Any new Megane RS 280/300 owners?

[resolve10]

Luke. said:

Sooo, which do you prefer?

I did a summary on the previous page of the thread. Both great cars, I'm picking up my manual Trophy next week to replace the M2. Had I wanted an auto I'd have almost definitely bought the one which likesachange has just bought!

[likesachange]

Mine got delivered today... although only drove it to drop delivery guy off at train station...

Sounds 100 X better than the FK8, but also the ride is much firmer, even with the FK8 wearing 20” wheels and elastic band tyres!
Really good looking car from all angles imo.

Hopefully get it on track this year.

I have bought a plate for it “MT20PHY” and May get some cooksport springs for it bu we shall see

[Luke.]

Mine's currently sitting outside with a dead battery. Can't even lock the doors. Stupid car.

[Zlatje]

what capacity ''mah'' is the battery in the trophy 300? I bought the car from a dealer and it has been sitting there for 3 months, so it was completely dead. had to jump start it and i thought the battery would charge up on my 250km trip home, but nope. it was dead 5 min after arrival...

thanks!

[classicfred]

I was thinking seriously about buying a Trophy to replace my MK3 RS but having read about the battery problems have decided against it. The car is sometimes sat outside for 3/4 days and that sounds like it would be a problem with the lithium battery. What happens if you leave the car at the airport for 2 weeks ?
There is some info in these threads here also.

https://www.renaultsportclub.co.uk/forum/renaultsp...
https://www.renaultsportclub.co.uk/forum/renaultsp...

[likesachange]

classicfred said:

I was thinking seriously about buying a Trophy to replace my MK3 RS but having read about the battery problems have decided against it. The car is sometimes sat outside for 3/4 days and that sounds like it would be a problem with the lithium battery. What happens if you leave the car at the airport for 2 weeks ?
There is some info in these threads here also.

https://www.renaultsportclub.co.uk/forum/renaultsp...
https://www.renaultsportclub.co.uk/forum/renaultsp...

There does seem to be a handful that have issues but many more that don’t

I got mine delivered start of Jan and hardly touched it all month and yesterday mine had the issue... jump started it and was fine and took it out today and was fine.

So maybe if your going to garage it and only use it once a week then it may well be an issue... but many do only use there’s once or twice a week and not have bother.

[resolve10]

classicfred said:

I was thinking seriously about buying a Trophy to replace my MK3 RS but having read about the battery problems have decided against it. The car is sometimes sat outside for 3/4 days and that sounds like it would be a problem with the lithium battery. What happens if you leave the car at the airport for 2 weeks ?
There is some info in these threads here also.

https://www.renaultsportclub.co.uk/forum/renaultsp...
https://www.renaultsportclub.co.uk/forum/renaultsp...

Not going to lie, I've had mine three weeks now and it's being used pretty much daily. Two days after I got it it threw a big wobbly, refused to start and gave hundreds of error messages in quick succession (couldn't even read them all but it was mostly steering and braking systems). I left it 2 hours until the wife came home and was planning to jump start it, but when I got back in the car everything seemed normal and it started up.

I put it down to the car been sat at the dealer with limited use for the past few months, but again yesterday it did a similar thing (though it did start when I put the key next to the dash)

The car is brilliant in every other way, but I really struggle to trust that it's going to start every time. I'm sure at some point it's going to let me down when I'm nowhere near home. I hope Renault come up with a fix or allow a regular battery to be fitted, otherwise my patience with it will probably wear thin pretty quickly however good the driving experience is.

I haven't driven one, but if the 280 cup delivers 95% of the driving experience of the Trophy I'd seriously consider one of those if I was buying again? Worth a thought.

[sorrento205]

classicfred said:

I was thinking seriously about buying a Trophy to replace my MK3 RS but having read about the battery problems have decided against it. The car is sometimes sat outside for 3/4 days and that sounds like it would be a problem with the lithium battery. What happens if you leave the car at the airport for 2 weeks ?
There is some info in these threads here also.

https://www.renaultsportclub.co.uk/forum/renaultsp...
https://www.renaultsportclub.co.uk/forum/renaultsp...

