Renault Noob Looking To Dip Toe In The Water

[random111]

Hey all

 

Go easy on me please as I am a complete Renault noob

 

Currently drive a CVT wrx sedan and previous to that hawk eye STi

 

Had to go the CVT as SWMBO can't drive a stick and to be honest as I progressed on in years - the self changing aspect during stop-start traffic (which has become predominantly the only time I drive) was fine by me!!

 

We have baby no. 2 on the way and acknowledge the WRX will be OK for 2 car seats, but we are planning on a third in the near future. The WRX will be marginally practical for 2, for 3 forget it IMO.

 

So my though process is:

- WRX has 6 months warranty left on it

- Can sell for approx $33k-$35k ATM

- Thinking I could get into a car that offers the same practicality or very marginally less than the WRX but just as much if not more fun for $15-$20k

- I can then put the difference in $ against my mortgage for a couple of years

- when No. 3 arrives, my wifes car will also not do, so will have to get her a bigger one and then I can decide what to do with her car and this new car

 

I'm not entirely convinced as generally WRXs sell easily - especially this CVT model which is P legal in VIC, so I am confident in 2-3 years I'll get $20k for it

 

But i barely do any kms anymore - have completed 38k in 2.5 years in the WRX and at the moment do 200kms per week at most at present - shame having all that money in a car that doesnt get used much!!

 

So here I am - looking at the Clio IV RS 200 - due to the auto box

 

Would love a megane RS but not sure how the 3 doors would go with 2 car seats + the MT and SWMBO do not mix well

 

in the last year - SWMBO has driven my car < 10 times so I guess we can manage to not have her drive, so I guess I need to be convinced to get back into a MT and fight traffic (while sipping my coffee hahaha how priorities have changed)

 

My questions and feedback requests are:

 

Clio

- will it fit 2 car seats comfortably? 1 rearward and 1 forward facing

- will it fit a pram in the boot?

- I realise performance won't be the same as the WRX but 6.3s 0-100 vs 6.7s isn't exactly like going from a porsche to a bicycle, would also do a couple of mods if I can buy one closer to the $15k to make it bit more oomphy

- Will i have fun in this thing? It looks like I will - but haven't driven one yet - with the rex, I enjoy throwing it into a corner (one of my fav's is the hoddle st entrance to eastern freeway, can go pedal to floor essentially and the car obeys)

- What do I need to be mindful of given my situation that I haven't considered?

 

Megane

- 3 doors and 2 car seats - do they mix?

- MT as a daily - is it worth the comfort trade off?

- not sure I can find one for $15k-$20k

 

Any info you guys can provide will be useful

 

I know it's blasphemy here but have also seen the pug 308 GTi 270 - think that would be practical for longer but not sure again about MT - way outside my price range as well

 

[clixx-io]

Welcome.

 

The Clio-IV Dual Clutches are total joy, especially if you get to experience them at the track. I'm a bit biased because I like Automatic transmissions myself. In traffic, I've seen a few being hammered and the drivers were definitely having some fun there.

 

The Megane-III's are finished now and out of production. There is apparently a new model RS with the Dual-Clutch is somewhere late in it's development cycle ready for release but it's about 2-years late for release now.

 

A few here that don't drive that much go for the manual Megane-III's and keep them because they are just special in lots of ways. They're pretty thick on French style and design. So there is no hurry for owners to bash them about and wear them out.

 

The Clio-IVs are a bit more utilitarian. With Nissan mechanicals they designed for day-to-day hammering in traffic whatever and are probably a lot more comfortable for that purpose. Depends how much traffic you are fighting - the more the better.

 

The community support for the Renaults here is vastly superior to what you'll ever find here for the pugs.

 

I just follow along behind and watch what's in the traffic now and again.

[walkie86]

Welcome mate!

 

Firstly, I'd wager you'll have a lot more fun in a Clio than a CVT WRX. It's smaller, lighter, punchier and the DCT will be hugely different in it's behaviour for you.

 

Secondly, rearward facing seat is doable but a bit tight. Passenger seat will need to come forward a bit. Prams fit in the boot but again, depends if it's a double-sized monster or something more compact.

 

I'm not going to talk to you about MT v AT in traffic as I completely disagree and enjoy MT anytime, anywhere as it makes me concentrate on the task at hand, but each to their own

 

The Megane is a step up in the performance stakes but not as user friendly, so I'm going to suggest you stick to the Clio.

 

Go and drive one - that should tell you pretty quickly if you like it or not. Hope you do and can join us here for some fun

[random111]

Welcome.

 

The Clio-IV Dual Clutches are total joy, especially if you get to experience them at the track. I'm a bit biased because I like Automatic transmissions myself. In traffic, I've seen a few being hammered and the drivers were definitely having some fun there.

 

The Megane-III's are finished now and out of production. There is apparently a new model RS with the Dual-Clutch is somewhere late in it's development cycle ready for release but it's about 2-years late for release now.

 

A few here that don't drive that much go for the manual Megane-III's and keep them because they are just special in lots of ways. They're pretty thick on French style and design. So there is no hurry for owners to bash them about and wear them out.

 

The Clio-IVs are a bit more utilitarian. With Nissan mechanicals they designed for day-to-day hammering in traffic whatever and are probably a lot more comfortable for that purpose. Depends how much traffic you are fighting - the more the better.

 

The community support for the Renaults here is vastly superior to what you'll ever find here for the pugs.

 

I just follow along behind and watch what's in the traffic now and again.

 

Thanks!!

 

Glad i'm not the only person who's becoming an auto fan - feels sacrilegious but practicality is taking precedence

 

Read the thread re EDC issues with TCU though - got me a little concerned buying a second hand RS 200

 

Thoughts on my aim to land one for $15k to $20k?

 

I too think I will have fun in it compared to the WRX - different kind of fun

 

Would be interested in mucking around with RS Tuner as well but if I am a noob to Renaults then you can imagine my level of understanding on that tech!

[random111]

Welcome mate!

 

Firstly, I'd wager you'll have a lot more fun in a Clio than a CVT WRX. It's smaller, lighter, punchier and the DCT will be hugely different in it's behaviour for you.

 

Secondly, rearward facing seat is doable but a bit tight. Passenger seat will need to come forward a bit. Prams fit in the boot but again, depends if it's a double-sized monster or something more compact.

 

I'm not going to talk to you about MT v AT in traffic as I completely disagree and enjoy MT anytime, anywhere as it makes me concentrate on the task at hand, but each to their own

 

The Megane is a step up in the performance stakes but not as user friendly, so I'm going to suggest you stick to the Clio.

 

Go and drive one - that should tell you pretty quickly if you like it or not. Hope you do and can join us here for some fun

 

Cheers!

 

Yes -  been reading it is much more like an auto MT rather than an auto box

 

The CVT is S# in my WRX is great - holds gears exceptionally well but probably doesnt downgear fast enough, however the flaps makeup for any shortcomings

 

Don't like the flaps on the Clio dont rotate with steering wheel

 

It's not just the traffic but the fact I like to have a hand free for a coffee, drink, snack etc. and prefer not to steer with knees to make it happen!!

 

I doubt we will have the double pram, if we do, we will get the most compact version which is probably not much bigger then our current pram

 

Current pram fits in my mum's corolla - 280L boot vs. clio 300L but corolla probably goes deeper ie more usable space

 

Rearward seat also fits in her car but note that it is 20cm longer than clio - can't find any on the specifics of rear seat e.g. distance to front seat when front seat fully back

 

but best to do those tests in person as you say

 

also need to drive one as so far I like what I see on paper but need to touch & feel

[63x1092]

Just get yourself a cheap Clio ll and blow the rest for her (family car).

[Johnacles]

Check out Ace's "mystery machine" scenic on here, That's exactly what you need .

 

Regarding the Clio, you'll be hard pressed to find a IV for $15-20K unless it's been Flogged. The DCT is pretty good (nothing on a manual though ).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chuckovski]

I've got a Megane III with two forward facing baby seats in the rear with no issues. Can't think how a rear facing one would go ... But for the $ they are amazing.

