
need an opinion…
some1 offered me this car at 200k…
is it worth it?
thx