FN2 Civic Type R vs Megane R26 230

[911p]

I'm looking to replace my car soon with a budget of about £7k, and I've narrowed the choices down to an FN2 Civic Type R, or a Megane R26 230. I'm not interested in an EP3 Civic, and can't have anything more powerful than these as insurance will be too high. The car will be used primarily on the road, might even see a couple of Euro road trips, and will get to a few track days every year.

I've narrowed the pro's and cons of each one down to the following;

FN2 Type R
Positives; bulletproof reliability, nice interior, revvy NA engine, sounds great, decent gearbox, cheaper to maintain
Negatives; needs some work to be track ready (geo, brakes, LSD etc), lack of performance compared to the Megane, electric steering (lack of feel?)

Megane R26 230
Positives; Track ready (decent brakes and LSD), great performance, easy to tune, more of a drivers car (?)
Negatives; Engine note, more costly to maintain (?), less reliable, basic looking interior/dash

Basically just trying to see which one I'd have the most fun in over a period of about 3-4 years. If any previous owners of either model could chime in with your experiences, that'd be great!

[911p]

Butter Face said:

I'm a Renault salesman, but drive an EP3

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. EP3 does seem to be the better drivers car, but I'm just not keen on the look of it, shame really!

This is the dilemma, I think the Megane will be a great drive and have better performance on road and track, but the engine and interior of the Civic really draws me to it. Of course I'll test drive both and see how I feel about each one, but in the meantime it's interesting to hear the opinions of others.

[911p]

Interesting points - thanks!

Surprised about your findings against the Megane, looking at this EVO test data from a few years back, the R26 is significantly faster.

The comment about steering feel is a nice surprise also - didn't expect it to be better than the EP3. Strange also that the Top Gear mag gave it Hot Hatch of the year considering the absolute slating Clarkson gave it on TV!

[911p]

InfamousKeiran said:

Honda Integra Type R DC5?

I did have a brief look at these, right at the bottom end of the market with £7k though!

[911p]

As lovely as it is, I'm only really interested in an FN2 on the Honda side, as the car will still be my daily drive. Good luck with the sale though!

[911p]

iloveboost said:

I've briefly driven a standard FN2 1.8 'Type S'. I know the suspension.....

Detailed comparison there, certainly done your research! It seems the FN2 is the better road car, but with a decent geo will still perform just as well as the EP3.

I think the lack of torque does give the car less performance even at higher revs; if you look at the torque curve you only get maximum power for a very brief moment near the rev-limiter. I'd definitely enjoy having to wring out every last rev more though.

Feirny said:

I tested an FN2 before I bought my R26, it was a nice drive but the R26 just felt right for me after a few previously owned RenaultSports.

What did you prefer about the R26? Trying to get a balanced viewpoint on this thread, but it's very much going the way of the Type-R at the moment!

[911p]

themanwithnoname said:

I've driven both and have an FN2 so am.....

It is the noise and power delivery that attracts me to the Honda. I have a mate with a new Fiesta ST which I've driven (1.6 turbo, 200bhp) and although it pulls hard, the delivery isn't particularly inspiring; the power curve is completely flat.

sinbad666 said:

Owned quite a few hondas incl DC5, driven.....

How would you compare the handling between the Megane and Civic? The DC5 seems to have the best handling, hence it must be a credit to the Megane if it's very similar. The CW model with LSD is out of my price range, but I could probably pick up a standard model for £6k and spend the rest on a decent geo and Quaife LSD.

[911p]

Let's not turn this into a picture thread now

[911p]

Interesting comments from all, thanks. I have to say I am leaning towards the Civic now, as to be honest I thought the R26 would be almost in a different league performance-wise. The Civic does seem to respond better to mods than I thought it would being an N/A car, with an exhaust, intake and map giving 10% plus extra power, although I'm not sure I'd bother to be honest!

I've been doing some research on using the Type R for track work and there are some concerns over oil starvation, has anybody had any issues with the stock set up? A baffled sump and FD2 oil pump/balancer shaft delete runs into about £800 fitted, which is quite hefty considering it's something you won't feel when driving the car.

[911p]

Antics said:

Specs

R26R is significantly faster, but would have been on R888 tyres. I've heard the Civic's geo from the factory is pretty atrocious, so sort that as well as some good tyres and it would close the gap, although I'd bet on the standard R26 still being quicker to be honest.

