KEY POINTS:
You've probably heard of Renault - it's a brand that majors on quirky small cars and sells in minuscule numbers in New Zealand.
So far this year, fewer than 150 have been registered, which is a dismal performance in any language and might even be cause for some
colourful French at head office.
In Europe, Renault is quite a different story - a top-selling brand renowned for its environmental advancements and safety engineering, plus its sporting prowess.
It's won the off Formula One World Championship (2005/6) and, over the years, has made some of the best hot hatches on the market.
While newly appointed New Zealand Renault distributor Motorcorp Distributors Limited (MDL) is unlikely to bring the brand into the mainstream, it is understandably desperate to get more Kiwis to notice the marque.
The brand's new hero car, the Megane Renaultsport F1 Team R26, should do just that. That name is quite a mouthful, but then it's quite a car (you can call it the R26 for short).
The R26 is more than simply a three-door version of the current RS225 turbo, which continues in the line-up.
Intended to celebrate the company's 2006 F1 win (R26 was the name of Renault's winning racer), it takes the RS225 base package and adds a touch more power - 169kW/310Nm, 0-100km/h in 6.5 seconds - bigger Brembo brakes, a limited-slip front differential and the so-called "Cup"' chassis package, with specific dampers, 10 per cent stiffer front suspension and a slightly softer rear to cope better with bumpy surfaces at high speed.
The R26 is available in yellow (yes, please) or black (don't bother), complete with a set of lurid F1 decals and 18-inch alloys. It's way over the top, but the cheeky looks suit the car's dynamic character perfectly.
The chassis makes a Volkswagen Golf GTi seem positively turgid - the little Renault rockets into corners, shakes its rather back end past the apex and slingshots out the other side, looking for the next one.
Based on a short drive against the RS225 five-door, the R26's stiffer-front/softer-rear suspension set-up is perfect for Kiwi backroads. Corners that had the RS starting to skip and jump were no problem for the R26, and the limited-slip front allows impressive traction when accelerating out of turns.
In short, at the same price of $49,990 as the RS225, the R26 is something of a bargain. Let's hope the extra drag of all those stickers doesn't affect its performance too much.
In other, less yellow, Renault news, MDL is embarking on a major rationalisation of the range.
The much-hyped Clio III - European Car of the Year in 2006 - is likely to be axed after the current Japanese-sourced stock is sold, at least in its current 1.6-litre petrol form. However, the Clio RS hot-hatch is confirmed as a limited-run model and MDL is chasing a European-specification diesel/automatic five-door.
The Scenic people-mover is also on run-out in its current petrol form, but will probably shift to diesel/automatic powertrains only around April.
The all-new Laguna is still coming to New Zealand (in June), but again - in diesel/auto form only and only as a wagon. Like we said, MDL is keeping things simple.
The Koleos crossover wagon - based on the same platform as the latest Nissan X-Trail - is also a certainty, but we'll have to wait until September next year. It'll come in all-wheel-drive, with a choice of two spec levels.
- Detours, HoS