A coupe should be special. An expression of sportiness, an icon of style. But when the price point is around R250 000, what can you expect to complement two long doors and a sharply raked roofline? The new Renault Megane Coupe promises so much visually, but if it’s going heads up against Alfa’s sporty little Mito, it better bring some hardware to the party.

In the metal

Our long-term Alfa, resplendent in Biancospino White, clearly cuts the more masculine figure of the two. At just 4063mm long, it is 236mm shorter than the Renault. It’s also 176mm lower and 85mm narrower. Visually this translates into a much stockier ‘bulldog’ stance on those arch-filling 18-inch alloys. Standard issue is a similarly in your face 17in item. The traditional distinct V-shaped Alfa grille extends almost to the front apron, splitting the mesh-filled airdam which houses a pair of foglamps. Above them sit the defining element of Alfa’s ‘new face’, the pinched oval headlamp clusters. They’re derived from the 8C Competizione and remain a bone of contention. I reckon they work in diminished form in the Mito, but the term ‘runny egg’ has been pitched about the office. The Mito’s profile is a fluid compilation: muscular bonnet flows into a steeply raked windscreen which transforms to sloping roofline and drops down to meet pumped-up rear arches, where those striking ellipsoid rear lamps dominate. Chromed side mirrors are complemented by a similarly chromed accent which sweeps along the shoulder line and terminates in the kicked-up C-pillar. Pretty, yet not short on machismo.

The larger Megane coupe is no less striking in outline, though its five-spoke 16-inch hoops give it a less desirable ‘tippy-toe’ look. Ours is presented in a deep metallic burnt orange hue, a perfect foil to the Megane’s blend of pressed-in creases and softer, more effeminate curves. Renault’s 2010 visage is dominated by a pair of bold plastic fangs that extend from the base of the headlamps. Between them is a blacked out integrated grille and airdam, with sunken foglamps at the bumper’s outer edges. The Renault’s flanks are intricately hewn: a dipping, then rising shoulder line underlines a blade-like greenhouse. Beneath it a black plastic insert divides door panels from sideskirt. The rear design feels less well integrated than the Alfa’s, with a mix of hard and soft surfaces, especially on the bootlid, while the black plastic rear apron is overly heavy. The floating rear lamp clusters are however a neat touch, and the way the C-pillar and rear hatch glass meet is inspired design.

Life on board

The same physical dimensions that give the Alfa its unique physique also robs it of interior space: it’s cramped in here. Ditto the Megane, which is as dark inside as the Alfa, thanks to the slivers of glass both cars pass off as greenhouses. It’s worse out back, given the abbreviated head- and legroom and the tiny triangles posing as rear windows. Reversing into a parking space? Daunting! The obligatory window tint is no help either, although we do suffer for beauty, don’t we.