2012 Renault Megane

Renault Megane

Renault’s Megane is a left-field choice for anyone tired of the usual Polo or Japanese hatches clogging up Jozi parking lots. You’ll only find eight available right now, all used—so you’re definitely not going to lose your car in a mall lot. Pricing stretches from R104,990 to R199,500, with most sitting close to R159,000. That puts it in the crosshairs of used Polo GTIs and the odd Ford Focus, but the Megane’s character is a different beast entirely. Manual, semi-auto, and dual-clutch boxes are all in the mix, but every car runs on petrol, and mileage averages out at 122,850 km. Yes, that’s high, but for a French hatch in this price band, it’s par for the course. On paper at least, the GT-Line coupe is most common, with the 1.2T and 1.4TCe covering the sensible end between R117,900 and R159,900. Then there’s the RS, and that matters—a Megane RS 265 at R159,500 or RS 250 Sport Lux at R189,900 doesn’t just undercut the Golf GTI; it embarrasses it, because you get what the Megane should have been from the start: a 2.0-litre turbo, proper limited-slip diff, and a chassis with actual feedback. Sure, you’ll want to check service records twice, but if you pack smart and hunt for the right RS, you’re looking at one of the most authentic performance deals in the South African used market—warts and all.