RE: PH Fleet: Renaultsport Megane 265 Cup

[trails]

Gahhhhh every time I see a photo of those bloody Recaro seats I morn their absence in my 182...eBay here I come.

Great spec btw.

[justa1972]

kambites said:

I think one of the two more unreliable cars I've ever come across first hand was a Nissan (Almera). The other was a brand new 330d. Anything can be unreliable with a bit of bad luck.

Its not bad luck to get an unreliable BMW - lets face facts they aren't actually very reliable ! Like Volkswagen they just use very clever marketing

I realise you cant believe everything you read in surveys but BMW came 25th in the reliability stakes - thats pretty poor for anyone never mind the 'ultimate driving machine'

Well behind Citroen, Peugeot, Renault etc !

[dandarez]

justa1972 said:

kambites said:

I think one of the two more unreliable cars I've ever come across first hand was a Nissan (Almera). The other was a brand new 330d. Anything can be unreliable with a bit of bad luck.

Its not bad luck to get an unreliable BMW - lets face facts they aren't actually very reliable ! Like Volkswagen they just use very clever marketing

I realise you cant believe everything you read in surveys but BMW came 25th in the reliability stakes - thats pretty poor for anyone never mind the 'ultimate driving machine'

Well behind Citroen, Peugeot, Renault etc !

And which 'reliability' stakes would those be then? The ones like JD Power etc which mean absolutely nothing.

More appropriate would be how often do you see a BMW broken down on the side of the road? In fact, how often these days do you see any modern cars by the wayside. Nothing like it used to be. And think how most are driven! Jump in and go, the av motorist checks nothing! Not tyres, not oil levels, nothing... until he or she 'has to'. Most moderns are entirely reliable considering the abuse they get!

But as said, anyone can be unlucky and get a dud with a bit of bad luck. And that person will head straight for putting his or her views in a mag or survey. Means nothing overall.

Edited by dandarez on Tuesday 11th December 18:43

[kambites]

I think the surveys are reasonable if you know what you're reading; however, as far as I know none of them are actually reliability surveys, as such.

[HTP99]

I love the way any topic that involves Renault always end up in a "Renault are st" bashing fest, usually by people who either:

• don't really have a clue but their mate says Fench cars are st, or
• have only owned one Renault and it broke down so that means they are all st

Well I have first hand experience of working for VW, Suzuki, MINI, Vauxhall and Renault. Out of that list VW were by far the least reliable, then Vauxhall followed by MINI then Suzuki and finally Renault.

Anyway, apart from the colour I would say that is the ideal spec for a 265, there is no need to go for the standard one and spec it up with a Cup pack etc, just go for the cheaper Cup version, I would have it in white, good call on the wheels too, our demo was always specced with the 19's and although they didn't affect the ride they just looked crap and were easily kerbed.

[Leggy]

Struggling to see how a JD Powers survey is less accurate than counting how many cars you see broken down by the side of the road!!

[jimbo2728]

Weapon!

[Amirhussain]

SpudLink said:

Agoogy said:

black wheels

Really? I rather like them.

Same, I think they looks quite good.

[Hellbound]

Leggy said:

Struggling to see how a JD Powers survey is less accurate than counting how many cars you see broken down by the side of the road!!

I happen to think there's a different between built quality/quality of materials used (can also throw ergonomics and tactility into that) and out and out reliability.

Years ago I ran an old Honda Civic with 170k on the clock. It was very reliable. Bits did fall off occasionally and the interior creaked and felt awfully cheap.

But again, it was reliable. And if that's the only metric you care about then sure, laud the Renault all you want.

Still doesn't stop people replacing these RenaultSport's as soon as the warranty runs out.

[James1972]

Absolute shocker of motoring journo choosing the smaller wheels rather than the full phat McDonalds car park pleasing versions.
What were you thinking ?
Other than better ride, less likely to be damaged, cheaper tyres, less likely to tramline etc.

[Darren61]

TheRoadWarrior said:

Exactly how I'd spec mine.

Tempted by these, but really want to scratch the R26.R itch. Just wish they'd drop in price a little

Agreed!

[DodoRacing]

Great package. I wish there were more cars like this from other manufacturers at comparable prices. Look forward to reading your updates on it.

[Tim16V]

Is the Renaultsport Q&A from...well...must be a couple of years ago now finally going to rear it's head?

[MarkRSi]

trails said:

Gahhhhh every time I see a photo of those bloody Recaro seats I morn their absence in my 182...eBay here I come.

Great spec btw.

TBH having test driven a 265 with the stock seats, I'd say there were perfectly fine and I wasn't hanging about...

Granted the Recaros look great, but at over £1000 I'd be wanting Renault to include a Nicole in the back seats to give me a back rub while a drive

[T0M]

Is the £75 option spare wheel a full size or a space saver ?

[ant leigh]

HTP99 said:

good call on the wheels too, our demo was always specced with the 19's and although they didn't affect the ride they just looked crap and were easily kerbed.

I can attest to the 'easily kerbed' part

[Mojocvh]

T0M said:

Is the £75 option spare wheel a full size or a space saver ?

Yep, a full size spare with a matching tyre.

What's the odds against that?

[Yes I'm getting tired of seeing idiots with space savers on the driven axle]

[ant leigh]

Mojocvh said:

T0M said:

Is the £75 option spare wheel a full size or a space saver ?

Yep, a full size spare with a matching tyre.

What's the odds against that?

[Yes I'm getting tired of seeing idiots with space savers on the driven axle]

Mine definately wasn't a full size. In fact just bought a full size spare to replace it (it just fits ... ish)

[blearyeyedboy]

Loods great in red.

My next question might get me a bit of abuse from the PH massive: If I'm thinking about the Megane and I'm never going to track it, is there anything to be said for the non-Cup? Comfort aside, does a non-LSD Megane with softer suspension settings work better on poorly surfaced B Roads? I'm thinking of some of the roads I use to see extended family members in West Cork, which are generally a bit worse than in most of the UK.

Does anyone have direct experience of this? I know the standard PH answer is to approve of the harder-core version but I wondered if anyone had driven both and might care to comment?

[MarkRSi]

blearyeyedboy said:

Loods great in red.

My next question might get me a bit of abuse from the PH massive: If I'm thinking about the Megane and I'm never going to track it, is there anything to be said for the non-Cup? Comfort aside, does a non-LSD Megane with softer suspension settings work better on poorly surfaced B Roads? I'm thinking of some of the roads I use to see extended family members in West Cork, which are generally a bit worse than in most of the UK.

Does anyone have direct experience of this? I know the standard PH answer is to approve of the harder-core version but I wondered if anyone had driven both and might care to comment?

I'd like the know this too, although given how lairy 150lbft and 200bhp can be in a FWD Civic in the wet, I can't imagine 250+ bhp + lbft coping much better without an LSD...