RE: Renault Megane RS Trophy: Driven

[SidewaysSi]

DoubleD said:

SidewaysSi said:

I like it. Much as I would love the old car, 3 doors don't work with a family unfortunately.

What makes you say that?

In my situation, if I were spending £30k on a new car that didn't have 2 seats, I would want 4/5 doors for it to work. Makes life a lot easier when carrying people.

[Kolbenkopp]

Well there's so much choice now (a good thing, no?) one can be a bit picky choosing what fits best. But none are really crap IMO, rather the opposite.

Personally, I'd like to go smaller on the next hatch. The M4RS is just a bit too large, and as much as I like it there's always the hassle that you cant get the LSD without the stiffer suspension. The Clios and the MQBA0 stuff are just the right size. But the VAG stuff is DCT only so far and the Clio RS has been phased out over here so the wait for the Mk5 RS begins...

Edited by Kolbenkopp on Friday 23 November 00:22

[Pommy]

neil-1323bolts said:

Pommy said:

I really like it and ultimately this is a reasonable test but it’s missing two vital parts - it’s not been tested on the road which is where 99.99995% of usage will occur and it’s not used the DCT box that most will buy.

Can’t make a judgement till you see a number of reviews using those components.

I think it’s the best looking hatch of the lot

Civic is just an abortion of a design job
Focus is very bland and dated
Peugeot is very dated
Golf is bland
I30N is bland

All hot hatches are crap ? Umm let's think about this

Where did I say that? I was referring to looks.

[DoubleD]

SidewaysSi said:

DoubleD said:

SidewaysSi said:

I like it. Much as I would love the old car, 3 doors don't work with a family unfortunately.

What makes you say that?

In my situation, if I were spending £30k on a new car that didn't have 2 seats, I would want 4/5 doors for it to work. Makes life a lot easier when carrying people.

I agree that 5 door cars are easier, but I wouldnt say that 3 door cars dont work for families.

[Ahbefive]

Pommy said:

Where did I say that? I was referring to looks.

So what other £30k cars looks better than the lot you listed? And what so you think about the rest of the competitors like m140i ,Golf R? Are they not even blander in your opinion?

I can't think of any new cars in the same price range that look better the the ones you are calling bland.

[SidewaysSi]

DoubleD said:

SidewaysSi said:

DoubleD said:

SidewaysSi said:

I like it. Much as I would love the old car, 3 doors don't work with a family unfortunately.

What makes you say that?

In my situation, if I were spending £30k on a new car that didn't have 2 seats, I would want 4/5 doors for it to work. Makes life a lot easier when carrying people.

I agree that 5 door cars are easier, but I wouldnt say that 3 door cars dont work for families.

You can make anything work - I use an e36 coupe as our main family car and thinking of changing it for a 997 .

[Pommy]

Ahbefive said:

Pommy said:

Where did I say that? I was referring to looks.

So what other £30k cars looks better than the lot you listed? And what so you think about the rest of the competitors like m140i ,Golf R? Are they not even blander in your opinion?

I can't think of any new cars in the same price range that look better the the ones you are calling bland.

It's part relative not price relative.

The cars this will end up in a review against look worse than it.

Perhaps the point is many at this price are bland which reinforces that this looks decent so thanks for proving my point.

[Onehp]

Kolbenkopp said:

Well there's so much choice now (a good thing, no?) one can be a bit picky choosing what fits best. But none are really crap IMO, rather the opposite.

Personally, I'd like to go smaller on the next hatch. The M4RS is just a bit too large, and as much as I like it there's always the hassle that you cant get the LSD without the stiffer suspension. The Clios and the MQBA0 stuff are just the right size. But the VAG stuff is DCT only so far and the Clio RS has been phased out over here so the wait for the Mk5 RS begins...

Edited by Kolbenkopp on Friday 23 November 00:22

Not liking the Fiesta ST then? I would get into one in a blink if I didn't need more space.

[Onehp]

"Renault uses hydraulic bump stops, which it thinks saves it the bother of adaptive dampers by, effectively, increasing damper stiffness in bigger compressions."

