An entirely new design rather than an update, the second Mégane launched in 2002 with styling inspired by the Renault Avantime and went on to win European Car of the Year for 2003, helped by a five-star Euro NCAP rating, the first a small family car had achieved.[1] Renault Card keyless ignition and an optional panoramic glass sunroof, both unusual in the class at the time, appeared here first and were widely copied.
This generation’s lasting reputation, though, rests on the Renault Sport versions: a turbocharged 2.0-litre hot hatch that peaked, in R26 form, with a front-wheel-drive lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Unlike the first generation’s engine table, this one states every power figure explicitly in PS, so the conversions recorded here carry no reading ambiguity. Three trims are recorded: the volume 1.6 petrol, the 1.5 dCi diesel, and the 225 PS Renault Sport.