Its your loss, never had a problem, never heard of the problem until recently. I just love being childish and enjoying the raucous noises from my Trophy

[evojkp]

I've had my 300 Trophy for just over 18 months now and regularly gets left in Aberdeen while offshore for three weeks and starts first time every time. Have also left at home for extended periods up to 6 weeks and its started no problems. Only issue i did have was starting it, taking it onto the drive to clean and after a few hours its went flat. I did buy a noco battery booster/ starter that I keep in the car but have never needed it. The usual internet panic made me do it as i was convinced i'd be stranded in aberdeen with a dead car battery, but so far....its been fine.

Not considering a car based on a few folks with issues with a battery means you are potentially missing out on a cracking bit of kit. Although I totally discounted a focus RS based on the majority of engine failures reported on the internet (shh the internet does not talk about that fake news now lol )

[likesachange]

evojkp said:

I've had my 300 Trophy for just over 18 months now and regularly gets left in Aberdeen while offshore for three weeks and starts first time every time. Have also left at home for extended periods up to 6 weeks and its started no problems. Only issue i did have was starting it, taking it onto the drive to clean and after a few hours its went flat. I did buy a noco battery booster/ starter that I keep in the car but have never needed it. The usual internet panic made me do it as i was convinced i'd be stranded in aberdeen with a dead car battery, but so far....its been fine.

Not considering a car based on a few folks with issues with a battery means you are potentially missing out on a cracking bit of kit. Although I totally discounted a focus RS based on the majority of engine failures reported on the internet (shh the internet does not talk about that fake news now lol )

That’s good to hear. Must be the batteries themselves that aren’t consistently reliable...?

[notfub]

likesachange said:

Must be the batteries themselves that aren’t consistently reliable...?

The battery management software has been updated by Renault, so in theory, this stops the lightweight DESS battery from draining, stopping the car from being restarted. My Trophy has received a replacement battery in it's first year but the dealer didn't apply the software update until I requested it when I purchased it (was the dealerships ex-demo / MD's car originally). The dealership wasn't an RS specific dealer, so they were not clued up on all things RS.

The links to the renaultsport forum explain the scenario though.

My car has been perfect since I bought it six months ago so I'd say if you want a Trophy, go for it, if you don't, you'll be missing out.

[resolve10]

notfub said:

The battery management software has been updated by Renault, so in theory, this stops the lightweight DESS battery from draining, stopping the car from being restarted. My Trophy has received a replacement battery in it's first year but the dealer didn't apply the software update until I requested it when I purchased it (was the dealerships ex-demo / MD's car originally). The dealership wasn't an RS specific dealer, so they were not clued up on all things RS.

That's interesting as mine's in exactly the same boat. 2019 car, which I suspect has had a replacement battery as the date on the battery says 08/01/20 , but hasn't had the software update as the car still has issues now and again with low battery warnings.

The problem I have is how to get a Renault dealer to update my car? It's not a fault as such, and the car is so low-volume most dealers won't know about the specialist battery. It feels like I'm waiting for a complete failure of the battery in order to sort this out, which is tainting the ownership experience a little. Should have been a recall in my opinion.

[likesachange]

resolve10 said:

That's interesting as mine's in exactly the same boat. 2019 car, which I suspect has had a replacement battery as the date on the battery says 08/01/20 , but hasn't had the software update as the car still has issues now and again with low battery warnings.

The problem I have is how to get a Renault dealer to update my car? It's not a fault as such, and the car is so low-volume most dealers won't know about the specialist battery. It feels like I'm waiting for a complete failure of the battery in order to sort this out, which is tainting the ownership experience a little. Should have been a recall in my opinion.

Agree, definitely should have been a recall. !!

[likesachange]

Also I had to go to the shop last night via some backroads.

Got to say when you stick it in race is so much more engaging and more of a riot than the Civic and Golf R I have recently owned! Even with the EDC.

