WHEN the Renault Megane RS 250 arrived in Australia in 2010 it stole the hot-hatch crown that Volkswagen’s Golf GTI had held, thanks to its on-tap grunt and excellent driving dynamics which made it a capable track car and road warrior.

A product of Renault Sport – the company’s high performance division – it’s based on the third-generation Megane with 250 referring to the amount of horsepower sent to the front wheels.

In 2012 the Megane RS 265 arrived but as the name suggests with 15 more horsepower. This was followed by a facelifted version this year which updated the styling of the car with Renault’s new design language.

The Megane RS 275 Trophy is the latest in a line of limited editions of the model which have included the Trophy 8:08 in 2011 and Red Bull Racing versions in 2012 and 2013.

The thing is, this limited edition is different – it’s more than just stickers and go-fast stripes. For starters its output has been increased by an extra 6kW, then there’s the overhauled steering.

We drove the RS 275 Trophy in Tasmania this week to see if the benchmark has been set again by this hardcore hatch.

Click here for the full review...