Megane Rs 2014
Author
Discussion

Petrolsmasher

Original Poster:

2,452 posts

145 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
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Looking at this for my next car.

Had a fiesta st180 for 2 years now but bored of it now, wanted a sports car but have a child on the way so need something more practical.

It wont be the main car for taking the baby but is it practical enough to get a pram etc in the boot and a child seat in the back? Ive ruled out gt86 already as its a nightmare apparently.

Also are these cars reliable? Is the engine and gearbox solid? Id probably remap it to stage 2 levels, does it get the power down well for a FWD?

Whats the real world mpg like on these cars?

Petrolsmasher

Original Poster:

2,452 posts

145 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
quotequote all
Bump.

willld

239 posts

289 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
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I've had a 265 for about a year. Apart from a new battery (replacing the original one I'd guess), a dodgy tailgate release button (water ingress, solved by removing and cleaning contacts) and a puncture, nothing has gone wrong so far.

I get 26 mpg, mainly doing a 4 mile commute to work. For comparison an Elise 111s managed 28 and a BMW 335i 22, over the same journey.

Not sure about a pram, but the boot is fairly deep. My 8 year old fits in a car seat in the back, I wouldn't say there's loads of room and it's a bit claustrophobic, but it's ok for short journeys.

Mine has the cup pack (lsd) and seems to get the power down pretty well, much better than the BMW on damp roundabouts. It's not so good overtaking and tramlines a bit, however this could probably be improved with some better tyres.

ChrisH72

3,075 posts

81 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
quotequote all
Never tried one so can't help much but having a 4 year old myself I'm pretty confident you'd have no problems with practicality. It's a family hatch at the end of the day. Travel systems for new borns can be quite big but there's plenty of choice so just get one that fits. It'll have isofix points in the rear so you can use a fixed base and put the seat straight on to it.

If it's only occasional use I would imagine the GT86 would do it, albeit not as easily as the Mégane.

Petrolsmasher

Original Poster:

2,452 posts

145 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
quotequote all
anyone know if it would be much of an improvement over a stage 2 fiesta st180 if it also had an LSD, 235bhp roughly at the moment.

ZX10R NIN

30,521 posts

154 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
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The Megane would still be the better car it's suspension set up is a level above the Fiesta which itself has a high bar.

Jakg

4,027 posts

197 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
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Is a 3 door hatch really practical for a child at all? It's larger than your Fiesta, sure - but it's still down a set of doors.

(owner of a Megane who's soon selling for the same reason!)

Petrolsmasher

Original Poster:

2,452 posts

145 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
Jakg said:
Is a 3 door hatch really practical for a child at all? It's larger than your Fiesta, sure - but it's still down a set of doors.

(owner of a Megane who's soon selling for the same reason!)
Well we will mostly use my partners car for the child its only for my days off alone that id probably use my car.

vtecyo

2,122 posts

158 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
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I had a 265, never really gelled with it. Overrated unless you live under 10 miles from the Nurburgring / near some remote Scottish mountain roads.

ChrisH72

3,075 posts

81 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
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In some ways I find 3 doors better with a slightly older child. Once they are in a forward facing seat you are putting them in face on rather than sideways. There’s also more room for them to climb in themselves. Some people insist on rear facing up to age 4 in which case it’s not so good but our son wanted to face forward as soon as he was big enough to legally do so.

Belle427

11,835 posts

262 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
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Thought about a Focus ST?
Bit softer than the megane for road use, 5 doors too.

Petrolsmasher

Original Poster:

2,452 posts

145 months

Sunday 26th January 2020
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I cant decide whether to keep my st, fit it with an lsd and strap a big turbo on there for about 320bhp.

My car is worth 7k in part ex, megane will cost about 13k, with that money i could do all the above to my car so i dont know what to do. Ive owned this car for 3 years now and i do still enjoy it.

Any words of wisdom?

ChrisH72

3,075 posts

81 months

Sunday 26th January 2020
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I would buy the Mégane.

I can appreciate that people do like to mod their cars but personally I think it's a bad idea. By upping a fiesta to 320bhp you are giving it almost twice the power it was meant to have which imo will ruin how it drives. Then there's the cost, which you won't get back.

Spend 13k on a Mégane and you have a great car worth 13k.

Spend 6k modding your fiesta and you have a car which nobody else will want to buy so effectively it's worth less than the 7k value currently.

This matters most if you're going to get bored in another couple of years and want to move on.

ZX10R NIN

30,521 posts

154 months

Sunday 26th January 2020
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Get the Megane because if you want to add upgrades so you're in the 300bhp zone then get a car set up for it.