Yes I know that feeling. Spent the past 18 months on and off getting my 944 S2 race car ready for MoT, well it passed weekend before last. Then a couple of days later developed a fuel leak. Wouldn't you know it but its the fuel return hose into the top of the tank and is NLA from Porsche. Ended up paying 100 quid for one from the states from the only maker of that part I could find so we can try and feed it through tied to the back of the old hose. Otherwise its drop the gearbox to drop the fuel tank time. Nightmare. Still though that car is also why I have sort of fallen out of love with the Meg, driving my old race car on the road is something special. Unbelievable feel, perfect driving position low down to the road and basically everything that is alien to a modern hot hatch (unbelievably noisey though as well). Its 3 years since I drove her on track but again the way the car moves around is a step on from the Meg. A bit disconcerting tbh some get fast straight away, some take years to understand and comfortable (like I did), some never get used to it and end up driving around 3 seconds a lap slower than the cars limits. A friend of mine who races a Porsche 964 in the AMOC Intermarque reckons its impossible to recreate those dynamics in a normal road car. On paper that wouldn't be true but he might well be right in practice, I certainly found my mates 996 C4S a pretty boring car sound track and looks apart. I guess it depends what one wants from a car. The hot hatches are still brilliant if one want something to drive day to day carrying people and stuff.
my mate My mate had a Cayman S. These cars are not for people on megane budgets. The running costs if anything goes wrong, will be beyond most of us. He took it to the ring,and its performance and balance were way beyond a hot hatch. But its build quality was not. His ,for some reason sheered bolts clean off on the exhaust manifold,leaving them snapped in the head. If he didnt have access to a machine shop,and a fullly equipt garage with ramps to drill out,and re tap the bolts,then the bill for a new head would have been horrendous. Probably no change from a porshe dealer out of 5k.
Seen a absolutely mint 968 CS in yellow the other day.Matey obviously only drives it in perfect conditions.It just looked stunning..dont think i have ever seen one on the road before..
I don’t agree that a cayman is leagues ahead of a Megane on a track in terms of balance and performance. There’s a reason the trophy r whooped most cars it was put up against. Granted the Porsche’s are great but I suspect I’d get bored driving anything other than a ballistic one and sadly probably couldn’t afford that ha. My pal had a 997 for sale and when I asked him how it drove his response was ‘a bit soft and wallowy like an old porsche’. I drove an older cayman the other week it felt quite nice if a little too heavy on the controls weights. But it wasn’t a patch on my trophy r. I suppose the newer ones will be great to drive but I’ve never had a go in one as yet! You can pick up one for about 35 now which is similar to the R but I wonder if it would be a set fun. It’s certainly not as fast unless you go for the larger engine.
You would never get bored of driving one that had been race prepared. Tired yes very, but never bored. Biggest problem now in Porsche world is everything rear engined with a tough engine has got ludicrously expensive. About 10 years ago I did a track day with a group of Porsche friends, in the end a whole group of 7 or 8 964RS came along. I can't remember the last time I saw an old RS on track, just too valuable. Front engined, the 968 CS and Sport also too expensive and frankly in standard form they are a touch boring, don't believe the hype. Lovely cars but again like my race car they come alive 300% once the weight is out and proper suspension added, an R26 onwards will whip it on track just in the corners. I have owned two, a 968 and my 944 S2 in road, fast road/trackday and full ground up race car guise over a period of 17 years. Honestly there are a lot of scare stories out there. I think my R26 is coming in only slightly cheaper to keep and that is due to the mega cheap parts (comparatively). Given that boxster/996 parts are much cheaper than old Porsche parts I would be surprised if there was any difference in overall costs outside of covering the engine risk, friends that have gone that route have been happy and OK.
WOW. Never thought I would see the day when someone complains about a sports car having too much mechanical feel and connectivity. Cayman control weights are fairly gentle btw along with the feedback, every generation before was progressively heavier, more mechanical and direct feeling with the corresponding increase in feel. I guess real sports car are just not for you.
To balance of the Cayman S at mega high speed was astonishing at the ring. That wide wheelbase really helps to settle your nerves in the quick stuff. You still need to be able to peddle though, to get the best out of it. Only GT3`s and mega prepared BMW`s went past my mate in his..but he doesnt know the word fear behind the wheel!
Driven today at Renault chester. Excellent dealership. Really friendly and knowledgeable but in no way pushy. And the car is pretty special. Photos do not do it justice. In the flesh it looks mean especially in black. It’s low wide and has some real attitude. It’s quick but only a touch more than my standard 275. It has a different sort of feel to the steering to my mk3. Not worse just different. The chassis to me seems equally as balanced as the mk3 if not more so. It makes a nice noise and gives some pops and bangs when it’s wanted up. The gear shift is nice and everything is well placed including the pedals. The four wheel steering was noticeable and a bit odd at times but by the end of the drive I wasn’t even thinking about it anymore. The interior is lovely and I felt right at home before we even started it up. It makes a great noise on start up. And it all feels well put together. Overall compared to my 275 it felt a little softer but then just as flat and sorted in the bends. Maybe that’s the fancy bump stops at work. It’s just much more modern and civilised. It’s not quite as raw but not far off and still mega fun to drive.
