Au revoir Renaultsport Megane: PH Blog
PH bids farewell to the Megane by recalling some of our favourite drives (updated with another entry!)
Suffice it to say, you can still have one if you want one. Below are some reasons why you might as members of the PH team recall their favourite drives in Renault's defining hot hatch...
I once owned an example of the excellent, if ludicrously named, Renault Megane Renaultsport 230 F1 Team R26. I sold it for reasons I can't remember and regretted it instantly. After daydreaming about buying another my attention turned to the Megane III. I didn't think it looked as good but the seed was planted. Clearly, I needed to drive one.
I managed to secure the use of a 265 Cup for a long weekend, planned a route through Wales and set off with high expectations. The car more than lived up to them. I vividly remember driving the Black Mountain pass in the Brecon Beacons and being blown away by how composed and agile the car felt. The combination of straight line pace, precise steering and a chassis that is both a faithful companion and also playful when you wanted it to be was incredible. It was just so much fun. So much in fact that even with quite a long way to go until my overnight stop I turned around and drove the road all over again. On that day, on that road, I'm not sure there was anything I'd have swapped it for. What an amazing car... but I never did buy one, and I'm not sure why. If anyone needs me I'll be in the classifieds.
(James Drake)
If I were in the market for a hot hatch two months ago, I would have said I'd driven all the notable contenders. All but the Renaultsport Megane 275 Cup-S. As an existing Renaultsport owner in a Clio 182 Trophy, I had extremely high expectations for the Megane ahead of a shoot-out at Blyton Park against the Civic Type R.
Over breakfast Dan suggested we could work over coffee for a bit or go for a drive across Saddleworth Moor. Obviously we did the latter. Starting in the Civic, I knew the Megane had a lot to live up to after it beat the Focus RS in Wales. It matched the Megane for pace on the road, the Civic reminding me of its brilliance thanks to that incredible gearshift and sharp, responsive brakes. Jumping into the Megane my mind was made up before we even got to Blyton though.
Feeling like a grown-up version of the Clio, the playfulness and rear end adjustability really does make you laugh out loud. For me this differentiates the Megane from any other hot hatch on the market. The Civic pulled harder and the brakes didn't fade, whereas the Megane was struggling towards the end of the session. But the pops and bangs from the Akrapovic exhaust and that sensational feel and adjustability from the Ohlins-damped chassis made it an easy call. You can keep your Golf Rs, M135is and A45 AMGs - the Megane in some form or another is 100 per cent the car I'll be buying.
(Ben Lowden)
It was December 2014, the period just before Christmas - and just after my birthday in fact - where the automotive world is quiet and there's not great deal going on. That must have been how we got hold of the Megane Trophy-R. Because who wants a car on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s in December?
The tyres didn't matter. The fact it was nearly £40K didn't matter. That I didn't drive it on the Goodwood track day didn't matter. Alright, that last bit did matter a bit. But on one dank and dark December night, the Trophy-R was magnificent. I only took it on the roads out near the office (and regret not staying out longer), but it was just sublime. It took everything that's so great about fast Meganes - the involvement, the precision, the entertainment - onto another, even more exciting plane. The body control was extraordinary, the noise from the Akrapovic exhaust addictive and the sense of occasion from being harnessed in completely fantastic. The R26.R is the original. But I love the Trophy-R even more.
Over Christmas that year friends and family were asking about the best car I'd driven in 2014 and I could say, without hesitation, that it was the stickered up, £38,000 Renault Megane. They didn't get it. Their loss...
(Matt Bird)
I remember the launch for the 250 at a rain-soaked and very slithery Ascari where Renaultsport's tame rally driver willingly demonstrated how tail happy the new car's chassis set-up was with artful trail-braked slides into every corner. Then there was the unexpected reunion with HN62 KEK, the PH long-termer I specced but never got to drive. Capsicum Red, Cup chassis, 18-inch wheels, Recaros ... yes, I got that one right! But the best has to be driving the 275 Trophy around the 'ring, a combination of two of my favourite things in one hit.
(Dan Trent)
Not counting having to hand back the keys to the collection driver, I don't think I've ever had a bad experience in a Megane Renaultsport. But the one drive that stands out in my mind was the 2012 trip out to Spa in the brand new Megane 265. It was the first car in the country, briefly, because within a few hours I had thrashed it across rural Kent, boarded the Eurotunnel and repatriated it in Northern France, destination Ardennes.
My one and only drive in the previous generation 250 had not really done it for me - it seemed a bit blunt and cumbersome - but just a few laps of the magical Spa in the 265 had shattered that opinion. Scalpel sharp, obediently adjustable and with just enough extra in the legs and lungs to keep me from rocking back and forth behind the wheel down Kemmel. The Megane was back on form.
Renaultsport always needs a bit of time to warm up and get into its stride with a new model, and the Megane III was no different in this respect. The 265 Trophy marked the turning point, the 265 brought that to a wider audience, and then the momentum kept on gathering until culminating in that spectacular Trophy-R. On second thoughts, getting to hammer that around Goodwood on a cold December day has to be my definitive Megane moment. Sorry Matt.
(Danny Milner)
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I don't think mine quite compares, but an RSTuning mapped 250 Cup on a very early morning run along a virtually traffic-free A157 from Wragby to Louth in Lincs.
Its the road that goes past Cadwell Park and has dips, blind crests, cambers, fast straights and S-bends galore. Its a really good workout of any performance car.
It was one of those days where everything fell into place - a dry road, dawdlers were approached at a conveniently safe overtaking place, not a cloud in the sky but the air temps were cool.
