RE: Renaultsport Mégane R26.R

[TOENHEEL]

I cant really see the point in this car from new, for the same money there are far better drivers car available with the power going through the correct wheels plus the fact that you loose the rear seats and being able to carry 4 people. Stick some R888's on a used F1 and i bet its not that much slower. Its a nice marketing idea though.

[mattbvw]

TOENHEEL said:

for the same money there are far better drivers car available with the power going through the correct wheels plus the fact that you loose the rear seats and being able to carry 4 people.

New RWD (4 seaters) that are "far better" to drive than the R26.R, under £24k... Which ones?

TOENHEEL said:

Stick some R888's on a used F1 and i bet its not that much slower. Its a nice marketing idea though.

I bet you it is. This car is not about marketing tosh - the Astra VXR Nurburgring had that one covered off. I'm sorry but comments like this are so ignorant of what this car is and what it has had done to it. This car came 4th OVERALL in Evo Car Of The Year, Autocar rate it very highly, Performance Car love it, Driver's Republic gave it 10/10. What is it that these people see but a lot of people on PH don't?

[Defcon]

mattbvw said:

TOENHEEL said:

for the same money there are far better drivers car available with the power going through the correct wheels plus the fact that you loose the rear seats and being able to carry 4 people.

New RWD (4 seaters) that are "far better" to drive than the R26.R, under £24k... Which ones?

TOENHEEL said:

Stick some R888's on a used F1 and i bet its not that much slower. Its a nice marketing idea though.

I bet you it is. This car is not about marketing tosh - the Astra VXR Nurburgring had that one covered off. I'm sorry but comments like this are so ignorant of what this car is and what it has had done to it. This car came 4th OVERALL in Evo Car Of The Year, Autocar rate it very highly, Performance Car love it, Driver's Republic gave it 10/10. What is it that these people see but a lot of people on PH don't?

Some people are paid to drive it around a track, others have to pay to own it every day. Pay to own a massive hatchback with two seats.

In other news: Public in "different opinion to press" shocker.

Edited by Defcon on Tuesday 14th April 23:02

[Tokamak]

amare32 said:

Didn't mind folding myself in and out of one when I had an Elise. Sure I have a TT, I use it as a shopping car while the bike
is the proper plaything (and more fun than most cars). Just waiting for the 996 GT3 values to hit the floor before I get back
into a proper drivers car in case you are asking I'd rather be on a pushbike than be seen in a BMW 1 series. 'M' version or not.

Fun on a pushbike?

Id recommend Specialized 'body geometry' contact points, ultegra groupset and a trek frame.

Course, thats a bit of vanilla fun. Maybe one off contact points, sram red groupset and pinarello frame. Oh, and some DT Swiss wheels.

Yeah, that would be serious fun.

[TOENHEEL]

mattbvw said:

TOENHEEL said:

for the same money there are far better drivers car available with the power going through the correct wheels plus the fact that you loose the rear seats and being able to carry 4 people.

New RWD (4 seaters) that are "far better" to drive than the R26.R, under £24k... Which ones?

TOENHEEL said:

Stick some R888's on a used F1 and i bet its not that much slower. Its a nice marketing idea though.

I bet you it is. This car is not about marketing tosh - the Astra VXR Nurburgring had that one covered off. I'm sorry but comments like this are so ignorant of what this car is and what it has had done to it. This car came 4th OVERALL in Evo Car Of The Year, Autocar rate it very highly, Performance Car love it, Driver's Republic gave it 10/10. What is it that these people see but a lot of people on PH don't?

It isnt a 4 seater though so you may as well have a 2 seater car that was designed orginally to be a sports car instead of a shopping trolley turned hardcore. Lap times can be dropped significantly by replacing standard road tyres with some track rubber.
This car may handle well for FWD but i can guarantee a set of r888's on the front of that car wont last 5 minutes the stress they will be under..I've driven a lot of performance cars through working in the trade and have yet to feel happy in a fwd drive car its all to easy and not rewarding enough. Wait till the prices drop significantly every chav in your town will be up your chuff in city centres in these or parked next to you in mcdonalds.

I love it how your opinion is made up from magazine articles and the fact it uses the Renault F1 cars name and you claim it isnt a marketing tool ... for example i have just read an article where this car is being compared to a GT3 and exige for fks sake.

