New Toy

Wucked

Wucked

Wucked

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19 Nov 2010
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Picking up a new toy next weekend, a Megane F1 R26. No pictures yet but I will post some after I collect it.

I actually went out to test drive an 07 plate Impreza WRX, but tbh I wasn't that impressed. The handling was really good, but the engine in standard form felt anemic with very little character. It was also much slower than I expected for a car with its reputation. Another criticism was that the drive train felt clunky, it felt, um, industrial?

So feeling slightly disappointed, just as I was about to leave, right at the back of the showroom at the same dealer I spotted the R26. On a whim I decided to take that for a spin as well. I was laughing out loud for the whole drive and bought it on the spot as soon as I got back. Really looking forward to picking it up and finding some quiet B roads now.
 
Was it just a WRX you drove or an STI? There's a big difference in how they drive so if it was just a WRX i'm not surprised you didn't like it as much.

Get some pics up of the new car, like anything renaulsport!
 
Standard WRX, book 0-60 is 5.something but it didn't feel that fast at all, more like 7.something tbh. And when I found out that MPG is low 20's and road tax is top band at ~£500 I nearly crapped myself. I read that the STi versions are nice, but I was still expecting more from the WRX.
 
Wucked said:
Standard WRX, book 0-60 is 5.something but it didn't feel that fast at all, more like 7.something tbh. And when I found out that MPG is low 20's and road tax is top band at ~£500 I nearly crapped myself. I read that the STi versions are nice, but I was still expecting more from the WRX.
Click to expand...

I've banged on about this so much in the past, but it is why 0-60 only tells you very limited info on a cars performance.

Best stat is 30-130, but not easily accessible, but most cars have 0-100 and 1/4 mile.

A perfect example is the two cars you drove:-
WRX: 0-60 in 5.4s, 0-100mph in 16.5s
R26: 0-60 in 6.4s, 0-100mph in 15s

So work it out the Megan goes from 60 too 100mph 2.5s faster, very noticeable.

In real world use the Megane is far quicker than the WRX which you've noticed. For me Imprezas and EVOs only feel awake when running 350+

Also remember 4WD has higher transmission losses.

Enjoy the Megan, superb cars. :)
 
Up until now I haven't been a track day kind of person, so accessibility is exactly why I don't feel 30-130 etc is that useful as a metric. Its just not applicable to daily driving.

The WRX though I'm at a loss to explain. Both cars produce the same BHP / PS but the Impreza claims to be the quicker car 0-60. So why does it feel significantly slower? Was it just my perception of the delivery? After all I've never driven a performance AWD car before... Anyway, I can understand why you say they only feel awake at 350+. This one didn't feel like it was even trying to be fast.

I'm really looking forward to collecting the Megane, it was so much fun even on a short test drive. Its a bit early but I'm even considering a remap for the extra grin factor.
 
Wucked said:
Up until now I haven't been a track day kind of person, so accessibility is exactly why I don't feel 30-130 etc is that useful as a metric. Its just not applicable to daily driving.

The WRX though I'm at a loss to explain. Both cars produce the same BHP / PS but the Impreza claims to be the quicker car 0-60. So why does it feel significantly slower? Was it just my perception of the delivery? After all I've never driven a performance AWD car before... Anyway, I can understand why you say they only feel awake at 350+. This one didn't feel like it was even trying to be fast.

I'm really looking forward to collecting the Megane, it was so much fun even on a short test drive. Its a bit early but I'm even considering a remap for the extra grin factor.
Click to expand...

The Megane is no doubt lighter, has different gearing, different turbo spooking characteristics and has fewer transmission losses.
 
I thought exactly that when I test drove an 06 Impreza STI, really didn't like it much, clunky and far too annoying to live with daily
 
Even the guy at the dealership didn't have allot nice to say about them, and he was trying to sell me one (although I guess not very hard). His opinion was that they were great for their time about 12 years ago, and better with the smaller 2.0L engines, but past it now and outdone by most modern hot hatches.

I've got to say though that the handling was really nice, spot on.. Just a shame about the rest of the car really.
 
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