RE: Focus ST vs. Golf TCR vs. Megane Trophy vs. i30 N

[Zetec-S]

Hub said:

Have Renault actually sold any RS Meganes? I haven't seen one on the road. You don't even see that many Meganes of any description. I expect Renault lost a load of customers with their poor reliability and build quality in the early '00s.

The Ford's looks are growing on me but it still looks quite dull.

I've seen a couple of new RS Meganes. You don't see many "normal" Meganes these days because (a) they are one of the most bland and unassuming hatchbacks on sale so you just don't notice them, and (b) a lot of the buyers have moved over to SUV types such as the Kadjar.

[lee_erm]

Hub said:

The Ford's looks are growing on me but it still looks quite dull.

It's still a lot less dull looking than the Golf though.

I'd have the Focus out of the bunch. I'd probably take the CTR over the Focus though.

[Hellbound]

Saw a Golf TCR thingy the other day in that battleship/nardo grey, lhd on German plates and covered in dirt. Have to say it looked really good. The next Golf is due out soon and I imagine it'll make other hot hatches look a little tired.

[R1gtr]

Surely it's only a matter of weeks before Mountune announce the upgrades for the ST, probably an extra 40-50hp and a louder exhaust for about £1500. Will be a bit of a performance bargain then I would think and all in a fairly discreet package. I quite fancy one.

[CraigV6]

nickfrog said:

Not sure the "as tested", is very relevant when none of the options are compulsory and wouldn't have made the car significantly worse.

I am gobsmacked how cheap those cars actually are. I just bought the Megane for £25,950 with a Cup chassis and track friendly / ride friendly 18'. It has 20hp less than the Trophy but that's the only difference. The spec is very generous, nothing else I needed. Absolute bargain IMO.

20hp is not the only difference.

[G.Fraser]

R1gtr said:

Surely it's only a matter of weeks before Mountune announce the upgrades for the ST, probably an extra 40-50hp and a louder exhaust for about £1500. Will be a bit of a performance bargain then I would think and all in a fairly discreet package. I quite fancy one.

They will very likely release upgrades before Christmas. Coming from a Mountuned ST when test driving the Mk4 I found myself thinking that a stage 1 power upgrade and a cat back exhaust would just give it a welcome bit of extra pep and sound. Unfortunately I don’t think Mountune are producing warranty approved upgrades any more, that those for the new Fiesta ST aren’t supports that. I actually asked Mountune last week if they would be releasing warranty approved upgrades and they neither confirmed nor denied A bit of a shame really as this is the first time I’ll have a new car with a warranty.

[Water Fairy]

I'll take the CTR please

[Zarco]

CraigV6 said:

nickfrog said:

Not sure the "as tested", is very relevant when none of the options are compulsory and wouldn't have made the car significantly worse.

I am gobsmacked how cheap those cars actually are. I just bought the Megane for £25,950 with a Cup chassis and track friendly / ride friendly 18'. It has 20hp less than the Trophy but that's the only difference. The spec is very generous, nothing else I needed. Absolute bargain IMO.

20hp is not the only difference.

Care to elaborate?

[Zarco]

Megane for me, but I'm Renault Sport to the core

I'll be waiting for future iterations though if I do get one. They always get better as they go on.

[NJH]

Zarco said:

NJH said:

Are the Hyundai and Golf really 40 mpg cars?

I ask because I have one of the previous generations of Megane, it struggles to do much better than 30 mpg and it seems newer models aren't really any better. That and the thing is also a bit of a money pit to maintain frankly puts me right off buying into renaultsport again.

If the Hyundai and Golf do genuinely do as claimed then this is an important point. Fundamentally these aren't weekend cars, people will buy them probably as their main means of transport, and thus will look at fuel economy, retained value, service costs & local support etc. all in the mix of that all important TCO.

I'd suggest if 40mpg is essential none of the current crop of hot hatch are for you. I guess it is achievable cruising at 50-60 on a motorway.

Typical PH comment.

If fuel economy was the only factor then 40 mpg wouldn't be anywhere near cutting it.

TCO is always an issue for any car, why do you think Porsche sell so many cars. Buying a car is heart over head right up to the point when one realises it's your hard earned cash going into the thing. It's also why many will plump for a deal or lease on a VW over the Renault even if they know deep down its a more boring car.

[Zarco]

NJH said:

Zarco said:

NJH said:

Are the Hyundai and Golf really 40 mpg cars?

