Wtb Renault Megane D95 Phase 1, Comfort Spec

[Conza]

Hi there I'm Conza, I've had two hot hatches and one sports car and am looking to go french again, so what else but the Renault Megane RS 250 or 265?

 

I have a few criteria, I want the most comfortable ride possible, that means the highest profile tyres, non-recaro seats, preferably silver wheels, but open to both black or silver accents on the car.

 

I like every colour I've seen, I probably won't go red (current car is a VW Golf V GTI in Red), or dark blue.  Favourites are Yellow and White.

 

At the moment, the RS 250s seem to be a fair bit better value for money than the 265s, and so far all I've read is, make sure the timing belt has been done once if the car is 4+ years old and/or has 100kms + done (and ask when, check logs as usual).

 

Key things for me coming from my current car, without a LSD even at 'only' 200bhp / 280NM, the car struggles for traction in hard acceleration, particularly from a stand still, so really looking forward to that (understand all of our cars received LSD and Trophee(?) chassis).  I'm also coming from a DSG, which I'll miss, but I'm sure it won't impact the car to own for me.

 

I have a local specialist which I swear by, I've been a customer of them for 7 years personally, my brother still uses them, let them know I'm in the market and they'll do a PPI for me.

 

Any advice on why to spring for the 265 over the 250?  Other than future resale value, I'm not even convinced the power actually has increased, Evo put a 250 on a dyno and showed that 247bhp was very conservative, and that it actually made 270bhp.

 

Other cars I've owned were a Peugeot 306 XT (look, you may call it a 'warm' hatch, but I loved it), and the sports car was a Mazda RX-8... which I still own.  So I'm looking to sell both my current cars and then buy a Megane when I find the right one.

 

Thanks for reading, look forward to participating in the forum and reading around more detail on these cars!

[chuckovski]

Hi Conza, welcome, great choice!

 

Essentially you're right about everything except we got a sport limited edition that didn't have the LSD nor did it have the cup chassis. It won't be high on your list because it has cloth Recaros.

 

In regards to value just buy the most expensive one you can afford I reckon. You're right about the HP, I don't think that's an issue. The newer ones (bought post July 2014) have 5yr warranty if that helps, eg mine expires 2019. But if you're not fussed on that then 250 is fine. I think there are a few for sale on the forum that look good with awesome mods.

 

I hear you re the comfort part - I have a 265 trophy+ and ended up swapping my 19" wheels for 18" and it made a significant difference. So I'd make sure that you get either the 250 cup or 265cup. They've both got standard seats and 18"wheels.

[Conza]

Hey thanks chuckovski! Yeah I will definitely try both seat types, the recaros may be actually more comfortable when in the seat, but there's a few tiny nit picks I've heard, like its slightly harder to put the seat belt on, the rear passengers have a hard shell for their knees, but ultimately the car is for me, so if the recaros are more comfortable I will take them.

 

Thanks for the Limited Special Edition info, glad to know that's the only one, I'm sure it would be a great car still, but the LSD is an important factor for me.

 

I think the more I learn, I'm leaning toward a few items that I prefer, like the large "moon roof" sunroof, I've never had one, and it looks great inside and out.  Also, probably prefer the black accents on most car colours, white seems to work well with both.

 

Also, I think I've discovered, its either GPS OR RS Monitor, a bit of a shame, I really want the RS Monitor, don't suppose there's a retro-fit method?  If everything else is good on a car I won't mind the GPS, but I like the idea of the throttle mapping, plus the G monitor, lap timer are kind of cool to have.

 

I'll go take a look for the ones on the forum too, I'm in VIC so trying to stay in the state.

[unusual]

i don't have a Megane but from my Clio IV and other cars I have owned in-built GPS systems are usually pretty average and go out of date and cost crazy money to update. I use my phone most of the time as it is connected to Bluetooth and the directions then come through the speakers.

 

Plus in a Megane you should be going too quick for the GPS to keep up! Good luck on your search.

[Conza]

Haha, yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll select the RS Monitor.

 

On later models with reversing cameras, does it need the GPS screen for that option? Or does the RS Monitor show a smaller version of it somehow?

 

EDIT: I think I've found a car I consider to be almost perfect spec, it just has GPS instead of RS Monitor.

 

Is this something that can be swapped easily or is it a nightmare?

Edited 16, November 2016 by Conza

[Conza]

Ok since I can't edit my post any more, another question which the search hasn't answered.

 

Why does carsales tell me a 250 gets 8.7 L / 100 combined, while a 265 gets 8.2 L / 100 combined?

Edited 16, November 2016 by Conza

[Conza]

So finally got to test drive a car today.  Was a 265 Trophy + for $30k with 60,000kms on the clock, about $10k off where I'd be looking to be honest, so wasn't possible to squeeze that down (not ready to buy anyway).

 

Gear stick I had issues with, very loose and clumsy, I am comparing this to an RX-8 with a short shifter (last manual I've driven), but it kind of spoiled that part of the experience a bit, otherwise clutch and transitions were great.

 

I got wheel spin, which disappointed me some what as I was expecting the differentials to grip more, was a first gear pull up a hill, close to full throttle.

 

1st gear is quite short and/or the car seems to have a very light fly wheel, I needed to change up much faster than I anticipated... not a criticism, some people prefer this, I just prefer longer gears, it'd be something to get used to.

 

Otherwise this car was great, comfortable, really nice in white, the sunroof completed the look for me, had the cushy seats and sensors all around with reverse camera (so no rs monitor, oh well).

I think as a package though, for me, too hard to come from a Golf to this, which is a real shame and gives me a bit of a problem if I sell both of my cars.  Was really keen on one of these, but the combination of being manual, no cup holders (proper ones), CD tray being so low (to hold phone, gear shift will knock into it), limited side door bins and other storage spaces, 3 door vs 5 door, high boot lip, it's quite a compromised hatchback despite it no doubt being a better performance car than... virtually anything in the price range, FWD, RWD or 4WD.

[No152]

Maybe drive a Trophy R and see how you go...  Same compromises will be there (and perhaps even a few more...), but you really won't care!

[Conza]

...Yeah, nah.  This is a daily car, have a read of my previous posts for context on what I am looking at... Even the last post actually... Look, some people can have a car to take to work and a car as a toy, and tbh, if I really wanted to I could (I basically currently do with the two cars I have), but I don't want to continue doing this, I want a car that does everything, and yes, a 250/265/275 will doubtless have more mechanical grip and a great jump in bhp over my Golf GTI, that's fine, but if the rest of the car "isn't as good" then it doesn't make sense.

 

I wouldn't care if it was some bits are better, some bits are worse, but seriously, overall this car is just down in virtually all aspects compared to my Golf; as a "car".  Does that make sense?

Edited 4, December 2016 by Conza

[clixx-io]

The Meg3RS's goes back to about 2010 or thereabouts.

 

They were never made to be the perfect daily drive. More an adventure in seeking the limits to what a Turbo FWD car was capable of. Everyone says they accomplished that pretty handsomely.

 

They've tuned a lot of the "too uncompromised" back and now have this:

 

 - http://www.renault.com.au/vehicles/cars/megane/hatch/gt

 

As a performance car, they rate way higher than you're indicating. For using in traffic less good but it's not the first time a performance car wasn't very good to drive in commuter traffic. That's no reflection on the capabilities of the car.

[No152]

...Yeah, nah. This is a daily car, have a read of my previous posts for context on what I am looking at... Even the last post actually... Look, some people can have a car to take to work and a car as a toy, and tbh, if I really wanted to I could (I basically currently do with the two cars I have), but I don't want to continue doing this, I want a car that does everything, and yes, a 250/265/275 will doubtless have more mechanical grip and a great jump in bhp over my Golf GTI, that's fine, but if the rest of the car "isn't as good" then it doesn't make sense.

 

I wouldn't care if it was some bits are better, some bits are worse, but seriously, overall this car is just down in virtually all aspects compared to my Golf; as a "car". Does that make sense?

I hear you. I once set out to have a single car that met my every requirement and ended up with three cars... ????

 

You gave it a good run but a Meg and especially an R could be a challenge as an only car depending on your circumstances.

[Conza]

Well in my head it would be slightly compromised compared to the GTI, and virtually no performance loss from my RX-8, but I don't think that's what's happened here.

 

Back to the drawing board, no idea where I'll go now, but it'll be fun figuring it out.

[apple3337]

Did you consider Clio MK3?

Search carsales Clio X85. Some have Recaros, some not.

Here's a ripper in our sale section sans Recaro in highly desirable FRB.

http://www.ozrenaultsport.com/index.php?/topic/27510-2012-clio-rs200-in-frb/