Drivers Republic - Focus RS v Megane R26.R at Silverstone

[charlesholzy]

What a brilliant and informative review. Great work guys

[cumbas]

What are the FWD we are all the records on the most famous circuits in the world, Nurburgring, Okeineim, Le Mans, etc.. ??

in 2009 the time of this video : The Renault Sport MRS2 R26R quite simply ^^

And now in 2011 what is it ??

The Renault Sport MRS3 Trophy ^^

& second ? Always the "old" MRS2 R26R ^^

THUS OF COURSE IT DOESNT BE A SURPRISE to see a MRS2 R26R won vs a Focus RS in spite of the 230hp for the MRS2 R26R vs 305hp for the Focus !!

[cumbas]

Made & put a powerfull engine in a car is a very easy thing BUT made a real whole great Sport's car, all the brands dont know to made that

The French Brands know to made that, it are even Masters in this domain ^^

& here sorry for english ^^ but you see that & the French Power quite simply like in the WRC with "Citroën Racing", in the F1 with the Engine Renault Sport of the Red Bull F1 & The WC of "Le Mans Series" with "Peugeot Sport"

A PERFECT FRENCH RULES !! ^^ :-)

[ohrate]

It doesn't surprise me that the Megane won, i have an R26 and am a member of a local supercar club - it embarrasses a lot of expensive machines on the twisties of the peak district.

I just wish this reviewer hadn't spent so much time bouncing the .R off it's rev limiter. it would have been a lot quicker driven 'properly'

[JhonnycageZz11]

megane tuning..

[EscarepioSenior]

it has from standard continental sportcontact 3 and not sportcontact 2!!!!

[warwickstingray]

Strange comparison. A proper Hot hatch and a track day weapon. The renault is awesome but if you did all the same things to the focus? The R26R is not a hot hatch it lacks the practicality to be an everyday car so why is it even in with the hot hatch pack. I Drive a 182 so i'm not biased towards Ford but i really don't get the whole R26R thing really. I'd rather have had an Atom 220 as a track toy for the same money!

[CBirdieUK]

If you have ever been to a real track day, you'll notice the overwhelming number of renaultsports. Must be for a reason...

[TheHell666yeah]

Renault Sport power!!!

[dougal88]

Who cares if its a whole 3 seconds faster round a track, I think you would be mad to buy the Megane over the Focus. A hot-hatch is meant to be fast and fun to drive with no draw backs. The Focus is a great everyday car where as the Megane would be a terrible everyday car, the Megane ain't even got a radio. It's all good saying that you don't want a radio so you can listen to the engine and exhaust noise but imagine sitting in a traffic jam with it, you'd be extremely bored.

[Aliasify]

@dougal88 Agreed, a lot of people are saying the megane is a more focused car etc and thats the problem. If it was a second car then maybe the sotry would change, but if your going to have a car just for track day fun why buy a megane and not an elise or that kind of thing? If im honest, it would be cheaper and a lot more rewarding to build your own track focused megane turbo AND it would have a radio.

[EscarepioSenior]

@dougal88 you're absolutly right!! who gives such money for a car and not even a radio!! and the plastic windows, and no back seats!!!!!!!! focus is fast, safe, confortable and practical, a car for the track and for everyday use.

[sax0joe]

Both good cars ultimately the more focused car is quicker.

Focus didn't stand a chance even with the gazzillion horsepower difference.

[beaky1706]

imagine if that rs was track specced! imagine what it would do to that renault

[foxtrotfoxtrotsierra]

Always an amusing arguement on each and every vid on youtube to do with the RS and the megane.

Remember that the Focus is still a focus, seats 4 people (not 5 as it has no middle seatbelt, well mine doesnt anyway), takes a load of shopping and has all the creature comforts. If you stripped out the focus of all its amenities and then put them up against eachother, i am sure that they would put in almost exactly the same lap time. I have driven the megane sport and its not as solid as the focus

[si30leeds]

I like this but you don't get to see the maximum g i.e in the corners. Every time a bend is encountered the timing 'stack' with the g meter cuts away. Why would i want to know the g force on the straight?

[danielcrawford1991]

i dont care if it won its still a french car lol :/

[jcreedy20]

Another Auto car biased review. They love renault.

[santclause1]

@jcreedy20. Biased. no just a smack in the mouth truth.

