Best Performance Car under 40K

Checking through the latest Wheels Magazine I looked into some of the performance cars that are on offer and found one that I think is great value for money, a surprise though, in the days of Korean cars flooding the market I wouldent have thought an import from France would be the one!
Renault Megane II R'Sport 225 3dr 2.0 Turbo, $37 990, 165 KW, 0-400m 14.6
For similar or under 40k here is the competition,
Ford XR6, $39 710, 190 KW, 0-400m 16.5
Holden Commodore VE SV6 $39 990, 0-400m 15.5
Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0 Turbo $39 990, 0-400m 15.0
Mitsubishi 380 VRX $38 990, 0-400m 16.2
The Renault Megane smashes each of these hands down and is on average 2-3k cheaper. Naturally though Ford and Holden make better performance cars than these, yet to get up the the level of the Renualt, you have to spend at least another 7-10k to meet those performance figures. Consider also that another 7k will easily buy you enough aftermarket Renualt parts to boost performance again, although why you would want to I dont know, factory stock that is pretty damm impressive for bang for your buck!
Renault Megane II R'Sport 225 3dr 2.0 Turbo, $37 990, 165 KW, 0-400m 14.6
For similar or under 40k here is the competition,
Ford XR6, $39 710, 190 KW, 0-400m 16.5
Holden Commodore VE SV6 $39 990, 0-400m 15.5
Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0 Turbo $39 990, 0-400m 15.0
Mitsubishi 380 VRX $38 990, 0-400m 16.2
The Renault Megane smashes each of these hands down and is on average 2-3k cheaper. Naturally though Ford and Holden make better performance cars than these, yet to get up the the level of the Renualt, you have to spend at least another 7-10k to meet those performance figures. Consider also that another 7k will easily buy you enough aftermarket Renualt parts to boost performance again, although why you would want to I dont know, factory stock that is pretty damm impressive for bang for your buck!