Here`s one. https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/renault/megane-rs/first-drives/renault-megane-rs-2018-uk-review
Ooooooooooh I like that [emoji1303]. Darker rims and some subtle tints and that would be my perfect car. Although I’ll be waiting for the Trophy I think
Yep, every review I’ve read of the Meg IV RS doffs its lid to the Meg III RS; none so far has suggested the IV is better.
Worth noting that it took a little while for the MK3 to get put onto the pedestal on which it ended up. Given that we already know the Trophy is coming and better models will likely follow, the signs look bright. That looks lovely in black.
Yes cup version And yes the steering is quicker. Feels crazily so to start with due to the 4ws but you soon get used to that.
Dealer told me due to delays on the current versions and options, plus the fact they are struggling to match the lsd with the auto box, the trophy could be end of 2019 or even later. And even that they might well wait till sales slow in the mk4 life cycle before they release. I’m no expert on how Renault do things but that’s the dealerships take on it.
Think the red one looks better, not overly keen on that colour. ( Pistonhead's ad is the local dealer). May pop down to see what the fuss is about. Don't think they have managed to nail interiors yet though.
Had a good look at Volcanic Orange in the flesh yesterday in Germany, looked stunning, really wide and imposing, every detail looks spot on. Looks like they should remap to 310 BHP, if figures are reliable. PistonHeads review v’s i30n https://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features/renault-sport-megane-280-cup-vs-hyundai-i30-n/38299
I’ve driven two just not a new model, so it’s possible that I would find that better. Lol, didn’t realise I’d get so much flak for that comment. I simply said it felt ‘old’ and a bit heavy compared to the Megane that was all. It was a good car to drive but as an everyday car it’s would become tiresome.
Fair enough. Don't consider it flak mate its a fact of life and the reality of the automotive business. None of the current cars have as much feel as the older models. Porsche are as guilty as anyone else and undoubtably they wouldn't have done it if they didn't think it would result in more car sales. The 981 generation cars for example have more servo assistance and less feel IMHO compared to the 987, brakes in particular. Then of course going to electric PAS rather than hydraulic PAS properly killed the steering feel. Ultimately the problem is that every day comfort / convenience and driver feel / involvement really don't mix that well. All the companies have tried to sell products that attempt to cross the barrier with combinations of huge speed, looks and contrived exhaust sounds. For my sins my daily driver is a Land Rover Freelander II because I got fed up with the terrible roads.
That PH article is ultimately pretty biassed. The Megane is a good 4 grand or more expensive once optioned up whereas the Hyundai is fully loaded, my own run at the configurator resulted in 5 grands worth of options. No worries though, its' french so it will be a 20 grand car in a year or so time on the secondhand market.
Too true ! My 265 was around 7 months old when I bought it and had dropped around £12k !!!!! It’ll be interesting to see how much the new Meg will plummet in price on the second hand market [emoji848][emoji848][emoji848]
Well, you say that, but PH have had a load of paid articles by Hyundai to push the i30N. They're hardly going to want to upset one of their advertising clients.
FLOL at all these comments, It's the same every time... It was EXACTLY the same when the MK3 came out, Ugly, not as good, mk2 values will shoot up... Cue the 'had a mk2, upgraded to a mk3' threads.... Awesome car! And for me, you can't compare 265's, 275's to it. It is the 'base' spec that apparently no RS fan would ever buy (which I would like to add is exactly the reason the Clio and the Megane has 5 doors and an auto box - so well done for waiting for the 'hardcore' version) I see a lot of jealousy in this thread, as the mk3 is now instantly our of date, it looks dated and isn't the 'current' model which people like having....
Just wait a year Daz, that is all it will take for people to be hooked by the deals that are inevitable on this car.
What car comparison against the golf r and civic. https://www.whatcar.com/news/honda-civic-type-r-vs-renault-megane-rs-vs-volkswagen-golf-r/
Positive review for the Megane overall that’s great news! Considering it was only 0.3 seconds slower than the civic there is real hope it can out gun it on the ring with the trophy version. The handling must be epic considering the shortfall in power. Over 30bhp less is a lot! Good work Renault!
I wouldn't be surprised if they are already making close to 300 out the box, all the MK3s made more than quoted figures...
I followed this on the M11 on Thursday morning. It had a really nice stance on the road and surprisingly I really liked the colour. I was expecting to see the DRL's in the RS logo, but no, that was disappointing. It seems much bigger, even bigger than a Golf or Focus, could be down to the bulging arches.
Grest review, that Civic never fails to impress, I just couldn't live with the looks. I'm expecting my Golf R to be delivered this week. I'm looking forward to having all the modern creature comforts after my R26. I've already got quite a few mods planned for performance and handling