[jcreedy20]

@santclause1 Your probably rite actually, ford have been shite since they dropped cosworth the stoopid idiots. A shadow of there former selves. Well atleast in the world of performance anyway. With the exception of that fiesta pikes peak, and even that lost to the suzuki.

[cliolord]

I find this quite funny. Most of you havent driven either of the cars I bet and I'd be sure that 95% of you havent driven both. Gotta be pretty gutting for all the Ford followers out there to have a rattly french car lay down a considerably faster time than the focus. Yes the Focus has a voice activated stereo now who really wants that? Now I wouldn't mind either car as I have become rather fond of the focus, but this has proved yet again that Renault can deliver some NIPPY motorcars regardless

[5cmpersec]

This guy is hitting the limiter a lot on the Megane... Both are great cars, built for vastly different aim. Always a fan of light weight car built for handling. Wish they offer the Megane R26R in the US.

[theprodicalsonishere]

EVO tested both around the bedford autodromes west circuit. Megane r26.r managed 1.27.8 to the focus RS 1.30.8. to put this into perspective a Lotus Elise supercharged did it in 1.27.7, the porsche Boxter S 1.28.1 and subaru impreza wrx STI in 1.30.2, the golf GTI mk6 did it in 1.32.4 which is fair for a car thats much heavyer and less powerful then contempory rivals.

[moorsy88]

Could he be any more boring?

[filipzanetic]

r26r looks like fucking racing car and it have optimal bhp. 300 (focus) is a bit to much for fwd

[liveforspeed08]

i love both of those cars too many people claim you cant have fun in a fwd car but the are great fun if you know wat to do with them. i wish ford would bring out a track version of the rs with the bucket seats and half cage would be amazing fun

[JDpetrolhead]

How many times does he want to hit the limiter in the  Megane? Bit sloppy!

[beaky1706]

@JDpetrolhead sometimes its better to hit the limiter

[sirrom999]

Lotus have already showed the world power isn't everything and that weight and tyres make massive improvements to a cars performance. At the end of the day the r26r is a fantastic track car but that's what it is a track car, so putting the new rs against a car built for the purpose is pointless as the focus is still a car designed to pick the kids up, call in at the super market, and yet still get round the track a few seconds slower than the hardcore track weapons should the mood take you.

[DolleHengst]

The new Megane RS (doesn't have a roll cage or plastic windows) is comparable to the Focus RS. The Focus is a bit faster, but also more expensive, and the Renault is a bit more comfortable. Also, the Megane Coupe shape is nice. But that's my opinion.

These cars here are both great cars. Stop arguing which car is "best". If you want the best (overall) car for this money, buy a Mercedes-Benz E-class!

[jamesrossceller]

Jesus Christ u drive like my nan

[gromit37]

So many fanboys of either car are missing the point. Which is to find out if the extra power/torque of the Ford can offset the light weight and grip of the Renault on the track. They are not comparing them in terms of comfort, best stereo, depreciation, reliability or anything else. If only people would put their brains in to gear before opening their mouths :-(

[JJMetalMad999]

Does anyone know how reliable both cars are? As far as I know Renault have always been un-reliable. What about the R26R? Ive got an older shape Focus RS and have had minor problems.

[G8H]

Try the test again in the WET and lets c how the renault does then ?? Not so good them toyos eh eh eh

[gromit37]

Toyo 888 are an optional extra, as is the roll cage. And there's nothing to stop people putting track day tyres on their Focus either.

[CaptainMav]

why not race a lotus exige against a Merc S55AMG cause they have a similar 0-60 time? same thing, shit comparison! ford every day of the week take that lightweight heap of crap back over the channel and keep it there!

[blueledconversion]

The Title is wrong canmge to

Drivers Republic - Focus RS v Megane R26.R stripped out track car

[jambouk9]

Shhhh RS, The R26R is just a class above, even with it being stripped out it's a nicer place to be than the plasticy Ford and you can still fit a double-din stereo, the car shown even had aircon!!!

[blueledconversion]

what do you mean stripped out theres nothing to strip out apart from plastic more plastic and then plastic!

Another undrivable/usable Renault

[mjonathan24]

in three years that megane will be worth ten pence... the focus 17k. We all know the focus is a better car and just to add to this the driver in the video was rubbish.

[RUKOllie]

dont talk shit have u even drove the r26r eh? after all the focus is only a ford

[blueledconversion]

hay dick a ford is just a ford what do you think a Renault is could it possibly be a Renault or is it a Bentley erm let me think!

