Renault Megane R26
 

Thinking of one of these as the family runaround - and of course for me to enjoy when the Exige S stays in the garage. Any one have any experience?

Nope, but all the mags love them [EVO, Autocar etc] - they reckon it's the best hot hatch out there right now. All to do with the diff they say? I'd get one...in yellow.

Under 15k from buymynewcar.co.uk as well :)

superb car!

Seen a couple now and although not a big Renault fan these do look great

Anyone remember Fifth Gear last year???

They were putting a megane 225 and a astra vxr through their paces in a head to head.

All I can say is, the astra took the punishment without so much as a whimper, meanwhile the Renault went into limp home mode, RAC arrived - result was the renault had to be trailered away.

That speaks volumes to me, might not be real world but as has been posted RE: Renault Rant, if it were my money it would not go on a french marque due to reliability issues and customer service being worse than crap!

Regards

GB

R26
 

Now have one on order from a dealer for delivery in early June - nice price £15,600 (a steal in fact, MRP £20,500) for UK supplied car, not pre-reg. The car has received superb reviews from all sources. Looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.

Skyman

YHPM - interested in some advice on getting dealers to match interenet prices as I am looking at one..

thanks
J

Under 13k from Europe!

If you can put up with renault build quality, and you can put up with probably the worst dealer's in the country, then go for it.

Personally I'd rather have a Focus ST. Then get it chipped.

Edited to say : The Megane has to be one of the ugliest cars ever designed. It could have 4WD and 300BHP and I still wouldn't buy one. Mainly (design wise) because of it's backside.

Thanks for your opinion. Duly ignored.

The list price on a Renault is pretty meaningless isn't it? Other than making the discounts look big... and the depreciation look enormous.

E2A - if you want positive opinions only, best mention that at the outset. A Renault thread is going to feature build quality and dealer network comments because lots of people have had bad experiences.

FYI, I was not looking for solely positive comments, just reasoned and objective ones based on immediate experience of the r26 - which I suspect is zero in this case, not least due to the comparison with the ubiquitous, soulless and rather bland ST. Thanks for your input anyway.

I made my comments regarding build quality and dealer's as I've had the misfortune of owning a Renault in the past. A mistake never to be made again.

Owning a car is not just about driving it. If it squeaks and rattles every time you drive it, you get sick of driving it, no matter how fast it is. You'll then start to hate your car and wish you never bothered buying it once the useless c*nts they call Renault dealers, don't fix the problems.

That's all I was trying to say. Not a comment on the R26 itself, but the experience of owning a Renault.

Oh, and I'd rather be called Bland, than Ugly. :)

Its said to be the best handling hot hatch available today, if you believe what you read. Plenty quick too.

Looks great in yellow, IMO.

But its a point of fact that Megane reliability is terrible, and the UK dealer network worse than useless.

Its also a point of fact that residuals are worse than the reliability and no one with half an ounce of sense pays anything like list.

Bit like alfa used to be, but without the rust...

That's better. I guess I can put up with the risk of fragility (yet actually to be realised in my case) because I also run a Lotus Exige S and Alfa 159 Q4 3.2 V6. The car will not be worth less than £12,000 in 12/18 monoths, and a loss of £3,000 to £3,500 during that period really does not bother me.

I think renault can be hit and miss. So I wouldnt be too put off.

I ran a clio cup for over 3 years with no reliability issues whatsoever. More reliable than any scooby I have owned.

I ran a 182Cup and whilst was fairly lucky, reliability wise, my experience of the dealers was awful. They were rude, ignorant and knew nothing about their cars.

The car was a hoot to drive though! I;d go as far to say it was more fun than my Impreza Type R was. I was however glad that we had an Audi A3 for long journeys.

Steve