Road test: Megane Renaultsport 265 Trophy is not so mellow yellow

On Friday 20 January, 2012, a Mégane Renaultsport 265 Trophy driven by the Scotsman Motors Dream Team completed a three-mile lap of Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, in a leisurely (some might say pitiful) 27 minutes.

This comprised approximately seven minutes’ driving time and about 20 minutes’ worth of stopping beside Dunsapie Loch to scoff our sandwiches, ponder whether swans enjoyed swimming beak-first into the blizzard which had just swept in over the summit of Arthur’s Seat and, in a rare moment of lucidity, plot a route that would reveal whether a car that’s been honed to hammer round a race track can hack it on Scotland’s rippled roads.

And so, the following morning, the Renault nosed its way on to the Crow Road in Lennoxtown, north of Glasgow, and set off for a scamper over the Campsie Fells. The next hour or so would test its mettle, and mine, on a test route comprising straight bits, twisty bits, fast bits, slow bits, smooth bits and broken bits.

First, however, a bit of a climb. The Crow Road rockets to over 1,000 feet in just three miles, before tumbling towards the picturesque village of Fintry in a series of drops and corners that draw the bikers out in droves when the sun shines. Not that it was shining when we got there – a steady drizzle gave the road an eel-like sheen, and cars coming down from the summit brought with them a coating of wet snow. Gulp.

Things to tell you about the Mégane Renaultsport 265 Trophy: it’s the fastest road car to sport a Renault badge, it’s one of only 50 built for the UK market and it goes like stink. It’s also yellow. Very yellow. If you crave the performance but don’t care for the paintwork, Renault will build you one in black. Fine, if you like buying fireworks that go whizz, but not bang.

The interior isn’t the last word in sophistication, but it suits the mood of the car well enough. Hip-hugging Recaro seats and drilled alloy pedals are straight from the race track, while yellow seat belts and a yellow rev counter add a flash of brightness to the mostly dark grey interior.

Air-con, cruise control and Bluetooth connectivity are pretty much the only concessions to luxury. On the outside, 19-inch black alloys with a natty red stripe and Trophy decals on the flanks and front diffuser complete the cosmetic work.

With a purposeful bark from its trapezoidal exhaust, the Mégane left Lennoxtown’s 30mph zone behind and took to the hills. There’s only one corner of any significance on the way up, so it was a quick ascent. If the phrase “French build quality” brings you out in a cold sweat, it’s worth mentioning that there was not a squeak or a rattle from the cabin, which is quite something in a car that feels as if it rides on springs carved from granite.

You can blame/thank the Mégane’s uprated Cup chassis for that. The car is based on a standard Mégane Renaultsport 250 but gains stiffer springs, beefier anti-roll bars and a limited-slip differential. Oh, and an extra 15 horsepower from its two-litre turbocharged engine.

If this pleases the gods of high-speed cornering, the ultra-grippy, ultra-low-profile Bridgestone Potenza tyres will have them jumping for joy. Even in the sleet, they stuck to the road like glue.

On the sinuous downhill stretch, I gave a fat man in a fast Merc a 30-second head start, and was on his tail again a mile and a half later. Before you write in, I did so without breaking the speed limit, or even breaking into a sweat, such is the Mégane’s brilliance at carrying its speed through the corners.

Agility such as this would be impressive in a four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Evo on a warm, dry day. That the front-wheel-drive Mégane can handle the curves so deftly in the wet is nothing short of astonishing.

A right turn before Fintry took me and the Mégane through the Carron Valley towards Denny. It’s like a little slice of the Highlands right here in the Central Belt, and there were times I wished the Renault had a button to soften the suspension for those moments when razor-sharp handling is not a priority. Or maybe I’m just getting old.

On the motorway back to Edinburgh, I tried to engage the car’s cruise control, but gave up before I worked out what sequence of buttons to press. This is either a sign that, for the second time in as many paragraphs, I’m just getting old, or Renault’s way of saying that this most mega of Méganes was not built to be driven in a relaxed manner. I’ll opt for the latter.

Built without compromise or the slightest regard for travelling incognito or the sanctity of your spine, you will either love the Mégane Renaultsport 265 Trophy, or loathe it. I’ll opt for the former.

CAR Mégane Renaultsport 265 Trophy

PRICE From £27,820 (£28,235 as tested)

PERFORMANCE Max speed 158mph, 0-62mph 6.0 seconds

MPG 34.4 combined

EMISSIONS 190g/km