RE: Honda Civic Type R vs. Megane RS 275 Cup-S

[kambites]

nickfrog said:

Diesel Meister said:

The Meg is (...) likely to hurt more if you buy it new

In % against list, probably. In £ terms however, quite unlikely IMO.

Do people actually may list for the Megane at this point in its release cycle anyway? I'd imagine the absolute residuals on a realistic buying price for a modestly specced Megane would be very strong for the sector.

[jbaddeley]

Nick's right. Nobody buying the last of these Meg's was paying full price. I essentially got the ohlins, akra and recaros thrown in. Coming to it from a golf R, a car I'd recommend to anyone, I'd describe the megane experience as an event. Raw, old school and almost ready for the track out of the showroom. The golf felt soft after the evo triangle test drive I managed to arrange. Ordered one on return to the showroom. A bargain in real terms. Just don't expect Germanic or Japenese build quality.

[750turbo]

Alpinestars said:

Never driven a newer Megane, but the R26R was a very efficient if slightly boring car. That's the difference between Renault and Honda I think. Efficiency vs thrills.

But let's face it, neither of them are Polo Gtis.

<snigger>

[pmr01]

I know what you are saying about German / jap build quality.... But....

I know it's a long time ago but I sold a 2004 civic type r for a new megance cup 225. From day 1 it was comical the creaks and rattles from the megane. However, my daily drive to work is across an interesting B road with some large humps in it that, after 22 months from new. The civic had deteriorated to the extent that it couldn't cope with. The engineering components ( suspension) had lost its shine.

However, I kept the megane for circa 38 months and the suspension / brakes were still as tight as a drum. Interior was as rattly as day 1....but still rattly :-)

That was my observation based on experience.

I still regret to this day not buying an r26r with 888's and cage for £18k split new in 2010 - that haunts me as much as buying a second hand 996 turbo in 2011 instead of shelling out a little bit more for a similar 996gt2; sheet happens :-)

[lord trumpton]

Great, well written article. Pleasure to read.

[MrGman]

giveablondeabone said:

Shows how good the Megane is but stick those Ohlins dampers on the Civic and where would we be?

Just putting it out there...........

While we're there we'll give the megane another 25hp

[cheddar]

lord trumpton said:

Great, well written article. Pleasure to read.

This

Thanks Dan

[giveablondeabone]

MrGman said:

giveablondeabone said:

Shows how good the Megane is but stick those Ohlins dampers on the Civic and where would we be?

Just putting it out there...........

While we're there we'll give the megane another 25hp

Absolutely but as the Meg got the nod, outright speed was never the point anyway was it?

All I was meaning was it was a very close result and as far as I can see those trick dampers made the difference.

Perhaps a Meg without the Ohlins (and therefore nearer a standard spec car as the Civic was) would have conceded to the CTR?

[Diesel Meister]

cheddar said:

lord trumpton said:

Great, well written article. Pleasure to read.

This

Thanks Dan

I could not agree more

nick - Hey, don't get me wrong, I've looked very closely at getting one and I know it can be had at substantially under list, which mitigates the issue. I think I got it down virtually to list with the options I wanted (Ohlins, Akrapovic, Recaros, alcantara, any colour but white) from a broker.

A controversial point but I felt it worth making purely because I'm expecting the Honda to do pretty well in terms of residuals. But I'd not really factor that in when buying a new car to enjoy anyway - they all lose money and it would be a boring world if we only heard about residuals on here. PH - Fiscal Prudence Matters

These two are the pinnacle of modern hot hatches imo - subject to personal preference with regard to the detail / character of each car, you'd not go wrong with either assuming you're after uber-hatch-for-sensible-money. I'm still in the Megane camp for now (only had a brief drive of a 265 but it was just so *right* and encouraged you to drive it and enjoy it all the time), but I'd not say no to an extended drive in a Civic

[kambites]

giveablondeabone said:

Perhaps a Meg without the Ohlins (and therefore nearer a standard spec car as the Civic was) would have conceded to the CTR?

The Megane with fancy dampers is still cheaper than the standard Civic, though. Hardly fair to penalise it for offering an even cheaper option which isn't quite as good.

[Axionknight]

giveablondeabone said:

MrGman said:

giveablondeabone said:

Shows how good the Megane is but stick those Ohlins dampers on the Civic and where would we be?

Just putting it out there...........

While we're there we'll give the megane another 25hp

Absolutely but as the Meg got the nod, outright speed was never the point anyway was it?

All I was meaning was it was a very close result and as far as I can see those trick dampers made the difference.

Perhaps a Meg without the Ohlins (and therefore nearer a standard spec car as the Civic was) would have conceded to the CTR?

Almost certainly yes, but without the options the Megane is a much cheaper car so it's tit for tat really, imo.

Both are ace, I need to talk the missus into a Megane 275

[philmots]

Megane for me, the Civic looks atrocious!

I'm a huge Renaultsport fan too

[Tickle]

Megane for me, however the Civic would be a close second out of the current crop of hot hatches.

Adding something as cool as Ohlins to a hatch is what makes Renaultsport just that more special than the other hatch manufacturers.

The SACHS on the trophy was a major factor to me buying on back in the day.

Hope they don't sell out with the new RS Megane with a VAG spec car with the Renaultsport badge

[Axionknight]

Tickle said:

Megane for me, however the Civic would be a close second out of the current crop of hot hatches.

Adding something as cool as Ohlins to a hatch is what makes Renaultsport just that more special than the other hatch manufacturers.

The SACHS on the trophy was a major factor to me buying on back in the day.

Hope they don't sell out with the new RS Megane with a VAG spec car with the Renaultsport badge

Volvo have used them on the V60 and S60 Polestars, by the by. Ace motors, although not hatchey (real word, honest) I admit!

[MrBarry123]

As has already been said, a really good article to read.

Surely this result will mean the Megane takes its place as one of the best hot-hatches of all time?

I'd still have the CTR though.

[Tickle]

Axionknight said:

Volvo have used them on the V60 and S60 Polestars, by the by. Ace motors, although not hatchey (real word, honest) I admit!

Well you learn something new everyday.

1) volvo also used trick dampers
2) hatchey - noun, definition: car that is hatchback like

[Axionknight]

exactly!

[Dan Trent]

Shucks, thanks everyone, glad you all enjoyed the story!

Dan

[Diesel Meister]

Dan Trent said:

Shucks, thanks everyone, glad you all enjoyed the story!

Dan

[roystinho]

Yep great write up Dan, I'm a massive Renaultsport fan, and though haven't driven a cup s, drove the trophy r on track with the fancy bits. Absolute weapon