True, but bit missing the point. A rubber bump stop will also up the resistance in a similar fashion. The difference is then that on decompression the rubber bumpstop acts as a spring which will make the car jolt back up and disturb its composure (effectively too little or at least compromised rebound damping), while the hydraulic bump stop does nothing to disturb the car there, just regular spring rates and rebound damping that can be tuned in better. FYI

[blue al]

How do you make anti roll bars only 10% stiffer ?
Thicker paint ?

What are the options on the previous incarnations ?

[Alex_225]

I have been a RenaultSport fan for many years, my first was a 172 back in 2003 and have owned various RS Meganes, Clios and a Twingo. Still own a couple now.

This has been the first RS Megane since the first that has peaked my interest. I don't know if it's the styling which has grabbed me. I just never warmed to the looks of the 250 and latter iterations despite having no doubt it being a great drive.

I know this is a five door only which even in my mind goes against the hot hatch grain but all the manufacturers are doing it now anyway. I actually don't even mind the semi-automatic option as well as I suspect it changes gear quickly enough.

We're now living in an era where we have such a good selection of hot hatches, looks or brand preferences aside, the Civic Type-R, Golf-R, A45, RS3 will all be great fun in some shape or form. The RS Megane has a lot to do to beat those cars, the hot hatch game has gone pretty crazy.

[nickfrog]

Pommy said:

I really like it and ultimately this is a reasonable test but it’s missing two vital parts - it’s not been tested on the road which is where 99.99995% of usage will occur and it’s not used the DCT box that most will buy.

I don't know that most will buy auto, not that it matters. As for track use you probably have a point but test driving one yourself on the road should be easy. The Cup chassied Meg RS are one of those extremely rare road cars that actually work on track, perhaps with tyres and pads. They are extremely versatile. I am always surprised how few driving enthusiasts actually track their car though but for me a track review is far more informative than checking how well it copes with potholes and traffic jams (I live in SE England).

[wab172uk]

When the Megane RS was first announce, I was looking forward to it. More so the Trophy version.

However, lukewarm reviews of the 280bhp version has put me off this car. And now the Trophy version is out, I'm still left cold by it.

Will await some on road reviews before making proper judgement. But it isn't looking good for Renault.

Suppose as every next gen of model grows (because people bought the last Megane wishing it was bigger) then the experience is going to be somewhat diluted.

No doubt the next Clio will be bigger than the last, and will no doubt be getting on to last gen Megane size. So maybe the next Clio will be the better drivers car? Though if Auto only, I doubt that. You don't see many current gen Clio RS's on the roads compared to years ago.

But then what does Renault replace the old Clio with? The current Twingo no longer has the presents of a car that could become an RS. So if you want a small fun Renault RS, you're screwed.

[Jon_S_Rally]

wab172uk said:

When the Megane RS was first announce, I was looking forward to it. More so the Trophy version.

However, lukewarm reviews of the 280bhp version has put me off this car. And now the Trophy version is out, I'm still left cold by it.

Will await some on road reviews before making proper judgement. But it isn't looking good for Renault.

Suppose as every next gen of model grows (because people bought the last Megane wishing it was bigger) then the experience is going to be somewhat diluted.

No doubt the next Clio will be bigger than the last, and will no doubt be getting on to last gen Megane size. So maybe the next Clio will be the better drivers car? Though if Auto only, I doubt that. You don't see many current gen Clio RS's on the roads compared to years ago.

But then what does Renault replace the old Clio with? The current Twingo no longer has the presents of a car that could become an RS. So if you want a small fun Renault RS, you're screwed.

Why would you discount a car without driving it? Reviews are entirely subjective. You might drive this (or any other car) and really like it.

I think people put far too much faith in what motoring journalists have to say, especially given that you can almost predict what they're going to say about some cars - EPAS=bad, manual=good, turbo lag=bad, independent rear suspension=good, twist beam=bad, RWD=better etc etc etc

[nickfrog]

wab172uk said:

Suppose as every next gen of model grows (because people bought the last Megane wishing it was bigger) then the experience is going to be somewhat diluted.

.

It's by and large the same size. https://youtu.be/lXXZRJ3RE3A

It's only 44kg heavier. Go and drive it.