I'd driven that road hundreds of times before, and yet it felt like a totally new experience in the Megane.
Epic drive.
I don't think mine quite compares, but an RSTuning mapped 250 Cup on a very early morning run along a virtually traffic-free A157 from Wragby to Louth in Lincs.
Its the road that goes past Cadwell Park and has dips, blind crests, cambers, fast straights and S-bends galore. Its a really good workout of any performance car.
It was one of those days where everything fell into place - a dry road, dawdlers were approached at a conveniently safe overtaking place, not a cloud in the sky but the air temps were cool.
I'd driven that road hundreds of times before, and yet it felt like a totally new experience in the Megane.
Epic drive.
I may have another one as a daily when my kids are a little bigger, but it would have to be a run out version with recaro seats and ohlins and even then I'm not convinced it would easily replace my current Fiesta ST, which I adore.
I do treat it with great respect however, having lost 3 young friends on that very stretch of tarmac when growing up, all due to car crashes. Watch that section near Welton after the turning for Cadwell - there's a nasty dip in the road in which you can easily lose sight of a low-slung car.
The Megane always held some interest for me - would love to try one.
I don't think mine quite compares, but an RSTuning mapped 250 Cup on a very early morning run along a virtually traffic-free A157 from Wragby to Louth in Lincs.
Its the road that goes past Cadwell Park and has dips, blind crests, cambers, fast straights and S-bends galore. Its a really good workout of any performance car.
It was one of those days where everything fell into place - a dry road, dawdlers were approached at a conveniently safe overtaking place, not a cloud in the sky but the air temps were cool.
I'd driven that road hundreds of times before, and yet it felt like a totally new experience in the Megane.
Epic drive.
Had many 'spirited' drives on that route, but the best was definitely late one dry Friday night in my cup packed 182.
Amazing.
Planning to change my car in Jan / Feb, and I keep looking at sensible 2nd hand cars (6 cyl diesels) as I cover about 15-16k a year ... but I keep coming back to the Megane.
I sold my last Cupra R for the same reason, and a lack of opportunity to use the performance, but something keeps bringing me back. After having a number of 172s / 182s I have an itch that needs scratching.
Planning to change my car in Jan / Feb, and I keep looking at sensible 2nd hand cars (6 cyl diesels) as I cover about 15-16k a year ... but I keep coming back to the Megane.
I sold my last Cupra R for the same reason, and a lack of opportunity to use the performance, but something keeps bringing me back. After having a number of 172s / 182s I have an itch that needs scratching.
Really, an automatic diesel would be a better choice, but I would die a little inside when driving it.
Planning to change my car in Jan / Feb, and I keep looking at sensible 2nd hand cars (6 cyl diesels) as I cover about 15-16k a year ... but I keep coming back to the Megane.
I sold my last Cupra R for the same reason, and a lack of opportunity to use the performance, but something keeps bringing me back. After having a number of 172s / 182s I have an itch that needs scratching.
Not quite as loose at the backend as the Clio, but much more front end bite so you can get it to move around if you really want to.
And that diff...
I've always wanted something with a 6 cylinder engine, and at the start of next year I'll be in the right place in life and financially to do it.
I was hoping to be working a lot closer to home, in which case a Golf R32 was going to be on the cards, but realistically now I need something that'll easily do above 30mpg on my commute, preferably around or above 35mpg on my mixed commute.
I just worry about the depreciation on a petrol rather than just the fuel costs (apart from the crazy R32 thirst).
I don't want to go and drive one either at the moment, as I know I'll just want one and my heart will take over.
I've always wanted something with a 6 cylinder engine, and at the start of next year I'll be in the right place in life and financially to do it.
I was hoping to be working a lot closer to home, in which case a Golf R32 was going to be on the cards, but realistically now I need something that'll easily do above 30mpg on my commute, preferably around or above 35mpg on my mixed commute.
I just worry about the depreciation on a petrol rather than just the fuel costs (apart from the crazy R32 thirst).
I don't want to go and drive one either at the moment, as I know I'll just want one and my heart will take over.
FYI the computer is reading about 20-21 mpg on mine and thats with a 15 mile each-way commute through villages and backroads. On motorway it'll return 40-42mpg.
I may have another one as a daily when my kids are a little bigger, but it would have to be a run out version with recaro seats and ohlins and even then I'm not convinced it would easily replace my current Fiesta ST, which I adore.
i'm a pretty solid rwd person, but i've hankered after some Renault experience for some time. I wouldn't buy anything like new, but wait until depreciation had reasonably bottomed out and run it as a fun fast road/track/runabout. would you go back?
Just have memories of my Cupra R and it's second home at the petrol station. It used to tell me it was doing 33mpg, but it was more like 27. I only used to get around 280 miles from a tank, and am currently getting over 500 with the Alfa on a similar priced fillup. Makes me think the computer was massively out.
I'm guessing a 335/330d will only do about 35-40mpg anyway, and the Alfa's only doing 42 on my commute ... the money isn't a huge concern, I just don't want to be throwing cash away if that makes sense.
Bit of man maths and justification over the next few months I think.
i'm a pretty solid rwd person, but i've hankered after some Renault experience for some time. I wouldn't buy anything like new, but wait until depreciation had reasonably bottomed out and run it as a fun fast road/track/runabout. would you go back?
Understandably, the Megane was drawing out on the straights and fast corners so I wasn't going to hang on to it for long. But, I thought, I could at least get a little ground back coming out of Murrays whilst it scrabbled it's front wheels about.
So I put my foot down just before the apex, ready to grab some track back with all 4 wheels doing their bit to shoot me out of the corner......and.....off it went again. Sodding thing
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