Hi guys,

I'm thinking about getting a second car for the weekend as the my fabia vRS is now the work donkey.

I'm looking for a hot hatch with a budget of around £8-9000. It will be used on track a bit as well. I had looked at FN2 types R's but they didn't seem that special on the test drive.

Just wondering if anyone could share information on the R26. Cheers guys.

Stephen.

A lad I work with has one, it's about 280 BHP goes well but it's always broken! Said he's spent like £4000 fixing it in like 18 months!

A lad I work with has one, it's about 280 BHP goes well but it's always broken! Said he's spent like £4000 fixing it in like 18 months!

It's a Renault :(

They are nice to look at and they go pretty well but the build quality is shocking and there will be electrical issues, I've had a 5gt turbo a clio 182 and the 225 megane, and they all caused me trouble, 8 or 9k would be better spent on a leon cupra r imo.

Electrical gremlins and failed sensors will take you to your grave. More steering feel on a milk float. Its like Tottenham, everything looks like it should be fantastic but the end product is woeful.

as matey suggests above a cupra R is a good shout, mk5 golf gti also worth it

Cheers guys, I did some research on rs megane forum last night and they say there nor that bad for reliability as there made in a different factory to normal Renaults.

Any VAG car is out. I find them quite boring now. The Renault came with 4 pot brembos and a LSD which would have been nice. Any more suggestions?

Cheers stephen

Speaking only from the view-point of someone who owned one, he was incredibly frustrated with the amount of reparation it required on a seemingly regular basis. I guess there may be exceptions to rules and all that. Speaking in defence of the Mk5 Golf GTi it was far better than I ever imagined it would be. 

 

 If you're not interest in VAG then it leaves the choices of an Astra Sporthatch VXR or a Focus ST, I know the latter has quite a following. Mazda3 MPS, still some nice Evo 6/7s about and modern GSRs are brisk if not lightning fast. BMW M3s are plentiful, M5s findable and there is of course the Subaru angle.

 

 You do seem pretty set on an R26 so maybe that's the itch that needs to be scratched? If its occasional use then it shouldn't matter too much about the reliability on a daily basis.

Mini Cooper S john cooper works?

My mate loved his. Wishes he'd never sold it so is after one for a bit of fun through the winter.

He has GTR's in the summer

It's interesting that you should post this as I've been looking at the R26 R again recently.  Not to buy just yet but I'm keeping my eye on their prices as it's a car I've always liked the look of.  When I had the vRS remapped at RS Tuning in Leeds, they had just come out and Paul the owner had got one brand new from a local dealership.  It looked amazing in the sun and I made a sort of promise to myself to have one at some point in the future.  Trouble is they still fetch £20k for a good one so I'll be waiting a while yet.

 

I chatted to him about the Meganes and their reputation as a troublesome car.  He reckoned that the reputation was a bit unfair as he worked on lots of them.  He agreed that if you got a bad one then it could bring you nothing but pain & sorrow.  On the other hand he knew of people that had enjoyed trouble free motoring and couldn't fault them. 

 

If you are interested there's a recent article from Pistonheads about the Megane with a brief run down of the models over the years.

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=30854

 

Cheers,

 

Andrew.

 

p.s. I agree with Sparks, if it's a scratch that needs to be itched then do it!  I had a similar desire but for an overpowered, fuel heavy, eyewateringly expensive tax family barge.  I don't regret taking the plunge as every day I get to enjoy my drive to work and back. :clap: