Dru has , he's just a write up of the differences he's found up to now. Thread title, just bought a Mercury 250 cup, does quite well round the ring.
I went from R26 to RS265, first thing is the 265 feels a lot better built. I was surprised to find that the suspension seems even firmer than the R26 (mines a FF 265 with cup pack). The later car handles even better IMO. Virtually same running costs on both, brakes are a bit more expensive on the 265 due to the size of the front discs. With a remap on the 265 it feels loads quicker than a mapped R26. Overall I'd totally recommend the change
I was going to make a thread about this. I'm currently in the market for a 250/265 as I fancy something a bit newer. I test drove a 265 cup s, 265 sport, and a 312bhp mapped 250 yesterday. Going straight from my dci into each of them I was quite disappointed. I expected much more. The mk3 cup suspension is a lot harder than the mk2 and my dci has h&r springs. Steering feels heavier and car feels wider,possibly more plated at speed but difference is negligible. The selectable throttle maps are very impressive (my favourite part of the car) really noticeable on the mapped 250 the scorpion popped and bangned instantly when extreme mode was selected. Interior had just as many rattles as the mk2. Going from a mk2 lux with leather recaros to the cloth standard 250 seats actually felt like a big step down but the seating position is lower and better in the 250 and the actual dash is nicer. Rear passenger space is much smaller the boot is also a lot smaller. In my opinion if your spending all the extra on a 250/265 the ff or cup with recaros is essential. Performance wise how the 265 was so much quicker than the r26r round the ring is beyond me. I really don't think there's much in it. I test drove the mapped 250 hard ( I was encouraged to by the owner) and it was slower than expected but slightly faster than the 265. Mid range it certainly wouldn't pull away from my dci upto 90-100mph. Which has got me thinking. Realistically I'd get around 3-4k for my dci. Is the 250 worth around 8k more?? I'm not saying the 250 /265 is bad I'm just saying it's not that much of a step up from the previous shape for the price hike
Can't really add much more than johnny has, although my 250 seems a lot better on fuel than the r26, but the r26 was well due a full service so it's probably just that! Biggest difference after giving it a thrashing with my mate the other day down the lanes was how much torque it has compared to the r26, that combined with smoother delivery through the rev range makes it such a well balanced car! I think you can't go wrong with either though, both cars at their current average price are complete bargains!! And very capable out of the box!
I think the fact the mk3 or 250 had vvt (variable valve timing) helps with the fuel economy, the brother in law said his 250 was better then his 225 especially on a run. When I drove the 275 at Oulton I found the power much more linear and across the Rev range and it was really easy to drive quick
Obviously not driving it hard enough Seriously though, I don't think there's that much difference in fuel economy, very very slightly better on the later car but not that much really IMO
