Posted by Bill Thomas at 4:45PM on Thursday 20 September, 2007 4 Comments
I've devised a neat little experiment for the R26 - or Megane Renaultsport 230 Renault F1 Team R26 to give it its full monicker.
It goes something like this - Porsche, Lambo, Atom, R26, in quick succession. A five-minute blast over the same stretch of road in each, a combination of a couple of long straights, a couple of fast corners and some twisty stuff up and down a steepish, narrow hill.
Even after those three beasts as precursors, the Renault doesn't feel slow. Yep, after stepping straight out of a car that gets from a standstill to 100mph in under seven seconds, when you hit the throttle in that hot hatch you know you're in something rapid.
The Renault feels tall and upright after the others, naturally enough, the controls almost mystically light and easy to use after the workout of the Porsche, the car simple to place after the width of the Lambo and supremely civilised after the Atom - as you'd expect of any car with a roof and a body. But fast, too. Genuinely fast and most importantly, easy to use.
Go to the limit, keep it there, travel quickly, have fun. And all for £20k. Long live the hot hatch.
4 Comments for "Renault Megane R26"
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The big difference will be the drive trains. Porsches and Ferraris are rear wheel drive, so they do 100mph around a corner sideways. The hatch is front wheel drive, and last time I drove a hatchback it had a stupid amount of grip, with the ability to swing the back end out if needed simply by braking late.
So you get the benefits of rear wheel drive, but with grip, and the grip of 4 wheel drives with none of the predictable understeer. That's why the Megane doesn't feel slow - it is, just not round corners.
Having had my R26 for a few months now, and living in Germany, I can also open the car up when I'm on the Autobahn and confident it will stay with any car on twisty roads.
The car is the best car money can buy pound per PS and pure fun.Also if you shop around, you can get it well under the list price! Would love to read any tests etc on concerning the R26
Turbo, French and Renault!!! Sounds like a dangerous combination!!
Although it's a very nice car with nice steering, the dream don't last for ever!
Nice looking, fast and fun to drive. Fantastic. It would still be my number two hot hatch choice, although in my opinion, the Ford Focus ST is even better looking, and a lump better to drive.