[random111]

Check out Ace's "mystery machine" scenic on here, That's exactly what you need .

 

Regarding the Clio, you'll be hard pressed to find a IV for $15-20K unless it's been Flogged. The DCT is pretty good (nothing on a manual though ).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Hahaha thanks but no thanks

 

i've seen a few around the $20k with a few km's on them but not too many

 

would need to sell mine first though...still contemplating

I've got a Megane III with two forward facing baby seats in the rear with no issues. Can't think how a rear facing one would go ... But for the $ they are amazing.

Cheers

 

will have to do some more research

[Matt205]

Like Alex said, drive and you will know.

 

The EDC in my limited experience is great. I'll wager problem boxes will likely be one's that are bought as and driven like a traditional Auto. You need to treat these dgs's, edc's, PDK's etc as a manual box, so things like creeping uphill to traffic lights, holding it on throttle on hills etc are a no no. These bad habits overheat and prematurely wear out the clutch and I reckon are the most likely cause of failures or issues with these gearboxes regardless of make. The problem is they are sold as 'Auto'.......it's a manual box with an automated clutch.

 

Simple answer for the paddles not moving with the wheel, shouldn't be changing gears mid corner!

[RBH58]

Like Alex said, drive and you will know.

 

The EDC in my limited experience is great. I'll wager problem boxes will likely be one's that are bought as and driven like a traditional Auto. You need to treat these dgs's, edc's, PDK's etc as a manual box, so things like creeping uphill to traffic lights, holding it on throttle on hills etc are a no no. These bad habits overheat and prematurely wear out the clutch and I reckon are the most likely cause of failures or issues with these gearboxes regardless of make. The problem is they are sold as 'Auto'.......it's a manual box with an automated clutch.

 

Simple answer for the paddles not moving with the wheel, shouldn't be changing gears mid corner!

Completely agree.

 

And did you see BMW M Division's announcement he other day? They are dropping the use of DCTs entirely and are following M-B to torque converter autos only,

Edited 27, April 2017 by RBH58

[stromlo]

Welcome mate. As has been said, go take one each for a drive and see for yourself.

 

Re the 'non rotating' paddles....that's why there is a centre shifter  with the shift movement the right way round i.e. forward = change down, back = change up . 

 

Re the EDC issues thread...fair to raise it, but possibly the first two cases in the world if google searches are anything to go by. As was mentioned, these need to be treated as if they are manual boxes, not traditional auto ones. Not to say the issues had were due to that, they sounded like bad luck/ manufacturing issues. 

 

The Clio has a great chassis and loves being chucked about. Real world speed I'd suggest is on par with the WRX, given we live in world of speed limits!

[yiannos18]

Welcome!

 

I know exactly how you're feeling (minus the whole family aspect... do my bikes count? haha) and took the plunge for an older Clio.

 

Though, having sat in a Clio IV, I can say that all the modern conveniences are there and the interior is a nice place to be, especially in comparison to the Impreza's one.

 

Boot space is a decent size on them, but it's hard to say for a pram, as prams come in the equivalent of kei-car to massive SUV style. You might have to take a pram to pop in the boot to check it out in that regard.

 

Performance wise, you'll notice the most from the car being about 260kg lighter than the CVT WRX. After all, the RS philosophy is all about balance as opposed to outright power, so you'll probably find the performance more accessible day to day.

The Cup chassis from what I've been reading at the very least, will leave you speechless with how capable it is. I know it has with my Clio III and comparing it to my previous car (2012 Kia Rio, lots of handling mods. Super fun but slow, needed to be worked hard for speed!), the all round cornering was just effortless, so much so, that my favourite section of driving road felt totally mundane while doing the same speed.

Given the Clio IV has the extra beef from the turbo giving low down torque, it'll be quite the nifty unit for the day to day, as well as punching it (to the speed limit, of course... ) through the twisties.

DCT reliability, I feel, is a non-issue provided you treat it like an automated manual. Being a dry clutch, it's always going to be less strong than a wet clutch system, but driving it like a manual will more or less mean trouble free services.

 

Looking forward to seeing what you get!