[blueledconversion]

Ford has heritage Renault have gold wheels and reault 5 quality street tins

[kujon69]

@mjonathan24 hahaha i'm reading this comment at the end of 2011 and i'm having a fun of my life. R26R's are worth tons of money now. they tend to be more expensive than a brand new megane rs and some even more expensive than a brand new focus rs.

[sgilberthgt]

the r26r is all most a race car, the rs is a daily drive car (stereo, ac, etc etc...)

[XanDer026]

That's why i love the RS so much and i agree with your comment

[manoftim]

r26r is just to awsome:)

[stitcha123]

i happen to think cars like the megane play into better and more skilled drivers, but the focus rs makes you feel like agrea driver even when ur not. same reason an r5 was better than a 205 gti. the 205 in the right hands was incredible. but u cud just be a hooligan in the r5 and love it.

[hopono1]

just to add, ford did some secret testing at the ring with r888's on the focus a while back, and it was still 9 seconds slower than the meggy.

[hopono1]

lol at the old argument of the megane being sstripped, if you wanna strip the ford then lets make it fair and map the meggy to 300bhp, most ford fans cant understand how things go quick round corners, straight line heroes and even 0-120 the meggy is quickr as top gear proved ;), the rs is just a heavy overrated ford once agaiin, not bad for 40year old chavs who want to look good on their councill estate with a bright green bodykitted ford and pub figures like 300bhp :).

[kezman82a]

I am a happy owner of a RS. I like it better then my last car bmw M3 E46 SMG2 -05, thats for sure. Much more fun. The RS is90% as fast straight forward. And 130% as fast in the bends.

[drifte1987]

all you ford lovers can do is moan... SHUT UP FOR A CHANGE AND ENJOY, LIFES TOO SHORT!!!!

[warwickstingray]

Also i feel that comparing a stripped out renault on track day tyres to a full fat ford just goes to show how good the ford is. I bet the Fords gearing is more biased towards a road car as well! Lets see this again with a stripped out track focused RS. Not a fair comparison at all this really. Renault make damn good cars but i personally would still have the RS because the potential for a track version of this car is huge.

[warwickstingray]

They really need to do a comparison with the RS at least on the toyo's. Not to say the R26 is not a good car it is but my own experiences with track day tyres over even the best roads tyres is that they make a big differance. You can't do much about the engine being heavier but better tyres would help. Does anyone know what compound the toyos are? Again this makes a big differance.

[TomekLeeChan]

Sloppy driver, he oversteer Focus RS too much.

[Stealthmw]

you would think that with all that money ford spent on the fancy suspenssion they could of made it 4WD or RWD i hate any performance car with FWD

[ahpadt]

They tried 4WD but it was too heavy and would make the car too expensive. Also, they found out that the car handled more to their liking with FWD.

RWD hatch = twitchy

[TheWitchfinderGenral]

Cobblers - Audi, Subaru, VW and Mitsubishi all do equivalently powered, similarly priced, 4WD hatches and saloons with pace. Why not Ford?

[frankpt]

Renault Sport..... no more to say!!!!

More faster and beautifull!

[skfalco]

R26R born for the track =) ja-ja i own a r26 byt he way great car, cupras, focus ST, GTIs etc cry...

[tn21beer]

Renault thought they were going to steal fords thunder with this, simply hasnt worked, the focus already has a massive waiting list, ive seen them selling for 35k in top spec.

[geordie2001]

God knows why .. you can get such a better car for the money.

[sspope]

You're so wrong. R26.R is a limited edition so no.

[tn21beer]

not limited enough, they cant sell the fuckers.

[sspope]

??????

[geordie2001]

People moaning about the megs having semi's on .. Tune the R26r like the focus is then? Megs would still win ... Cars are tested off the production line. The Megs wins.. Simple FFS! Both cars are over 25k ain't they?? Why would you spend that when you can get an evo? lol I have r26 btw.

[launchini100]

It is not ilegal but INMORAL to compare two cars one on semi slicks and the other on street tyres

[tn21beer]

Focus already has a massive waiting list... the R26R isnt selling and you can already get discounts.

[PSAXU10J4RS]

Two great cars, but Renault is the best in my opinion! =) Renault Sport is a very incredible!

