RE: Renault Megane Monaco | Shed of the Week

[boholoblanka]

Matt_T said:

I used to watch the BRC in the mid-90s, what was remarkable was how much faster on dry tarmac the front-wheel drive F2 kit cars & S2000 were compared to the Group N Lancers and Imprezas.

https://www.motorsportauctions.com/category/329/Hi...

Edited by Matt_T on Friday 25th November 16:36

yeah you could drive it on British Rally championship on the PC, all the kitcars were excellent, Gwyndaf Evans' S2000 Escort, this Megane with Robbie Head and Martin Rowe *head was a tool), wasnt rovenpara's old man there for some of the time in an Ibiza, then Bugalski in a Citroen or one of these. Rally was good in those days.

[Marc H]

My ghast is totally flabbered.... both from the car (what a combo, have never seen one like that) and Shed's article (have never seen one like Mrs Shed).

[MattCharlton91]

I had a 1.4 16v one of these as a testosterone filled 18year old! Was a comfy and economical, well spec’d motor to be fair. Drove well, fairly nippy and handled well! The back seats were useless so the fronts saw a fair share of action! Met it’s end after my mother borrowed it, had a blow out on the A1 at Grantham and had to be cut out of it!

[djbobbins]

Saw it, thought I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole, looked at the interior and decided those front seats look lovely.

Still wouldn’t buy it, mind, but the seats would make a nice talking piece mounded on oak plinth or similar in my lounge!

[Sion111R]

MattCharlton91 said:

I had a 1.4 16v one of these as a testosterone filled 18year old! Was a comfy and economical, well spec’d motor to be fair. Drove well, fairly nippy and handled well! The back seats were useless so the fronts saw a fair share of action! Met it’s end after my mother borrowed it, had a blow out on the A1 at Grantham and had to be cut out of it!

Blimey. How much did she eat??!! (Being serious - I hope she was OK and it all ended well),

[Mr Tidy]

I'm not a great fan of the car, but I love that colour and the interior - albeit not necessarily together!

But at such a low mileage it must have many years of use left in it.

[Bluntstone]

Still quaking at the thought of Mrs Shed handing out frontier justice. At least the suit wouldn't show the blood too much, and machine washable to boot.

[zestyfesty]

I recall being crammed into the back of one of these late one night tearing through the forests of Les Landes en route for a nightclub with some Frenchies. It was rattling like none of the nuts had quite been torqued to spec

[spreadsheet monkey]

B'stard Child said:

grumpy52 said:

I remember the Monaco trim level back in the day ,the independent dealer that I worked for would always grab them if one popped up on any of the trade sites .
They were usually below average miles, above average condition and came with very good history. Yes they often came in "different" colour combinations. They always sold quickly.

I'd always thought it referred to a trim level "fully loaded and leathered to the eyeballs"

I thought Monaco was a mid range spec (GTS or something like that) with added leather and brown metallic paint. Baccara was the real super-luxury model in the world of Renault.

Happy to be corrected. I’m not much of a Renault beard!

[Robertb]

This looks ideal for the likes of Festival of the Unexceptional, because it’s cheap, unlike the unexceptional cars that have now been bid up to the point they are exceptional.

That interior colour combo works a lot better than it should.

I remember a friends dad had a Renault 25 Monaco which seemed the height of luxury.

[Rozzers]

I had a yellow 16v phase one, brand new it was a real head turner and everyone thought it was a more expensive car than it was.

A pal had the 1600 8v which was fine, a company car, when the phase 2 came out I thing the equivalent was then a 1.4. 16v which although up on power was down on driveability an low end torque.

So I do wonder what engine this one is.

You are of course looking at a design that’s over 25 years old.

I think I’d want to look underneath in case this is basically a parts car due to corrosion at that age, albeit they’ were not rusty cars at all in middle age, certainly compared to dissolving Mercedes Benz products.

[MarJay]

My Mum had a Renault 5 Monaco back in the day. 1.7 litre engine, twin choke weber, power steering (on a 5!) full leather interior. It was fantastic.

It also went like an absolute rocket.

[Jon_S_Rally]

I'm finding these SOTW articles a bit tiresome to be honest. How long does this "joke" have to be dragged on for? The 'er indoors thing stopped being funny a long time ago. It would benefit from a freshen up.

As for the car, I quite like it. A bit of an oddball and perfect Festival of the Unexceptional fodder. Those that are saying it deserves to be scrapped are rather missing the point. Not everything has to be amazing to be worth saving.

I always thought the Megane coupe was a bit like the Puma - looked a bit narrow. As with the Puma, the rally version showed just how much better it looked with wide arches.

I was offered a 2.0-litre one last year, but I was about to emigrate, so had to pass it up. A shame, as I would love to build a Maxi Megane wannabe.

[Alx27]

One of those cars you'll never see another one of on the road.

Which I like, because who wants to drive a Golf, Focus or Qashqai like the rest of the world?

[irish boy]

I like it, incredibly rare in Monaco spec. Stickers would have to go, embarrassing. There’s a Monaco v6 Laguna as well.

[nismo48]

Richard-390a0 said:

Loving the chocolatey goodness of that leather interior!

+1

[TomJamesCollier]

They did indeed make a 1.6 16v with 120bhp.

I had two Monaco Coupe's in a row, paid £900 for the second and it served me well on a 6 month drive around Italy in 2007.

Fond memories of these!!