Renault megane R26

[C2james]

Hey, I'm looking at one of these for next year and really like them so was wondering if there are any owners on PH with one, I've read some good reviews on the car but would like to hear first hand what their like to live with and any known problems, my budget for next year will hopefully be upto £7k.

Thanks james

[framerateuk]

Check out Meganesport.net. Lots of info on the R26 there. Generally speaking though, they're pretty solid cars when not tuned up too far.

[warren182]

Few known elecrtic gremlins (window actuators come to mind).

[framerateuk]

And like most RenaultSports, make sure it's had the cam and aux belts changes at the correct intervals. Engines have been known to go bang if not done....

[SeanyD]

Ran an R26 F1 230 for a year or so until recently.

For: Sublime performance and handling for what it is, practical, lots of toys, excellent brakes, cheap to 'stage 1' tune.

Against: Average looking, expensive servicing, window regulator problems, very thirsty, high depreciation.

[Agoogy]

SeanyD said:

Ran an R26 F1 230 for a year or so until recently.

For: Sublime performance and handling for what it is, practical, lots of toys, excellent brakes, cheap to 'stage 1' tune.

Against: Average looking, expensive servicing, window regulator problems, very thirsty, high depreciation.

and sadly a mind numbingly dull interior.... I bloody love the Megane (that shape) the Renault Sport versions especially, even the DCi Sports...such a great exterior design....but just looks very very basic inside..(unless you have the R).
Still going to test drive one though, just to be sure I couldn't live with one....

[C2james]

SeanyD said:

Ran an R26 F1 230 for a year or so until recently.

For: Sublime performance and handling for what it is, practical, lots of toys, excellent brakes, cheap to 'stage 1' tune.

Against: Average looking, expensive servicing, window regulator problems, very thirsty, high depreciation.

Ok thanks for that, I don't think fuel will be too much of an issue but how much are the services out of interesting?

[SeanyD]

C2james said:

Ok thanks for that, I don't think fuel will be too much of an issue but how much are the services out of interesting?

I was getting around 20mpg, possibly up to 25 if very careful, that was mainly rush hour commute into city.

My last service was just under £1,600 (oil change, brake refresh, couple of tyres, drive shaft replacement)

[C2james]

SeanyD said:

I was getting around 20mpg, possibly up to 25 if very careful, that was mainly rush hour commute into city.

My last service was just under £1,600 (oil change, brake refresh, couple of tyres, drive shaft replacement)

fk! Might get a 197 Clio.

[LovelyTia]

Clio isn't that much cheaper.
£565 tyres & £800 service (that was the big one belts, pump and pulleys)
Normal service is anywhere from £250 upwards locally.
MPG is slightly better then the R26 but only slightly.

[C2james]

Hmmm, well at the moment the three cars I really like is the clio 182 trophy, Clio 197 or a megane r26.

[LovelyTia]

Maybe send out emails to local garages that specialise in renaultsports or even ones that specialise in renaults and ask for service prices for each of the following cars so you get an idea of the expense of each one.

Fuel wise the trophy will see you best for MPG. These hold their value well compared to 182s.
197 wise look at R27 as they have most of the options people want. Recaros and cup pack while being the non cup model so will hold value better.

I went through the same process when I went and brought mine.
it was 182/trophy, 197/R27 or 225/R26.
182/trophy was to go kart for me as I already had a mk3 fiesta with an engine transplant. So for daily it was no.
R26 was ruled out then as at the time didn't want a turbo because I prefer the feel of the NAs.
This is important you need to test both as they do feel different, so you may find you prefer to drive one more then the other.

So I ended up with a 197.

Its a case of sitting down, figuring out the use of it, how much space you need and what engine type you prefer

[C2james]

Cheers for that.

[IrateNinja]

I see from your profile you're in Hampshire, there's an R26 specialist located in Verwood called K-tec Racing. They have a pretty decent website as well which is worth a look.