[wallaboks]

I have a R26R.Just absolutely magic . I am French and I have been in contact with some Renault sport poeple . They explained me that they have some patents on the front chassis that Ford just tried to copy.

But the copy is never as good as the real one...Ford has never beaten the R26R on the ring despite 75 hp more.. Renault sport poeple told me that the next megane RS will be even better, let alone the next R29R

[sspope]

Ford isn't trying to copy OMFG, it's completely different car and it continues the legacy.

[saxoryan]

The Megane's dissadvantage is its 60bhp, so im sure you can allow its toyo888's..........its also 5/6k cheaper and far more rare on the road.

I would like to see a R26 Vs focus Rs

[launchini100]

Me too, but both cars on semi slicks !, no tricks

[ActionHeinz]

Agree with the tyre difference...

In a german magazine they drove semi slicks on the RS. The handling improved a lot. Clearly visible if you look at the (tested) accerleration:

0-62 with stock tyres 6.1 sec

0-62 with semi slicks 5.7 sec

So if a car accelerates 0.4 secs quicker to 62, the handling in corners should improve significantly

[Prob1em]

@ActionHeinz so, they should remaped or something with megane to reach 300bhp?!?!? The point is that both cars are great, focus looks way better, but megane holds fwd world record on ring :D

[bustawhitey86]

what if the megane had 300bhp then byebyb yebeybeyebeyebeybe rs

[launchini100]

Do not change the cars, just put same class of tyres, semi slicks gives several seconds !

[xr2badboy]

who says the chassis will be able to take that power, take abit of weight off the rs like air con and other luxury's and put some better tyres on then it would be.....BYE BYE megane

[r19txi]

MEGANE el mejor en circuito!.

Estoy esperando el Megane III RS para comprármelo... *

Total, con lo que te compras una mierda A3.. jaja

[KuziWrc]

Shitty test... I don't understand why Megane is driving on Toyo R888 and the Focus on normal tires... That is funny for me that the were measuring time with so big difference on grip. I would agree with their test when they will be driving on the same tires and in that case Focus will eat Megane

[samsemtex]

because the megane comes with those tyres

[johnjackson12]

i agree, both cars were tested as if they had just rolled off the production line hence why the focus rs doesnt have the toyo tyres.

The focus was designed with comfort in mind for the real word like air con, the megane R26R was built for the track and it really shows in this video. It may be quicker than the rs round this track but you have to live with no radio, no rear seats and plastic windows ;) depends what you want to you a car for really lol

[fercitowow]

The Megane exhaust system sounds so Sweet!

[xr2badboy]

good but not as good as the focus... in my oppinion

[trevorcossie]

well the new vxr-r will piss all of them

[xr2badboy]

lol no need to lie on here

[fercitowow]

The Megane exhaust system souds so Sweeet!

[fercitowow]

Meggy is the KING

[saxoryan]

EvolutionBunny, Bring on a Remap for the Megane R26.R ;)

[patrickhl2]

Arriba meganeeeeeeeee!!!

[heckogress]

the driver forgot to mention the ESP button which turns of all the limiters on the R26r which turns it into a lethal machine in the right hands.

[svtwrc]

i believe both cars cost the same. Problem is i live in america and cant buy either. If i were to choose, the RS focus would be it. I could not see my wife and i going to the store with a six -point harness on.

[hondacar]

Where's the Golf GTI?

The GTI is the great allrounder so it should easily dispatch both the Megane and Ford RS?

[Tyvan32]

LOL douche...No

[hondacar]

Hey everyone, I was being sarcastic :)

[sh4rk51]

The driver hits the limiter almost half of his gear changes when he drives the R26R...

[christhespark1970]

Bet they turned the rev limiter down so he didn`t break it.

His driving is about as good as his commentary!

[TangoR34]

Don't judge both cars based on this video. The R26 is stripped out and set up for the track w/ sticky tyres for goodness sake. The RS is completely different and by the way I look at how the RS oversteers it will eat the R26R alive with a more twistier track. I don't how much the R26R costs but IMO even if the R26R is cheaper and about 2 seconds ahead, the RS is still a better buy with day to day practicality and extra 80PS to play with.

Of course, track guys would prefer the R26R no doubt.

[Covren1]

Bla bla bla ,Megane is the serial best hot hatch!!!

[am643989]

I think we all know what each car is designed to do....Its just that in this video it shows both cars on the track ...in which case the rs loses.....

hmmm i think a standard r26 on track would give the focus a run for its money too.....!!!!