Edited 27, April 2017 by yiannos18

[Beans]

I too am looking to purchase a Megane RS 265, any comments on what to look out for in a 2014 car? (also upgrading from a Subaru).

[random111]

Thanks all

 

Will give them a try asap

 

Won't be for a couple of weeks though as wife works weekends and I'm on daddy duties

 

To those with EDC, can you share your driving techniques e.g. downgear when approaching lights? Managing steep driveways do you go manual and hold a gear etc.

 

Finally re the flaps, makes sense...It's more for when you you get gear selection wrong the ability to correct with a turning wheel is great, but if can do via gear shift...Fine!!

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[clixx-io]

I too am looking to purchase a Megane RS 265, any comments on what to look out for in a 2014 car? (also upgrading from a Subaru).

 

Most people hunt just around for the colour and features that they want. The more optioned up models are the ones to go for.

[chuckovski]

I too am looking to purchase a Megane RS 265, any comments on what to look out for in a 2014 car? (also upgrading from a Subaru).

2014 because of the warranty? Good idea. However some 2013s had 5 year warranty, so don't discount pre-facelift models. From the facelift though the model choice was simple, cup or cup premium. I think there were 9 different models for the pre-facelift... Very confusing.

 

What to look out for? They are pretty bullet proof. Very few issues ever reported though when they have they've been bad.

 

Coming from Subaru the relief will be you won't have to service it every couple of days!

 

What particular model were you after?

[stromlo]

To those with EDC, can you share your driving techniques e.g. downgear when approaching lights? Managing steep driveways do you go manual and hold a gear etc.

 

Finally re the flaps, makes sense...It's more for when you you get gear selection wrong the ability to correct with a turning wheel is great, but if can do via gear shift...Fine!!

 

 

I use comfort (auto) mode maybe 20% of the time, just to get the box and oils warm and then drive in sport (manual). This means downshifting approaching traffic lights, but with a reso delete, it’s a free grin at every set of lights.

 

 If driving in auto mode, the important thing to remember is that the ecu has a view of what the next gear is, so if you are going to do something unexpected, you need to give it a heads-up.

 

E.g. if you coast up to a set of lights in 3rd, the box will think the next gear is 2^nd because speed is dropping. If the lights change and you boot it, the box is likely to hesitate for a moment as it processes that the new “expected” next gear may be 4^th. This can come through as a slight throttle hesitation. Better practice is to anticipate the lights changing, see them change, give the throttle a love tap to recalc (in a way) and then be on your way. Same goes for booting it in auto mode mid way through deceleration at the apex of a corner. Likely to induce a box full of neutrals as the ecu has a moment. Easily solved by using manual mode.

 

In carparks, I will always use manual mode. In auto, it will tend to get into 2^nd at <20kph and then if you trundle up a ramp or incline, it will either try downshift or look for neutral if the speed / throttle % makes it think it will stall. Keep it in first and problem is negated.

 

I don’t think any of this is particular to the Clio, I think all DCT’s will have this going on.Basically, drive it like you’d drive a manual. Also remember the Clio has oodles of torque. You can easily drive around in 3rd if you want between 35-40kph all the way to around 100. The car has long gearing above 1st, but with the torque, it's not an issue. I think 5th is geared to 200!

Edited 28, April 2017 by stromlo

[Beans]

Most people hunt just around for the colour and features that they want. The more optioned up models are the ones to go for.

''Thanks. Good to know

2014 because of the warranty? Good idea. However some 2013s had 5 year warranty, so don't discount pre-facelift models. From the facelift though the model choice was simple, cup or cup premium. I think there were 9 different models for the pre-facelift... Very confusing.

What to look out for? They are pretty bullet proof. Very few issues ever reported though when they have they've been bad.

Coming from Subaru the relief will be you won't have to service it every couple of days!

What particular model were you after?

Agreed, six monthly service schedule is annoying in this day and age. Looking at a 265 cup or cup premium. I like the 2014 upgrade with the bigger monitor. I note the premium comes with he Steev alloy wheels, are you able to fit the larger 19" to a cup without speedo drive mods? Or is it a simple swap and no change to speedo calibration.