I wouldnt read so much into the lap times around the ring either far to much emphasis is put on these times so that people like yourself who read magazines go out and buy a car "because evo said it was good". Some cars that dont handle to clever (not r26r) lap the ring fast because they have decent power/torque for the up hill sections and can maintain high speeds. Stick an R26R around a twisty track along side a few other hot hatch and then i would be interested.



I would rather spend 10k less and have this http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/932627.htm

It will last more than 3 years unlike most Renaults that seem to last the warranty and then start falling apart..speaking from experience.

Edited by TOENHEEL on Wednesday 15th April 00:15

Edited by TOENHEEL on Wednesday 15th April 00:20

Edited by TOENHEEL on Wednesday 15th April 00:23

[MrGman]

Can't believe how much abuse this car is getting, at the end of the day renault have made a very compromised large hatchback which i don't think anyone would argue is a bad car.
Anyone buying one, i would imagine will know it's not going to be as pure as a similarly priced elise or caterham or whatever else has been mentioned!
We all like different things so if the r26r isn't for you why not just accept that some people can get hugh amounts of enjoyment from such cars.

[kambites]

I don't think anyone is saying it's a bad vehicle, I certainly wasn't, just that it's a very strange one. There's a name for a two door hatchback with only two seats - Renault have built a "track-van".

[Silver Pellet]

TOENHEEL said:

It isnt a 4 seater though so you may as well have a 2 seater car that was designed orginally to be a sports car instead of a shopping trolley turned hardcore. Lap times can be dropped significantly by replacing standard road tyres with some track rubber.
This car may handle well for FWD but i can guarantee a set of r888's on the front of that car wont last 5 minutes the stress they will be under..I've driven a lot of performance cars through working in the trade and have yet to feel happy in a fwd drive car its all to easy and not rewarding enough. Wait till the prices drop significantly every chav in your town will be up your chuff in city centres in these or parked next to you in mcdonalds.

I love it how your opinion is made up from magazine articles and the fact it uses the Renault F1 cars name and you claim it isnt a marketing tool ... for example i have just read an article where this car is being compared to a GT3 and exige for fks sake.

I wouldnt read so much into the lap times around the ring either far to much emphasis is put on these times so that people like yourself who read magazines go out and buy a car "because evo said it was good". Some cars that dont handle to clever (not r26r) lap the ring fast because they have decent power/torque for the up hill sections and can maintain high speeds. Stick an R26R around a twisty track along side a few other hot hatch and then i would be interested.



I would rather spend 10k less and have this http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/932627.htm

It will last more than 3 years unlike most Renaults that seem to last the warranty and then start falling apart..speaking from experience.

Welcome to Pistonheads Bullst Bingo!

Front wheel drive is crap: check

Mention of chavs: check

Criticising a car you've never driven: check

Illustrate poor VFM by comparing it to a used car: check

Rely on bar room 'knowledge' and stereotypes: HOUSE!!!

[TOENHEEL]

Im not saying its a bad vehicle either, just over priced and as its so impractical you may as well buy a sports car instead of a hatchback trying to be one.

[anonymous-user]

Mr TOENHEEL , having driven my trusty Talbot Matra Rancho for many years I can totally see where you are coming from. I posted sub 4 minute lap times in that car and It will walk all over this "R26:R" nonsense.

[AB]

Same camp as the FRS isn't it. Too expensive for what it is - although it looks more grown up than the Focus.

[TOENHEEL]

Silver Pellet said:

TOENHEEL said:

It isnt a 4 seater though so you may as well have a 2 seater car that was designed orginally to be a sports car instead of a shopping trolley turned hardcore. Lap times can be dropped significantly by replacing standard road tyres with some track rubber.
This car may handle well for FWD but i can guarantee a set of r888's on the front of that car wont last 5 minutes the stress they will be under..I've driven a lot of performance cars through working in the trade and have yet to feel happy in a fwd drive car its all to easy and not rewarding enough. Wait till the prices drop significantly every chav in your town will be up your chuff in city centres in these or parked next to you in mcdonalds.

I love it how your opinion is made up from magazine articles and the fact it uses the Renault F1 cars name and you claim it isnt a marketing tool ... for example i have just read an article where this car is being compared to a GT3 and exige for fks sake.

