Long-term introduction: Renault Mégane GT-Line Turbo 97 kW
There must be few things in life more frustrating than being the middle child. Although I’ve only had an older sister to contend with, and the scars from being her punch bag for the best part of seven years to prove it, a mate of mine who was chronologically sandwiched between two siblings explained that it could be something of drag; you’re just too old to be fussed over and too young to venture outside of your older sibling’s shadow. It got me thinking about by new long-termer.
In the standard Mégane range the GT-Line is the archetypal in-betweener. Its slick frontal restyle may be familial but doesn’t wear its similarly equipped little brother’s competitive price sticker, and although its GT-Line bearing affords it many of the GT Turbo’s go-faster touches; read model-specific trim for the mirror caps and door handles, rear diffuser, 17-inch alloys and so forth, it’s not going to trouble its 162 kW sibling.
But that’s not to say that it’s sluggish in any regard. While the fitment of a 1,2-litre turbopetrol unit wouldn’t normally be cause for celebration, Renault’s latest piece of hardware has already impressed us. Its modest displacement belies the 97 kW and 205 N.m (with 225 N.m available for 25 seconds in overboost) that it delivers in a smooth, progressive fashion. In fact, were you to encounter this Mégane unacquainted you’d swear you were piloting a refined 1,6-litre car. There’s enough low-end power to make merging into fast-moving traffic a breeze and only steep inclines will see you dropping a gear to maintain momentum
The current 7,2 litres/100 km fuel consumption figure is some way off Renault’s claimed 5,4 but that could well be attributed to a combination of being predominantly town-bound in its first month and the novelty of putting foot and marvelling at just what such a sorted little turbopetrol can do.
The only faults or quirks encountered so far are of the minor ergonomic nature. The nifty infotainment system now features a touchscreen interface but its far-flung position means demands a considerable stretch and the siting of the SD card port in the oddment tray ahead of the gear knob means that carelessly tossed keys and wallets can eject the card and disable the sat-nav.
After 1 month
Mileage on arrival: 2 372 km
Mileage now: 3 784 km
Fuel consumption (L/100 km): 7,2
We like: impressive powerplant
We don’t like: SD port placement poorly conceived
