Tuesday 21st February 2017

Renault Clio 172 Cup/Megane R26: PH Fleet

Not content with one Renaultsport hot hatch, Ben has bought another!

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It would appear I've got a bit behind on my Renaultsport flavoured updates, so I'll wind back the clock a bit to September 2016. With KV52 RYX freshly prepped and ready for some action on track, it only seemed fair to take the plucky little Clio out to Spa-Francorchamps for the Renaultsport track day, where my old Trophy had its inaugural track outing. But this time I was heading out with a car 70kg lighter, sat on BC Racing coilovers, with bigger Brembo brakes and super sticky Avon ZZR tyres. Add a dash more experience and it was shaping up for a pretty exciting trip. The result? The blue Clio was 20 seconds a lap faster around Spa than the red Clio.

Clio will be back at Silverstone very soon!

I've never driven a car that's so confidence inspiring. The set up is beautifully balanced; the steering feels so direct and predictable, with the Avon tyres providing an almost unbreakable level of grip. The only understeer I experienced was from driver error, getting back on the power too soon out of a corner and not being patient enough to let the car turn in. Any back end movement was easily caught and corrected; I was having the time of my life and in a 14-year-old Clio with just a few bits bolted onto it. Budget track day motoring at its finest. I think I managed to do a pretty convincing job of proving this to a few PHers during some passenger laps at our Silverstone Sunday Service in October too; I'll be back out again on the March 5 if anyone wants to see what it's like!

I've booked myself onto the first two rounds of the Javelin Trackdays Sprint Series too, so it's looking like a busy year ahead. Meanwhile since purchasing the Clio, my daily car had progressed from a Mk1 Audi TT Quattro Sport to an R56 Mini JCW GP. While the Mini was a fantastic car and in many respects felt like a more grown up version of the Clio, I'd been itching to get into a Megane and an R26 230 F1 Edition popped up close to me, so I went for a poke around. An hour later, I'd bought it.

Mini out and Megane in for daily driver duties

Similarly to when I bought the Clio I spent a lot of time buried in forums researching any potential issues that could come up, and of course reading through the PH Buying Guide. While the Liquid Yellow cars are seemingly rare, a quarter of the 1,272 R26s sold in the UK were actually painted in the pearly finish, which was a £1,200 option. And, well, I think it's a fantastic colour. I bought it from a very nice policeman fairly standard, with almost full service history at "some independent garage" called Mark Fish (a well known specialist in Renaultsport circles). I knew it had been well maintained and it was immaculate for the age and mileage, so I couldn't resist. Sorry Mini.

At 324kg heavier than the Clio, the Megane is a very different Renaultsport experience. In fact, they both weigh in at exactly 170hp/tonne but if I'd have to pick which felt faster, I'd say the Clio as it's just so raw and intense. Still, driving the Clio as a daily car would be fairly uncomfortable, so I'm content to sit back in the plush comfy Recaros and waft down around the M25 in the Megane. Somewhat surprisingly, it doesn't attract any negative attention either.

Rather better suited to trekking around the M25

Plans for now are to fit a new head unit to get some modern tech into it, upgrade the brakes, replace the tyres and get a shiny new exhaust system. Where the naturally aspirated F4R engine in the Clio can be tiring to extract power from if you're not quite in the mood, you can be lazy with the boost from the turbocharged F4Rt (stop sniggering) engine in the Megane. It's good old-fashioned turbo power delivery too; I relish lag while you're waiting for the turbo to spool up and give you a kick in the back. It might not be as fast or as economical as the linear boost delivery of newer turbocharged engines, but it's just so much more entertaining.

Time will tell if it's going to be as reliable as my other Renaults, but I remain hopeful given its previous history. It will be due a cambelt change this year, which is expensive on any Renaultsport car and is likely to set me back £600-700 at a reputable specialist. Unlike the F4R in the Clio though, the F4Rt doesn't have a dephaser pulley that needs changing so at least that's one less expense. Other than that, I'm going to stick fuel in it, enjoy and it and maybe get it out on track to see how it compares to its stablemate.

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FACT SHEET
Car: 2002 Renault Clio 172 Cup
Run by: Ben Lowden
On fleet since: May 2016
Mileage: 34,012
Purchase price: £3,300
Last month at a glance: Ben's choice mods really pay dividends at Spa

Previous reports:
Trophy out and Cup in as Ben changes Clios

Car: 2007 Renault Megane 230 F1 Edition
Run by: Ben Lowden
On fleet since: December 2016
Mileage: 73,938
Purchase price: £5,000
Last month at a glance: Another Renaultsport legend joins Ben's fleet!

Watch the video here
 

Thanks to Renault Sport for taking me along to Spa-Francorchamps.

[sh33n]

Both fantastic cars, good article! I've owned both and still sort of miss them.

The 172 Cup was my first taste of a 'hot hatch' having upgrade from a 1.2 Punto; couldn't believe just how much fine and fast (at least to a young me) it was.

After a stint in a couple of Honda's I then returned to a brand new R26. I still think (inflation aside) this was just the best value car I've ever bought. ~£16k on a Friends and Family deal from Reno. Had loads of fun it in, plenty fast enough and the corner speed and grip with the LSD felt amazing.

On a side note....I remember many moons ago a chap that ran (owned?) one of the Meg forums was a copper with a yellow R26. Same chap maybe...