1998 Renault Megane Coupe - Sport review from UK and Ireland

Only major fault I've had is a leaking pipe that's part of the power steering that was quite expensive to fix for one pipe.

Otherwise I've had a little trouble with the central locking that was sorted by reseting it at the local dealer and fog lights that wouldn't work properly that involved a quick trip to the dealer to sort out the wiring.

Also, make sure you find a good Renault dealer to fix your car as the one closest to where I live had awful customer service so I went back to where I bought the car from.

A very nice little coupe that's brisk and comfortable.

The engine, despite only being a 1.6 8 valve, pulls very well and will whisk you down the motorway with no problems. However, when driving short town journeys the gears do need to be used a bit otherwise it tends to drink fuel a little quick. Starts first time every time.

The car handles quite well though I would recommend a good set of tires to help with traction, go into a corner too fast with this car and you'll know. However, find a twisty B road and the car becomes a fun sporty drive with responsive steering that gives a nice bit of feed back.

The bodywork is fantastic with no rust anywhere which is a big improvement for Renault. The paintwork is still a beautiful metallic blue and looks the same as much newer models.

The interior has held up very well for a car that's nearly 7 years old with nearly 80'000 miles on the clock. The seats are very comfortable with plenty of adjustment. The back seats are bigger than they look and fine adults on short journeys. The dash is OK for a car of this age though it is a lot of plastic, but everything feels well put together and I've had no creaks or rattles at all.

The boot is ample seeing as this is not a family car, with the rear seats folded down only the largest of items won't fit.

As for running costs, insurance and servicing are inexpensive for a car of this sort and only on fuel consumption does it fall behind rivals a little.

Overall, a great sporty car without the sporty costs.