[framerateuk]

Well contrary to all the press, I had a 250 Cup (and a Clio 220 Trophy), now have a 280 Cup and I'm really enjoying it.

It makes me laugh when they say it's heavy. Yes it is! All the hot hatches in this category are! It doesn't feel any heavier than the 250 did (on the road at least), but it does seem to have improved traction and the ride is probably a bit better dampened.

It's a step up from the last car in nearly every way as far as I'm concerned. The engine is more responsive and the interior is a massive improvement. The brakes appear to be the same calipers with larger discs. The multiple settings for the exhaust make a huge difference even on the non-Trophy car. Neutral is very quiet but sport pops and bangs and while it's clearly engineered to do that it sounds great

The only downside really is that the engine doesn't sound particularly exciting and you've got the fake engine noise through the speakers. I've turned it off on mine, but it is very quiet until you get above 4k revs. The steering probably isn't quite as direct either (but then the same is true for almost every new car).

A few of the articles picked up on the gearbox feeling notchy. I noticed this at first too but I've got 2000 miles on the car now and it feels much better.

I'm unlikely to take this one anywhere near a track so I probably won't be able to compare it to my old one in that respect. Like all these types of car it's probably fine for a couple of trackdays a year but they're so heavy on consumables that anyone who's really into trackdays would be better off with something seriously lightweight instead.

[Ahbefive]

Pommy said:

Perhaps the point is many at this price are bland which reinforces that this looks decent so thanks for proving my point.

I'm not sure what you think I said that proves your "point".

I don't think half of the cars that this is pitted against look "bland". Aesthetics is a totally subjective thing though.

[nickfrog]

framerateuk said:

I'm unlikely to take this one anywhere near a track so I probably won't be able to compare it to my old one in that respect. Like all these types of car it's probably fine for a couple of trackdays a year but they're so heavy on consumables that anyone who's really into trackdays would be better off with something seriously lightweight instead.

Depends how many cars you want. In reality they are very trackable and won't cost a fortune in consumables on the right tyres and pads. I ran a 275 on NS2Rs and mere PFC Z and that was a very affordable solution. The other aspect is that the car is the ideal touring companion on the way to Spa/Ring. Yes a Caterham will be a better track car but nowhere near as versatile and a right faff to trailer.

[framerateuk]

nickfrog said:

Depends how many cars you want. In reality they are very trackable and won't cost a fortune in consumables on the right tyres and pads. I ran a 275 on NS2Rs and mere PFC Z and that was a very affordable solution. The other aspect is that the car is the ideal touring companion on the way to Spa/Ring. Yes a Caterham will be a better track car but nowhere near as versatile and a right faff to trailer.

My point was more that reviews like this focus so much on how the car is on track - most owners (not all!) wouldn't even venture near one or spend enough time at a trackday to really appreciate everything that's going on - while those who do often get the bug and end up going for something more track-day oriented.

I did a fair few trackdays in my 250 - I did find it heavy going on tyres. It's part of the reason I ended up with a Caterham. The 7 is laughable in comparison. The tyres just keep going and brake wear is almost unnoticeable. I don't trailer it either - with the roof it's surprisingly practical and I swap it over for an aeroscreen at the track usually.

You're right that it's not the sort of car you can swoop down to the ring for a weekend in. It's better to take the scenic route.

And back on topic... I used to go to the ring once a year and the 250 was ideal to get there and back quickly. I'm sure the 280 would make the trip even more comfortable, while still being good fun to drive.

[white_goodman]

I've never been a huge fan of Renaults but I like this and it would probably be my pick of the current crop of FWD mid-size hot hatches. The Golf GTI/Leon Cupra look a bit dull, the Type-R is too OTT for me, the Focus ST too dated etc. The loss of the 3 door/coupe option is a bit of a shame but the type of person who bought a Sierra/Cavalier in the 80s/90s now buys a Focus/Astra-sized car, so 5 doors kind of makes sense. If you want 3 doors and more of an "old school" hot hatch experience then look to the next class down. The only thing that might stop me from buying one right now if I was in the market would be the lure of the straight six and RWD loveliness of the M140i or the AWD and lairiness of a Focus RS (although the engine issues on the Ford would be a concern).