'Extreme' is an appropriate badge for Renault's Megane Sport Hatch. Few would argue that this is the most dynamically-styled family hatchback ever made, a sign that Renault's design studio is the bravest and most forward thinking in the industry.

Today's Megane II is braver still when compared with the model that first wowed the crowds. More observant members of the public might spot elongated, sleeker headlamps and alterations to the grille which see everything come together in a 'V' shape either side of a more prominent Renault badge at the front. The rear benefits from it's own re-sculpted bumper and revised light clusters while, inside, the instrument binnacle features chrome-ringed dials with white background lighting.

'Sport Hatch' is Renault-speak for the three-door hatchback bodystyle and Extreme is the more affordable of the two trim levels being offered in this guise, the other being Dynamique. Either way, you get alloy wheels, an ant-submarining airbag for the front seats, front electric windows, a 60-watt stereo radio cassette (cassette?) with steering wheel controls and ABS.

The only real drawback of going the Extreme route with this particular car is that it rather limits you to some of the feebler powerplants - namely the 98bhp 1.4-litre petrol unit (priced from £11,960) and dCi 86 diesel (priced from £12,730).

If you can stretch to a £1,000 premium over the standard Extreme, Dynamique trim will net you a worthwhile package of kit, including that air conditioning system plus a CD player (after all, when was the last time you played a cassette?), an alarm, heated mirrors, front foglamps, leather for the steering wheel and gearstick, automatic headlamps and wipers, plus 60/40 split-folding rear seats.

To be fair however, you can find much of this type of stuff elsewhere in the overcrowded Family Hatchback sector. What you can't find is the Megane Sport Hatch's sheer jaw-dropping presence. Where do you begin in describing this car's sheer visual shock? At the back, naturally. The bustle back certainly differentiates the Renault from a number of watered down rivals. In fact, this one design feature dominates the car. Blank it out and the Megane has a conventional line, looking much like an amalgam between a Ford Focus and a Citroen C3. We'll probably all get pretty used to the styling in time but for now, it's a breath of fresh air in what is usually a pretty conservative sector of the market.

"What you can't find in other small Family Hatches is the Megane Sport Hatch's sheer jaw-dropping presence.."

Built at Renault's high-tech Palencia plant in Spain, the Sport Hatch is just one part of a jigsaw that also includes the five-door hatch, a saloon, a coupe-convertible, the Scenic II mini-MPV and a dizzying myriad of other Megane spin-offs. No matter how striking you may find the exterior styling, for many the biggest surprise will come when they drop into the driver's seat of the Megane Sport Hatch. The design is neat without being gratuitously radical, but the real revelation is the great strides forward made in terms of quality of materials and finish. It's almost as if a Renault designer's company hack was rear-ended and he got an Audi courtesy car for the week. Soft feel plastics, quality fabrics and a cohesive design philosophy means a not-so-fond farewell to old-school Renault interiors, many of which were built with the visual drama and structural integrity of a film set.

Genuine innovation is in evidence. Take Renault's anti-submarining airbag, a device which leaps forth from the seat cushion to protect the pelvis. This replaces the traditional (and some would say uncomfortable) hump at the front of the seat and is a neat solution that provides both comfort and unparalleled safety, effectively making it impossible to slide beneath the seatbelt in the event of an accident.

Renault's unparalleled experience in the MPV market shines through, not only in terms of passenger space - which is excellent - but also in the provision of multifarious cubbies, boxes and pockets. There's a hatch in the floor to stow valuables, storage boxes between both front and rear seats and even a chilled glove compartment. The metallic hoop handbrake is a neat touch, although motoring anoraks will remember a similar device in the Alfa 75 of the eighties.

Like the Laguna II, the Megane features a card rather than the traditional key, and multiplex wiring systems ensure that, at least on the Dynamique version, rain-sensing wipers and automatic headlamps are available, while cruise control with an F1-style speed limiter is an option. Spend more and you can even specify a full length sunroof and Carminat satellite navigation. As well as ABS, Brake Assist and tyre pressure mentoring, the Megane II is also the first car to use next generation ESP stability control software that incorporates CSV understeer control, ESP fitted as part of a 'Handling Pack' option. Unlike many stability control systems that are very good at figuring out when the back end is trying to overtake the front, CSV is tailored especially for sporting front-wheel drive cars and gives enormous confidence on wet roads.

Renault have been extremely clever with the Megane II Sport Hatch. They've certainly priced it tightly in Extreme guise as featured here. The styling blends an element of conservatism with flagrant look-at-me extremes, a gamble that Renault are strongly cashing in on. In designing a quality feel into the car and supplying a decent set of powerplants, what seemed like rash foolhardiness gradually appears more the work of brilliant product planning. Some will say that the Megane Sport Hatch should have been a little less radical. Let them buy boring. Perhaps it's time to go to extremes.