I wouldnt read so much into the lap times around the ring either far to much emphasis is put on these times so that people like yourself who read magazines go out and buy a car "because evo said it was good". Some cars that dont handle to clever (not r26r) lap the ring fast because they have decent power/torque for the up hill sections and can maintain high speeds. Stick an R26R around a twisty track along side a few other hot hatch and then i would be interested.



I would rather spend 10k less and have this http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/932627.htm

It will last more than 3 years unlike most Renaults that seem to last the warranty and then start falling apart..speaking from experience.

Welcome to Pistonheads Bullst Bingo!

Front wheel drive is crap: check

Mention of chavs: check

Criticising a car you've never driven: check

Illustrate poor VFM by comparing it to a used car: check

Rely on bar room 'knowledge' and stereotypes: HOUSE!!!

I didnt say FWD was crap? i said it isnt as rewarding as rwd which it isnt..chavs WILL love this car...ive driven an R26....yeah a used car that wasnt much more exspensive when new.

Edited by TOENHEEL on Wednesday 15th April 09:16

[TOENHEEL]

BigGameHunter said:

Mr TOENHEEL , having driven my trusty Talbot Matra Rancho for many years I can totally see where you are coming from. I posted sub 4 minute lap times in that car and It will walk all over this "R26:R" nonsense.

[Arun_D]

So much b**locks in this thread that takes no consideration that people simply like different things and dont' necessarily all want to drive a rwd sports car with a canvas roof and no boot, or the usual boring choice of E46 M3. What a world we would live in if the PH advice was taken and everyone that wanted an R26.R just gave in an and bought an Elise or similar instead, cos obviously the Megane is 'so impractical you may as well do that'.

oh and btw, the R888s last significantly longer then 5mins on the track.

Edited by Arun_D on Wednesday 15th April 09:52

[TOENHEEL]

I agree what a boring place it would be but still doesnt take away the fact that it is impractical for what is supposed to be a hatchback..if you enjoy your car then fair play..People are seriously deluded though if they think FWD is as rewarding or as good as a RWD car and parting with £24k for whats basically a megane is in my eyes madness although most people will PCP these cars and get shot when they are in negative equity at the end..

Edited by TOENHEEL on Wednesday 15th April 10:03

[kambites]

On a less silly note, could Renault not have saved significant weight by removing the rear side windows (and, crucially, surrounding strengthening of the side panels) and replacing the whole side of the car with a single steel panel? Or would that have destroyed 3/4 visibility?

[Arun_D]

TOENHEEL said:

I agree what a boring place it would be but still doesnt take away the fact that it is impractical for what is supposed to be a hatchback..if you enjoy your car then fair play..

I do understand what you mean, but for me, It's really not much more impractical than The Cooper S GP that you referred to, and if you have the mindset that it's just another 2 seater car, rather than a standard hatchback that's been blunted by removing a rear bench and inertia reels, then i don't see the issue, personally. I like having a big bootspace to lug things around as well, it works quite well for me and my day to day doings.

Also, given the fact that there are around 100 in the country at this point in time, I really dont' see it turning into a popular sight in mcdonalds car parks accross the land like you suggest. Certainly never happened to the cooking R26 when the residuals came down in those.

[Arun_D]

kambites said:

On a less silly note, could Renault not have saved significant weight by removing the rear side windows (and, crucially, surrounding strengthening of the side panels) and replacing the whole side of the car with a single steel panel? Or would that have destroyed 3/4 visibility?

Of course, they could have gone much more extreme by taking additional avenues, but I'm sure they wanted to keep the assembly procedure largely the same and use the standard shell.

[kambites]

Arun_D said:

Of course, they could have gone much more extreme by taking additional avenues, but I'm sure they wanted to keep the assembly procedure largely the same and use the standard shell.

Does it start life as a standard shell then? I'd assumed it was fairly different to support a wider track.

[TOENHEEL]

This is why i claim the car to be a "marketing tool" to some degree because they have skipped areas where they could of made the car even lighter such as the wheels and ditching the air con altogether, i cant see the carbon bonnet making that much difference maybe a carbon roof to lower the centre of gravity..

I just feel like theres only so much you can do with a FWD hatchback and trying to make it into a sports car isnt one, the only plus side from all of this is at least Renault are trying to save weight instead of other manufacturers cars getting heavier and heavier, they just need to build the cars a bit better and improve the customer service. After 3 years though this car will still be just another Megane and im 100% sure the residuals will show this.