Renault South Africa has filled the gaping void between its fire-breathing 165kW Renaultsport flagship and more humble Méganemodels.
The new turbocharged, two-litre Mégane GT hatch replaces the normally aspirated two-litre Dynamique that sold for R217 000. The turbo raises outputs from 99kW/191Nm to 120kW/270Nm and costs R222 000.
It's a substantial power increase for minimum money, making this a high-value proposition - equipment levels are the same except that the previous version had leather seats but leather is optional on the Megane GT.
The suspension's been lowered by 10mm, springs and anti-roll bars stiffened and the power-steering fine-tuned. The GT also has more pronounced bumpers, chromed grille surround and central tailpipes embossed with GT graphics.
The steering wheel gets the same logo and the cabin has been spiced up with bucket seats, aluminium pedals and left-foot rest and stainless-steel paint on the fascia.
But there are no evil-looking 18" mags or F1 decals; the GT looks sporty without being over-the-top flamboyant and it doesn't visually pick fights with more muscular hatches.
The Mégane GT isn't quite in the same league as the Megane Renaultsport, Golf GTi, Astra OPC or Ford Focus ST but is aimed at drivers who want a brisk turn of pace without needing to set quarter-mile records. Call it a hot hatch lite.
And brisk the car is, in a user-friendly, accessible way that gets going with minimal turbo lag. The GT's not as manic as the 165kW Renaultsport Mégane with its bucking bronco steering; it's a more forgiving car all round with real-world ride quality.
The suspension's a bit firmer than regular mommy Méganes but the 55 profile tyres don't create an uncomfortably jittery ride.
The steering is adequately sharp, if lighter than enthusiast drivers might prefer, but it doesn't have the vicious torque steer of the Renaultsport.
The best part about the Mégane GT is that it costs about the same as non-turbo rivals from VW, Mazda and Toyota but has a major performance advantage at altitude.
Renault claims an 8.3sec 0-100km/h sprint and the GT we tested in Johannesburg came close to that with 8.7. That's good enough not only to run away from the opposition on the Highveld but also to keep pace with the much pricier Honda Civic Type R.
A top speed of 220km/h gives the Mégane GT good cruising legs; it takes little notice of hills and there's no annoying wind or engine noise. It just whooshes along smoothly without any sporty bark, as with most turbo engines.
The Mégane's shape has lost the shock value that made us choke on our French fries when it was launched and pretty well blends into the scenery these days but it's aged well and doesn't look like it's begging for a facelift.
The cabin blends a bit of va-va-voom with functionality and the comfort levels are high with neat, intuitive controls that are easy to use.
VERDICT
The French have found themselves a nice little niche here. The Mégane GT - like the new Peugeot 308 1.6 XT which is also turbocharged - out-performs normally aspirated cars in this highly competitive medium-hatchback league, especially at high altitude.
The GT offers a high-value package, one of the best deals - rand per feature - in its class. It's a pity many buyers probably won't even look at it because of Renault's reputation for poor after-sales service.
The company claims to be turning over a new leaf, however, which includes extending its new-car warranty from three years or 100 000km to five years or 150 000km.