[Rassie34]

This presenter can't even drive....see how he misses the corners....get the Stig to give it a go and the meg will break the Focus(VOLVO) by even a bigger margin.

[haloaum]

you are such a dumb arse, just read a few of your comments and it shows how you dont have a clue..

Megane R26 is a track orientated car

Focus RS is a road going racer

Megane R26 is lighter and has track tuned suspension and semi slick rubber so on the normal roads its very hard to drive fast.... so basically its only good to drive fast on racetrack

Focus RS is tuned to be a good track car and also easy to drive fast on surfaces that arent as smooth as a race track.

GET IT ??

[EvolutionBunny]

Agreed, the Meg might have be lighter to bring up the power-to-weight (ptw) and the focus more power to up the ptw, but this doesn't make up for the semi's. They need to test the RS again with semi's then only can we see accurate results, isn't the Semi's an optional extra on the R26.R? Why not do the test with a std vs std (ie no options vs no options). Just the bare cars.

Besides, the focus has a better power band than the R26.R so in terms of daily driving it will be a pleasure to drive fast.

[EvolutionBunny]

And let's not forget, the Focus RS actually sounds like a car, not like somebody blowing through a vuvuzela like the R26.R

[EvolutionBunny]

One last thing... what was the top speed of the R26.R straight... thanks to better acceleration of the RS it managed a 120/121 mph and the R26.R only 117 mph.... so bring on the semi's for the RS!!

[Airox2009]

Those semis will give the car an advantage of about 1,5-2 seconds max. The R26-R is still faster.

[ahpadt]

The Focus is a road car and the Megane is a track car. The Focus would eat the Megane for breakfast once they left the track.

[Rassie34]

I'm sure you didn't sleep well buddy...the Focus (VOLVO) engine was beefed up already....lets map the R26.R enigine with some RSTUNING slap on a bigger turbo, intercooler and work the induction like they did on the Focus RS and the Meggy will be a monster. On track and of track.

[RenaultSport133]

@ahpadt lol Focus RS cant even compete with newest Megane RS , how the hell would he compete with something 300kg lighter and with semi slick tires?!

[MTC0316]

@RenaultSport133

your username already show you're a fanboy

[RenaultSport133]

@MTC0316 Yea , you got that right -.- , honestly I dont even like Renaults , infact I hate em , but RenaultSport cars are whole new story , they are the best bang for the buck and thats a fact , if I had more money I would consider something RWD and Japanese ...

[danielcrawford1991]

@ahpadt the focus isnt a road car its a rally car big difference mate :)

[am643989]

If the ford had this, if the ford had that......boo hoo hoo!!!......r26r rules.....focus rs is just a more tuned up st...with a rip off of Renaults suspension.....and calling it revoknuckle......i think even the new 250 megane will give the focus rs a good battle on the ring....

[syxxsyxxsyxx]

I love the Megane but that Focus RS is something special. Give it some sticky rubber and i BET it will beat the Megane by a few seconds. You have to remember the Focus is on standard road tyres. Strip the Focus RS completely and the Megane will be left behind for damn sure.

[Rassie34]

You are still not comparing apples with apples. so the meg is lighter and comes with semi's...but the ford is stronger and had all its goodies...so it should be even....still not the Meg will be on top of the ford everywhere because it's a well thought through purpouse built hot hatch....not a halfbreed Volvo - Ford combination attempt.

[Rassie34]

So if the FRAUD is such a hot hatch why didn't Ford built it to be the ultimate hatch. With all the goodies like the Meggie.

You need a 2.5lt 5 cyl to chase a 2lt 4cyl...hahahahaha

[Mx6Fan]

haha ! ugly duck vs shark

if the focus had semi tyres it would erase the megane :)

[joaosv]

the focus beats the megane in the track Ring,8 seconds.

[Rassie34]

In your dreams buddy...I wanna see the FRAUD do a 8min 17 sec around the ring.

[joaosv]

i wanna see too, the real time at the ring.

[Airox2009]

I`m sorry, but already the R26 F1 was a beast and killed all its fwd competition on the track. The R26-R is clearly in a class of its own. Renault is today the best hot hatch manufacturer by far.

[GTRnev8820]

well all RS need toyo 888 and some

carbon parts or so

[EvolutionBunny]

Agree with the Toyo R888's, but not the CF though.