[chuckovski]

 

 

''Thanks. Good to know

Agreed, six monthly service schedule is annoying in this day and age. Looking at a 265 cup or cup premium. I like the 2014 upgrade with the bigger monitor. I note the premium comes with he Steev alloy wheels, are you able to fit the larger 19" to a cup without speedo drive mods? Or is it a simple swap and no change to speedo calibration.

Wheels interchangeable, fatter tyres on the 18s to make up the same circumference. I personally didn't like the 19s with the stretched tyres, some put fatter tyres on them (I think 245/35/19), I swapped my 19 for 18s. Cheaper tyres too! Better ride and seems to corner better on bumpy roads.

 

The bigger monitor is RS monitor 2.0, which the RB8 has. Not many would have had the 5yr warranty though. It's a great piece of kit, worth sticking to the facelift then. The cup has standard seats, the cup premium has Recaros.

[Beans]

Wheels interchangeable, fatter tyres on the 18s to make up the same circumference. I personally didn't like the 19s with the stretched tyres, some put fatter tyres on them (I think 245/35/19), I swapped my 19 for 18s. Cheaper tyres too! Better ride and seems to corner better on bumpy roads.

The bigger monitor is RS monitor 2.0, which the RB8 has. Not many would have had the 5yr warranty though. It's a great piece of kit, worth sticking to the facelift then. The cup has standard seats, the cup premium has Recaros.

'Thanks all, feedback much appreciated. I'll let you know once I have secured a car

[john1066]

Like Alex said, drive and you will know.

 

The EDC in my limited experience is great. I'll wager problem boxes will likely be one's that are bought as and driven like a traditional Auto. You need to treat these dgs's, edc's, PDK's etc as a manual box, so things like creeping uphill to traffic lights, holding it on throttle on hills etc are a no no. These bad habits overheat and prematurely wear out the clutch and I reckon are the most likely cause of failures or issues with these gearboxes regardless of make. The problem is they are sold as 'Auto'.......it's a manual box with an automated clutch.

 

Simple answer for the paddles not moving with the wheel, shouldn't be changing gears mid corner!

We have a Sub (not a WRX unfortunately) and an RS200 in the garage. I do prefer the Renault setup with the paddles not moving with the steering wheel, you always know where are are, but in reality it doesn't make much difference. If you are changing gear with the steering wheel a long way off centre you've probably done something wrong.

[random111]

Cheers!

 

Thoughts on sport range vs. Cup

 

Is it just the suspension setup that is different between them?

 

Few sport models on carsales around $20k in VIC

 

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[stromlo]

Yep - suspension and wheels (black 18" on Cup vs silver 17" on sport). 

[chris043]

Also the Sport model  has MediaNav which is radio, music, GPS, phone bluetooth, whereas the Cup has all this plus real time performance calculations and information etc.

 

A good Sport with low kilometres would cost $19,000 to $22,000 (2013 to2015) and are good value in my view especially the ones sold after June, 2014 which have the 5 year warranty.

[random111]

Yep - suspension and wheels (black 18" on Cup vs silver 17" on sport).

Cheers

Aesthetically the only other difference I can see is the red calipers

 

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Also the Sport model has MediaNav which is radio, music, GPS, phone bluetooth, whereas the Cup has all this plus real time performance calculations and information etc.

 

A good Sport with low kilometres would cost $19,000 to $22,000 (2013 to2015) and are good value in my view especially the ones sold after June, 2014 which have the 5 year warranty.

Cheers

 

That's good to know that the 5 year warranty commenced in June 2014

So basically any car purchased after that point should have warranty to 2019 I assume

Sports represent great value...few 2015s with low kms around the $20k mark

 

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[domgolfgti]

I drove the latest Clio RS a couple of weeks ago. 

 

Handled really well, felt pretty quick, brakes were strong.

 

I found the gearbox to be a bit clunky and slow to be honest. The interior was a little strange too.. very simple but cheap feeling (bar the steering wheel and paddles). 

 

I'd say go for one if you can live with the gearbox/interior, and can find one for the right $

 

My 2c