HAVE you ever been doing something and realised you're wearing your concentration face?
That half constipated frown which tells everyone you're in the thick of something important.
My old ma does it when she's threading a piece of cotton through the eye of a needle – sometimes you even see her tongue pop out.
And that is what driving the Megane Renaultsport 225 is like – particularly when it comes with the honed Cup chassis pack.
You need all of your faculties operating at the top of their game all of
the time, otherwise this particular needle is going to prick you!
No really – if you think you can beast this animal around England's b-roads with reckless abandonment then think again because it will draw blood.
You see, the Cup version of the Megane is different.
It is stripped of many luxuries, like satellite navigation and a six-disc multichanger, and the ride is firmed-up.
The understeer which could creep in previously is eliminated. Turn-in is now razor-sharp and that famous 'ass' of the Megane really does get a good shaking.
Let me tell you, the 2-litre turbocharged unit pulls like a mule on performance enhancing drugs.
You get zero turbo-lag and the whistling turbine made me smile every time.
Inside the Recaro seats hug you like my plump dinner lady used to when I'd grazed my knee.
They're extremely reassuring and make the G-force generated by such a
race-tuned chassis bearable.
If this car was a training shoe, it would belong to Linford Christie –
complete with spikes.
The cockpit itself is somewhat understated. Very few lights and
gizmos here. At first I wondered why so little effort appears to have
gone into the dashboard.
But once I'd driven it, I realised – you daren't take your eyes off the road to play with any gadgets.
And anyway, why is it that we feel the need to have that space in front of us flashing and beeping like a possessed fruit machine?
That's not to say the Megane loses out in the technology department.
Keyless entry, push-button start, rain-sensitive wipers, climate control, cruise control,automatic lights, ESP traction control and more make this car very advanced.
But be warned – the Cup version doesn't get the full monty in kit terms
but it is priced to undercut the Vauxhall Astra VXR and Ford Focus ST.
On the outside the Megane looks like it means business – and it does.
The stunning 18" grey alloy wheels set the car apart. Coupled with the huge air scoop at the front and the centred twin exhaust outlet at the back, the Megane lets those around it know that if provoked, it will sting.
The Megane's Anthracite alloy wheels help shave valuable time off its 0-62mph sprint
And there is a reason why I think this car presents itself as venomous –and here comes the technical stuff.
The anthracite wheels are 1.5kgs lighter than previously. This helps shave 0.2seconds off the 0-62mph time bringing it to 6.1seconds.
Brembo has tinkered with the 'crossdrilled' brakes making them much more
efficient at cooling themselves and therefore maintaining optimum performance.
The braking servo has been pumped up too to make the anchors sharper.
There is 250 Newton metres of torque on tap from as little as 2,000rpm.
To a layman, that means this car is ferociously pulling you forward, with the help of the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx–shod wheels, across the rev range in all of the six gears.
What all this means is that you have in your hands a car that you will want to drive again and again.
Not along expansive stretches of motorway asphalt but along narrow and
undulating stretches of testing tarmac.
You'll be throwing the six-speed gearbox hither and thither and gripping
the leather-clad steering wheel like an eight-year-old on a roller-coaster.
And with prices starting at £18,600 on the road, there will be plenty of people willing to plunge into their pockets for the pleasure of driving the Megane.
There are more brutish cars on the market, particularly in the Alfa Romeo stable, but this is more than a match for any of the hot-hatches likely to line-up against it in the paddock.
