Although it seems that they’ve had very ambitious intentions, the 2018 Renault Megane RS may fail to be what it’s supposed to be – a competitive rival to all of the hot hatches out there. Recently published photos revealed that the appearance of the latest Renault’s sports hatchback works fine with the corporate design language, but it’s questionable whether it’s going to be good enough for the severe hot-hatch market niche.

There’s no doubt the 2018 Megane RS looks aggressive. Numerous sporty details seeded all around the hatchback’s body in order to grow a dynamic expression of the car’s power, look a bit like overkill. It could have been different – with more style and harmony among the sporty accents that were supposed to work together – but the current exterior is nothing more than compulsive attention-seeking enterprise to prove the point. The new Megane RS has this ‘look-at-me’ attitude that’s simply trying too hard. And that has to be recognized as a true accomplishment in the market segment where all the adolescent dreams come true.

The main reason the exterior of the 2018 Renault Megane RS is a project that’s been optimistically envisioned but poorly executed lies behind the disproportion between the front and the rear end. The aforementioned sporty details are all fine, but with all of them summed up, the car’s appearance got a noisy design without a confident and singular expression, a design language of the illiterate.

However, the 2018 Megane RS has some really good things. New headlight graphics are nothing but amazing. With not-so-subtle checkered-flag motif at the fog lights, the front end got the necessary pretentious style. The body is not exactly muscular, but it’s robust just enough. Although the rear end has a pair of dubious taillights in terms of design, the trapezoidal exhaust tip inspired by Renault’s Formula 1 heritage is the best part of the hot-hatch’s design along with the beautiful wheels. Huge air vents and accented wheel arches bring the spirit of a potent, competitive hatchback whose sole purpose of existence is to make you smile while burning gasoline and rubber.

Although there’s no official information about the powertrain, the rumors say that the 2018 Megane RS is going to get an engine that could deliver up to 300 horsepower. It will be available with both manual and dual-clutch automatic gearbox and the 4Control all-wheel steering will be implemented as well.

The 2018 Renault Megane RS will be introduced on September 12th and it’s going to hit the showrooms shortly after the debut.