They seem to be pretty well respected on the Meganesport.net forums, and my R26's last few reciepts (I've only recently bought it myself ) came from there.

[NISR227]

The two best specialists are K-tec as mentioned, and also RS Tuning in Leeds. A simple remap will get you upto 260bhp and nearly 290lb ft for £400 which is worth looking at.

The thing with the R26 is that it covers ground so damn easy when your not trying, the grip is high for a fwd, not just in the dry but even in the wet too, but the car is still raw enough if you want to work the chassis and gearbox and have some fun too, the lsd really pulls you into the apex more than any fwd has the right to. As said, drive one back to back with the 197/R27 and then make your decision on which one suits your driving style.

The R26 certainly gets over looked as a hot hatch because everyone jumps straight on the far more extreme R26.R version, but the normal R26 is a far better everyday B road car, especially with our recent wet weather in the UK.

[warren182]

I've seen the results of several cars K-tec have had their 'specialist' hands on. I wouldn't go there. South I would go to JMS (Uxbridge way iirc), midlands BTM (by birmingham airport), north use Birchdown or RS Tuning.

[IrateNinja]

warren182 said:

I've seen the results of several cars K-tec have had their 'specialist' hands on. I wouldn't go there. South I would go to JMS (Uxbridge way iirc), midlands BTM (by birmingham airport), north use Birchdown or RS Tuning.

Care to expand on that? Only I was going to book my R26 in there for the belts to be changed, PM welcome...

[Darren61]

I own one and can tell you that they are great to drive, fast and a brilliant chassis.nI must explain some myths that are flying about here re: servicing costs -

£300 full 72k style service
£300 2 tyres (Goodyear's)
£479 cam belt , water pump etc etc
MPG around 28 MPG (can easily achieve 30+)
Fuel - full tank of V-Power £70, lasting around 300 miles

They are cheap to run for the performance you get. You just need to avoid main dealers and find the specialists e.g. 519automotive in Bedford, Tour de Force in Cambridge, BTM in Birmingham and RStuning in Leeds. Simple really. Feel free to PM me with more questions.

[SeanyD]

Darren61 said:

I own one and can tell you that they are great to drive, fast and a brilliant chassis.nI must explain some myths that are flying about here re: servicing costs -

£300 full 72k style service
£300 2 tyres (Goodyear's)
£479 cam belt , water pump etc etc
MPG around 28 MPG (can easily achieve 30+)
Fuel - full tank of V-Power £70, lasting around 300 miles

They are cheap to run for the performance you get. You just need to avoid main dealers and find the specialists e.g. 519automotive in Bedford, Tour de Force in Cambridge, BTM in Birmingham and RStuning in Leeds. Simple really. Feel free to PM me with more questions.

My service price was not a myth, trust me I have receipts to prove it, but using your own figures, a typical 'real world' 72k run in with a garage involving service+cam belt+2 tyres = £1079, round it up to £1,100 or thereabouts by chucking in an MOT

Add to that a full set of discs and pads, which are likely to be due around that mileage, and you can see where my figure of around £1,600 easily comes from.

Admittedly that was with a main dealer as they're near to me, but I did get a hefty discount off the total bill.

MPG the killer seems to be using it as a daily hack during rush-hour stop-start traffic. When it was actually stretching its legs it could just about manage high 20's.

[Swifter]

I get 29mpg doing a 40 mile round trip everyday. This is very mixed driving with some stop start. Mine is also remapped to 265bhp and just short of 300lb ft. Thats a stage 1 from RS tuning in Leeds.

So fuel is really good for a car with this power.

My latest 50k/5yr service (which is when the belts should be done) was £818.
This included:
Millers oil
Coolant
Brake fluid change
Belts
Filters

Plus some other bits.

This was at RS tuning.

The normal yearly service is not expensive.

I will need a set of discs and pads soon all round. It has already gone through a couple of sets of pads.

Tyres - I seem to need two tyres every 12 months or so. Having said that these Pirreli's seem to be lasting a little longer than normal.