Mr. M
Tire Trailblazer
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Driving it
Right from the get go, the R26 feels so completely different from the old RS that you wonder if Renault has quietly slipped a completely new car beneath the familiar bodyshell.
Revisions to the electric power steering system have banished the inconsistent, arcade game-like weighting that tainted the driving experience before. It’s still a bit light, but there’s now plenty of feedback so you know exactly what the front wheels are up to.
The whole car feels more agile and much better tied down, even though it’s just 20kg lighter than the RS and no fundamental changes have been made to the MacPherson strut front/torsion beam rear suspension. It just shows that some careful fettling was all that was needed to extract the chassis’ potential.
The fat Michelin tyres have bags of grip, and continue clinging onto the tarmac for dear life even when you think you might have carried too much speed into a corner.
Floor the throttle in mid-bend and the LSD really makes its presence felt. Instead of the lightly loaded inside front wheel uselessly spinning the power away, the whole front end tightens up and almost brutishly pulls the car through. It’s an astonishingly effective piece of kit.
It takes a while to get used to the R26’s edgy, race car-like responses and trust that although it is highly-strung, it’s not about to bite back at the first opportunity. It’s well worth the acclimatisation effort, though.
The revised engine is mightily impressive, too. It feels far more punchy than its 230bhp output suggests, pulling strong and hard once the turbo comes on song from just over 2,000rpm.
The tuned exhaust system sounds the business, whooshing and popping like a proper sports car’s, but like the engine, it settles down nicely at a cruise. Given its wild side, the R26 is amazingly civilised on the highway.
Only the loose, long-throw gearchange spoils the party. It’s not a deal-breaker, but the R26 would be even closer to perfect if it had a slicker shift.
Verdict:
Hard-edged and uncompromising but all the better for it. A brilliant effort.
(+) Goes and grips hard, terrific fun to drive yet surprisingly refined
(-) Floppy gearchange, cabin isn’t the most stylish or solid
Full review here.
