New Renault Megane RS vs Honda Civic Type R vs Volkswagen Golf R

Infotainment systems

Honda Civic Type R

This is the Civic’s biggest shortcoming – and it's all the more frustrating when you consider how great the rest of the car is. The screen is low in resolution and the fact it’s angled upwards means it reflects sunlight badly. The menus are hopelessly complicated, the screen is often slow to respond to presses and even tweaking the volume is immensely frustrating. At least smartphone mirroring is standard.

Renault Megane RS

Better than the Civic’s system – but not by a lot. As standard, you get a 7.0in touchscreen with sat-nav, a DAB radio and Apple and Android smartphone mirroring. An extra £300 gets you a larger 8.7in screen (pictured). Either way, though, the menus aren’t very user-friendly and the screen is rather dull compared with the Golf’s. A powerful seven-speaker Bose sound system is available but adds £800 to the bill.

Volkswagen Golf R

Easily the best system here. The 8.0in touchscreen is super bright and responds almost instantaneously when you prod it. The fact the menus are logically arranged also aids usability. You can upgrade to a 9.2in screen (for £1325) but, frankly, we wouldn’t bother. We’d also steer clear of the clunky voice control (£200), although the Dynaudio Excite sound system (£550) is worth a look if you really love your music.