Yellowhammer attack

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HOT STUFF: Liquid Yellow paint almost drips off the R26’s angular lines. Stick on decals are optional.

With sunglasses at the ready Tom Bird tries the not-so-subtle RenaultSport Megane R26.

Look at any street, anywhere in the world, and dull soul-less cars finished in various shades of grey, silver and black will stare back at you. What kind of emotion do colours like Moist Grey, Thunder Silver or Midnight Black conjure up?

Not exactly heart-stopping excitement, that's for sure. How about yellow?

Yellow is an often overlooked choice in the huge colour spectrum modern paint technologies can bestow onto a car's flanks.

True, there aren't many manufacturers out there brave enough to put Banana or Beeswax onto the colour palette, but I'm sure if they did, they might be pleasantly surprised with the uptake.

Take the RenaultSport Megane R26 for example, at first glance you just know that it's a little bit special, a bit naughty even, and that's before you learn what's under the bonnet.

What there is, is a mighty turbocharged 2.0-litre with 227bhp ready to turn the Michelin Pilot Sport tyres into smoke as soon as you squeeze the throttle pedal with vigour.

Find traction, and you'll be able to sprint to 100kph in 6.5seconds.

But like any good hot hatch worthy of the name, the Megane R26 isn't about going fast in a straight line. Where it really shines is through those tricky things called corners.

Find a decent stretch of fast flowing turns mixed up with tight hairpins and undulating gradients and you'll find the R26 comes alive.

The Megane's secret weapon is a limited-slip diff that sits between the front wheels, ensuring that power is sent to whichever of the driven wheels has the most available grip.

The result is a car that seemingly digs deep into the tarmac and finds traction where other cars would flounder. It's a proper full-fat driving experience. Even the usually over-light steering that blights the non-R26 RenaultSport Megane is dismissed.

Suspension is stiffer, brakes are bigger and the whole drive is much brawnier than you'd expect front the modest 5bhp power boost compared to the normal hot Megane. The result is the best hot hatch in the region.

Nothing can match up to the pure drive offered by the boosted Frenchman. It's at its best when you are wrestling the steering wheel away from the scenery as you blow everything else away in a cloud of dust. Superb.

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