Love the EDC box. In gentle mode it just pops through the gears beautifully round town. Slap it in Race and it goes bazerk with rally car esq pops and bangs on overun and downshifts.
Tho the fact it doesn’t have the sequential type gear change option of the stick and the paddles are column mounted is a disappointment.
Will hopefully get it to Croft at some point in Spring.

[Wonderman]

likesachange said:

Will hopefully get it to Croft at some point in Spring.

If you don't mind, let me know when thinking of doing this as could compare the (notchy so far) manual which really needs some miles on it so Croft would be a nice distance and track to loosen it up.

[likesachange]

Wonderman said:

If you don't mind, let me know when thinking of doing this as could compare the (notchy so far) manual which really needs some miles on it so Croft would be a nice distance and track to loosen it up.

I will try and remember to post in here when time comes

[Ant RS]

Hi I am new to the forum and was wondering if anybody has bought the new updated Mégane rs 300 EDC? I have decided to buy one and hopefully coming next week 😃. Never driven the car, so was just wondering your thoughts. I had a chance of the new trophy also but we are going down to one car now and just think the sport chassis as a family car would suit us. I previously had a M2 so hoping reading the reviews should be good as due to current restrictions I have not even had a test drive.

The extras I got were the liquid yellow paint, 19" wheels, upgraded seats, not recaro as you can't get them anymore on the non trophy version, I think it comes fully loaded now.

Any comments would be much appreciated. Thanks

[resolve10]

Ant RS said:

Hi I am new to the forum and was wondering if anybody has bought the new updated Mégane rs 300 EDC? I have decided to buy one and hopefully coming next week ??. Never driven the car, so was just wondering your thoughts. I had a chance of the new trophy also but we are going down to one car now and just think the sport chassis as a family car would suit us. I previously had a M2 so hoping reading the reviews should be good as due to current restrictions I have not even had a test drive.

The extras I got were the liquid yellow paint, 19" wheels, upgraded seats, not recaro as you can't get them anymore on the non trophy version, I think it comes fully loaded now.

Any comments would be much appreciated. Thanks

Nice choice. I also came from an M2.

From reviews I've seen it looks like the facelift addresses a lot of the niggles I have with my pre-facelift. In particular, you'll have proper climate control switches rather than a daft touch screen system you can't safely use on the move. Being the non-Trophy model you'll have no worries about the lightweight battery system. Finally, the fact it's now auto only means you won't suffer from the cup holders being in the way of the gearshift.

I'm happy to put up with all the quirks for the driving experience, I'm not sure how much of the Trophy experience the sport chassis can deliver but Evo certainly rated it pretty highly. I love the feeling of the diff pulling the nose round corners though and wouldn't want to lose it.

Coming from an M2 the biggest difference you'll notice is you can enjoy more of the performance more of the time. The M2 is marginally a better car in perfect conditions, but the Megane is more fun the other 99% of the time.

[Ant RS]

Thanks for your input much appreciated, I know the M2 would be a slightly better car, but then you are paying 50k plus?

I still have to ferry my children around is there still enough room in the back? As I say haven't had a chance to drive or have a look at the car. I know the interior looks better now with the new updated system, i have a kadjar as the family car and I am trading that in with the Rs? One thing I do like is the look of the rs.

Anyway thanks for your comments.

[likesachange]

Ant RS said:

Thanks for your input much appreciated, I know the M2 would be a slightly better car, but then you are paying 50k plus?

I still have to ferry my children around is there still enough room in the back? As I say haven't had a chance to drive or have a look at the car. I know the interior looks better now with the new updated system, i have a kadjar as the family car and I am trading that in with the Rs? One thing I do like is the look of the rs.

Anyway thanks for your comments.

You won’t be disappointed l’m sure. Yes the M2 will sound better and go well but the Meganes performance is more accessible and you can lean on it without too much worry! I’m confident on a good twisty road the megane would come out on top.
Tho I have only driven a non comp M2.
I never drove or even sat in a Megane RS before mine got delivered in Jan and it continues to impress.