The acceleration figures surprised me the most however. If you look at 60 to 100mph times, or 1/8 to 1/4 mile times (once both cars are off the line) they're very even. The R26R is 115kg lighter than the standard R26 as well.

60-100mph; Civic 9.1 | Megane 8.9
1/8-1/4 mile; Civic 4.7 | Megane 4.9

Top speeds seem to confirm they're close once rolling, makes me wonder how the Type R would do from a standing start given an LSD.

MRobbins1987 said:

Brakes 1k plus, Fd2 oil pump and flashpro 1.2k, LSD £900, suspension is useless so coilovers and geo set up 1k...

You don't sound like a great fan of the FN2

This is the problem, to make them track ready they do seem to need some money spending on them, whereas the Megane is ready out of the box. Saying that, my uncle has an FN2 which we took to Donington recently. That's completely standard other than sticky AD08R tyres, and the brakes were smoking in the pits but never faded to the point the wheels couldn't be locked.

Does the FD2 oil pump need a flashpro to go with it? Or is the standard ECU fine with it? As it stands I've worked it out to be about £2k to be spent on the car; decent pads, fluid and hoses, new springs and geo, LSD, baffled sump and FD2 oil pump. I could fit all of the parts myself other than the LSD - £2k is still quite a sum though!

[911p]

Feirny said:

If you're around South Yorkshire then you're welcome to a shot in my Megane.

Thanks very much for that offer, I am in Kent however so quite a way off!

HJMS123 said:

OP wanted the best out of the box package for handling and it's the meg ... comfortably

How have you both found your Megs on the build, reliability and servicing front?

[911p]

Feirny said:

Build quality is alright, reliability wise it hasn't let me down...

HJMS123 said:

Build quality - leaves a lot to be desired with interior squeaks etc but...

Good to know reliability is up there, last thing I'd want is a car likely to let me down at a track day or abroad. Being a track car I'd expect servicing to be a little more on the expensive side anyway.

Stevoox said:

Might be a pointless answer as i dont have an R26...

Again, thanks very much for the offer! I'd love a Mk3, but they're a little out of budget - £7k is already stretch unfortunately

HorneyMX5 said:

I own an FN2...

I've already had a read through your thread in the Readers Cars section with interest! Good to know you own a Mk1 MX5 and still think the steering feel is good - I think my MX5 steering feels fantastic so if the Type R is anywhere near that, it's a positive.

[911p]

As a two-year update to this thread, I test drove a Mk5 GTI, a Megane R26, and purchased HorneyMX5's FN2 in the end.

The car has been absolutely fantastic. I was initially underwhelmed, the chassis felt like it let the rest of the car down, but fitting Eibach Pro springs, new Sachs dampers and an LSD absolutely transformed the car.

The engine is brilliant, it's quicker than a friends standard Mk7 Fiesta ST, and has kept pace with another friends Audi SQ5 up to high speeds (much to both of our surprise) - driven correctly it's definitely no slouch. It's also returns over 43mpg on 100+ mile motorway journeys when driven sedately, and hasn't drank a drop of oil in two years. The noise it makes at 8000 rpm is also fantastic.

Handling wise, it feels great with slightly more compliant springs and a decent geo. Grip is immense, and the handling balance is totally neutral. The car just doesn't understeer, the LSD is more than happy to pull the front end towards the apex and out of the corner with massive traction. The rear feels totally secure, and it will only oversteer in the wet if deliberately provoked, again cured by getting on the power. The LSD also massively adds to stability under braking.

Lastly is the build quality. This is easily the best built car I have ever owned - they do seem to vary massively, but this is definitely a good one. Despite the hard ride there are zero rattles on the interior, and the only issue I've ever had is a £20 A/C relay which needed replacing. It went on a 3000 mile, 6 country road trip road trip across Europe last year, and was just bombproof.




With Eibach springs, a decent geo set up and an LSD, I can highly recommend an FN2 as the perfect combined daily/weekend car.

I have recently purchased another sports car now that I no longer need hatchback practicality, and should have sold the car already, but I'm just not sure if I'll massively regret it after selling. The owner of the other FN2 in the photos above sold his for an FK2 Type R, and believe it or not really misses his FN2. They were perfect on that road trip, and garnered much attention in Southern Europe where people didn't know what they were.

[911p]

To everyone who has posted, the common theme seems to be that these cars really get under your skin over time!

Nick, you'll be my first port of call if I do decide to sell.

[911p]

Amazing how modern these still look. 10 years old this year.

After an early morning run today