INTRODUCTION

Take yourself back to the 90s, you’re well into your shell suits, your trackie bottoms are tucked right into long white socks, Friends is on telly later and you’ve just got yourself into Staines’ fastest car, the legendary Renault 5 GT Turbo (although you won’t be aware of the dynamic and sporting capabilities of this car until the Ali G TV show launches in a couple of years). Admittedly, I was born in 2003 so I have no idea if these things actually happened, but that’s what music tells me the 90s was like. These were jovial times, so it’s only right that you’d like to relive them.

Straight to the charity shop you go, aiming your sights right at the most garishly coloured ill-fitting outerwear available, with bonus points for excessive flammability. While there, you pick up a copy of Experience by The Prodigy on tape, ready to bury it into your new Technics stereo. Everything is going swimmingly, right up until you realise you only have one parking space outside your home, work is a 25-mile dual carriageway commute, you need space in the back for a dog and the child’s seats actually need to stay affixed in the rear during an emergency stop. Your R5 Turbo dreams are starting to look far-fetched.

Fear not, however. Plenty of modern counterparts from the Dieppe diamond will provide you with all the turbocharged Tricolore thrills you could want, without the sacrifices. As I’m sure you know by now, plenty of brilliant driver’s cars have come from the now discontinued RenaultSport range. Clios, Meganes and even the unassuming little Twingo have been fettled in the past, producing some proper thrills capable of rivalling cars at many times the price. The one we’re going to talk about today is the Megane 225 (the one with the big bum), some of the things it does extremely well, and a few things to look out for if you’re in the market for one.

Now, for the second generation Megane, Renaultsport had their way with four key different versions: the diesel 175 (don’t bother), the daily-able 225 for someone on a bit of a budget, the well-received R26 and the full-whack, no prisoners taken, carbon fibre bonnet and roll cage equipped R26.R. There were loads of different special editions and limited run options, but those are the four key stablemates. With the 225, as with many others, there were a number of different trim levels you could go with including the RenaultSport Cup chassis, an option that became synonymous with the brand. Because the aftermarket support for Dieppe’s finest is so enormous nowadays, there is a debate on whether you need the cup chassis, but we’ll get to that later.

MEGANE 225: UNDER THE BONNET

In terms of the bits that suck, squeeze, bang and blow to fire you down the road, the Megane 225 is powered by a 2-litre turbocharged inline-four. It drives 221bhp (225PS, hence the name) through the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox, enough to power it from 0-60 in six and a half seconds and onto a maximum speed of 147 mph. Not bad. It’s a strong unit, with solid general reliability and good driving habits, although it does come with potential pitfalls, for example, some fairly fussy (and very tricky) cambelt changes. Provided these have been done as they should - 72,000 miles or 5 years for the cambelt - you should be right as rain.

It is important they have been done though, as if it was to snap you’re in a world of trouble. It’s an expensive job, but a decent specialist will have it done in a day, and will likely save you a new engine-shaped hole in your wallet. Expect to pay at least £600 for the belt work at a specialist, but up to over £1000 at a main dealer. For people down south or somewhere in the middle, Ktec Racing in Dorset or Birmingham know Renaults like Popeye knows spinach and the website quotes £569 for this job, but for those of you who have gravy with your chips, BTT Motorsport in Wigan are the people to visit.

You might find that the 225 has a particularly lumpy idle from cold. This is normal, and should only last for a couple of minutes while the engine warms up. Proper fuel will definitely help with this, and it is very much recommended that you keep to a fairly strict diet of V Power, Tesco Momentum or similar. As with most decent daily cars, fuel efficiency is definitely a factor, and you can actually expect decent numbers. Low to mid-thirties are not unheard of on average, and it’s not crazy to expect 40 mpg on a long journey if you’re fleet-footed.

As is always recommended with second-hand cars, budget enough for an example with decent service history and plenty of receipts. Remember, modifications rarely add value, and if it has been played with, make sure it’s been done properly. Badly modified cars can be signs of abuse, neglect and probably a bit too many revs when the engine is still cold. A remap and breathing modifications should see the engine produce in the region of 260 bhp, however anything north of 275 bhp on standard internals is asking for trouble.

GEARBOX & TRANSMISSION

As with a lot of Renaults, the Megane 225 has a gearbox that nobody really writes home about. It requires a considerate and accurate shift to avoid missing a gear, and won’t last all that long if abused. If it feels like you’re stirring porridge, one of the fragile linkages could be on the way out. It certainly isn’t a Honda gearbox, but take the time to gel with it and you will be rewarded as it is a ‘box with a relatively short throw, so can be worked through the ratios quite swiftly.

ELECTRICAL GREMLINS

It wouldn't be a complete buying guide about a French performance car without a chapter on potential electrical gremlins. The positive (excuse the pun) news when it comes to the Phase II Megane is there is only a handful of issues to be aware of. First up are the window regulators, which can leave you with an open window when you least need it. A replacement is a cheap but frustrating fix. Both the driver's and passenger's sides are prone to failure.

The next port of call is the ignition coils and pack, which can cause a misfire, especially on a tuned car. The cr