When Renault sales in Australia slipped more than 30 per cent last year (on a rising market) it was only a matter of time until major steps were taken. So a new management team has been put in place with plans to rejuvenate the French marque down under.

Renault is now headed by former BMW Mini executive Justin Hocevar, who says that new products would drive the Renault brand and that he has set what he calls an “ambitious, but achievable” target of 3500 units in 2011. Other former BMW people have been recruited, the new PR consultant is Alexander Corne, and Chris Brown is the marketing chief.

It is the fourth time that Renault - a massive brand in Europe - has been `relaunched' in the Australian market.

New vehicles to lead the planned Renault comeback in Australia include a Megane hatch, Fluence sedan, Megane coupe-cabriolet and the performance-based Renault Megane Sport RS 250.

Leading the product charge is the Megane Sport 250, a competitor to the popular Volkswagen Golf GTi. While the Golf blends into a crowd in its styling, the Renault Sport 250 is anything but ordinary in appearance. It has wider wheel arches to accommodate 18-inch alloy wheels, a large central exhaust outlet and a rear diffuser.

Under the bonnet is a 184 kW, 2.0-litre, 16-valve turbo-petrol engine connected to a six speed manual shifter. There are two variants, Cup and Cup Trophee, the latter designed for those who regularly take their passion onto the race track. The Cup is priced from $41,990 while Cup Trophee versions start from $46,990.

Renault introduced its hot RS 250 to the motoring press at the Broadford Motorcycle Sports complex north of Melbourne. Around 80 per cent of the engine’s peak torque of 340 Nm is on tap from 1900 rpm and the car sprints to 100 km/h in 6.1 seconds. About 25 per cent of the engine's components are new compared to the previous 2.0 T, including new intake ports, new pistons and conrods, new air/air and water/air intercoolers, sodium cooled valves and piston ring carriers.

"The Renault RS 250 is a highly engineered performance vehicle, not just stick-on badges," said Mr Hocevar. For Renault in Australia it is a flagship vehicle. It is here as a `hero' car to reflect the company's racing heritage and credentials. As the company states, even Australian F1 hero Mark Webber is powered by Renault.

The RS 250 comes standard with a limited slip differential for improved traction, the power steering features a sportier calibration giving improved driver feedback from the road. The electronic stability program - which has three ESP modes - can be disabled for track work.

Those who specify the Renault Cup Trophee get the choice of either cloth-covered Recaro seats or optional leather, which are also adjustable for height. Compared to the European model sport chassis, anti-roll stiffness on the Australian Cup model has been increased 13 per cent, courtesy of a larger-diameter anti-roll bar. The Renault RS 250 stops hard thanks to four-pot Brembo calipers and 340 mm diameter, grooved, vented discs at the front. The rear has 290mm grooved discs.

Our time behind the wheel of the Renault RS 250 was limited to track work. Although it sticks well, there's still room for improvement with some sloppiness while cornering, particularly on uneven sections. The brakes are excellent with no sign of fade after jumping on the pedal at more than 170 km/h to negotiate tight corners.

The Recaro seats hold you in place and the tacho and speedometer are easy to read. We tended to hit the rev limiter in first and second gears until we became accustomed to the free-revving engine that gets up and boogies fast compliments of the twin-scroll turbo. The transmission ratios are well matched to the engine, but the ratios between second and third at time seemed a little wide for the Broadford circuit.

Our day of test drives started with a road drive of the new Megane Hatch. It's a good looking hatch with a distinctive rear end that many people will find appealing. The boot space is a little limited.

Renault have elected to go into driveaway pricing for its best-selling models and the first of these is the Megane Hatch that is $25,990 driveaway. It is powered by a 2.0-litre 102 kW 16-valve four-cylinder engine linked to a CVT transmission. There's 195 Nm of torque available at 375 rpm and Renault has measured combined fuel consumption of 7.9 litres/100 km.

From the Megane Hatch we jumped into the new Renault small sedan, the Fluence, which shares it's underpinnings with the Megane Hatch. The vehicle has been stretched out to 4618mm and as a result has a larger boot size than the hatch and is more conservative in appearance.

Renault expects the Megane Hatch, Fluence and Koleos to be its most popular models in 2011. Despite the similar drive train and underpinnings, the sedan Fluence is a totally different drive to the Megane Hatch. It feels softer in the suspension and gives a more comfortable ride. Like the Megane Hatch, it will not break any speed records, but will get the job done smoothly thanks to the CVT transmission.

The Renault Fluence Dynamique manual starts at $22,990, (auto $24,990) while the top of the line Fluence Privilege with CVT auto starts at $29,990, before on-road and dealer delivery charges. 

With a glossy, black glass roof that comes down, or up, in 21 seconds the Megane CC is Parisian in appearance and makes a nice boulevard cruiser. There are four seats but forget having four adults on board with little rear-seat legroom. Boot space is also at a premium when the glass roof is tucked away as you enjoy open-top motoring. But, as there's little room for adults in the rear, that solves any luggage shortcomings.

On our short test-drive around north-east Victoria we noted some scuttle shake with the roof down. The CC is powered by the same 103 kW, 2.0-litre, 16-valve four cylinder petrol engine from Megane hatch and also the CVT transmission. Renault claim economy of 8.1 litres per 100 km combined.

There's a single equipment level to choose from and the price is $45,990, before on-roads.

Pricing, excluding government and dealer charges, for the updated Renault range is:
RS 250 Cup: $41,990
RS 250 Cup Trophee: $46,990
Megane Hatch Dynamique: $22,990 (manual)*, $24,990 (CVT)
Megane Hatch Dynamique: $24,990 (CVT)
Megane Hatch Privilege: $29,990 (CVT)
Fluence Dynamique: $22,990 (manual)*, $24,990 (CVT)
Fluence Privilege: $29,990 (CVT)
Megane Coupe-Cabriolet: $45,990 (CVT)

* Also available for $25,990 driveaway