I ask because I have one of the previous generations of Megane, it struggles to do much better than 30 mpg and it seems newer models aren't really any better. That and the thing is also a bit of a money pit to maintain frankly puts me right off buying into renaultsport again.

If the Hyundai and Golf do genuinely do as claimed then this is an important point. Fundamentally these aren't weekend cars, people will buy them probably as their main means of transport, and thus will look at fuel economy, retained value, service costs & local support etc. all in the mix of that all important TCO.

I'd suggest if 40mpg is essential none of the current crop of hot hatch are for you. I guess it is achievable cruising at 50-60 on a motorway.

Typical PH comment.

If fuel economy was the only factor then 40 mpg wouldn't be anywhere near cutting it.

TCO is always an issue for any car, why do you think Porsche sell so many cars. Buying a car is heart over head right up to the point when one realises it's your hard earned cash going into the thing. It's also why many will plump for a deal or lease on a VW over the Renault even if they know deep down its a more boring car.

Fair enough.

Probably why I'm not a Golf type of guy

I always thought Porsche sold so many cars because people wanted to get one up on Audi drivers.

[nickfrog]

Zarco said:

CraigV6 said:

nickfrog said:

Not sure the "as tested", is very relevant when none of the options are compulsory and wouldn't have made the car significantly worse.

I am gobsmacked how cheap those cars actually are. I just bought the Megane for £25,950 with a Cup chassis and track friendly / ride friendly 18'. It has 20hp less than the Trophy but that's the only difference. The spec is very generous, nothing else I needed. Absolute bargain IMO.

20hp is not the only difference.

Care to elaborate?

Craig is right - you also get expensive to replace discs which will cheese grate your expensive RS29 pads. And the exhaust pumps out even more of the not so great noise. And you have to pay £2,500 for the privilege. For me it's 3 downgrades (with the wheels) and 20hp compared to a 280 Cup.

[Court_S]

I still can’t get excited by the ST. The denim blue colour does it zero favours.

I nearly bought a TCR. Discounts pre-launch were healthy and in paper it looked like a great daily driver. Went to look at an R and GTI PP and neither really floated my boat. Nice enough cars but they didn’t really do anything for me.

I’m a big fan of the i30N. They look different enough from a normal version within being too silly, the noise is good for a four cylinder and they’re a bit different to the usual suspects. Good value too.

I’ve not really paid much attention to the current RS cars because they seem a bit meh and the oooks didn’t grab me. The interior looks a bit crap aside from some nice seats. However having seen a few up close at Caffeine & Machine, they look much better in the flesh.

I reckon I’d buy the i30N.

[Limpet]

I’ve been looking at i30Ns. 2 minutes on CarWow came up with a Performance in the Performance (Blu-tac) blue (most expensive colour) for £25,800!

Every single bit of spec is standard, and the only options are colours. 5 year warranty, 3 year track warranty, and just a laugh a minute to drive.

Would be my choice out of these. It’s just such a bargain for what it delivers.

[Initforthemoney]

Of course the Focus won.

That's the result Ford had paid for!

[unsprung]

s m said:

£41.5k for the Golf as tested

get a nice 5.0-litre Mustang in RHD and with UK warranty for similar money

okay, the running costs are different... but then again so is the shunt from that mellifluous V8

[GTEYE]

Initforthemoney said:

Of course the Focus won.

That's the result Ford had paid for!

I’m a bit surprised at the result and I say that as the owner of a Mk3.5 ST.

The initial reviews by the motoring press were suggesting competence but there was definitely a flavour that it wasn’t perfect.

Now it seems class leader, seems a little bit like a paid for result to me....

[STeve-ST]

life long ford fan but do feel the brand has lost its way somewhat caring more for those across the pond than those of us in the uk

[s m]

GTEYE said:

I’m a bit surprised at the result and I say that as the owner of a Mk3.5 ST.

The initial reviews by the motoring press were suggesting competence but there was definitely a flavour that it wasn’t perfect.

Now it seems class leader, seems a little bit like a paid for result to me....

Hmm, exactly the result I’d have forecasted given there was no Civic in the test based on the reviews I’ve seen so far - especially since the review is closely tied to the Autocar one

[Zed Ed]

unsprung said:

get a nice 5.0-litre Mustang in RHD and with UK warranty for similar money

okay, the running costs are different... but then again so is the shunt from that mellifluous V8

Or a nice Camaro, ok lhd, but that engine and active exhaust.

Might turn my head for the Megane, maybe the Ford too but any fast Golf these days just isn’t noteworthy. Highly competent i’m sure but they are everywhere and so unexciting.