probably a stupid question!

[djbenny1]

first of all hi! my first post ;D

second, im seriously considering a megane!

my first car was an 01 clio 1.2 16v dynamique in navy, then i had a toyota yaris t sport, then a toyota mr2 roadster which recently met an untimely demise (by recently i mean sunday) so now insurance is going to rape me on renewal and i need something that is:

a) easy on the eye
b) easy on the wallet (to buy and run - insurance, fuel, tax etc)
c) VERY easy to sit in for long journeys

now i know that i like the look of the megane, the 3 door in black i love! i see a lot of blue though and its a shame they dont colour code the bumpers
but anyway it will definitely be a diesel i get. so i am deciding between 1.5 dci or 1.9 dci. which brings me to my first question...

for example there are 1.5 dci [80] with several versions up to 1.5 dci [106]; same goes for the 1.9
my question is, are these just remapped versions of the exact same engine?

if that was the case i would get the 1.9 [90] and remap to 120 if it were possible, but i doubt its that simple!

second thing is how comfortable is the car? to be honest i dont remember ever having any comfort problems in the clio for comfort as it had the sporty seats etc, except maybe the ride height - how do you guys find the megane? consider im now used to a convertible mr2 where you sit about a foot off the ground

third thing, hows the reliability? i know the parkers review says "less than perfect reliability", which would put a doubt in anyones mind! but you guys are the owners, so whats it like really? i would probably go for an 03/04 model, most likely the dynamique 1.5/1.9 dci. any major issues?

finally, how easy is it to get some ripspeed alloys and a set of neons on? maybe a ripspeed exhaust and some xenons from halfords? i read you have to take the wheel off to get at the bulbs so i could change the bulbs and get some 22" bad bois on at same time

cheers

last question was a joke

[MéganeDynamique]

22" wheels on a Mégane, oh my god!

Well, I have a 2.0 16v Dynamique, with 17" alloy wheels and I would not go any higher as the ride would get really crashy and spoil the supreme comfort!

For long journeys, the Mégane is perfect. The ride is typically french and soaks up all the bumps with ease. As for the seats, mine has the optional Black Leather, which is really comfortable, but i've driven a few with the standard Dynamique cloth interior and it's just as comfortable. The seat adjusts for height as well, so don't worry about that.

As for the 1.5 and 1.9 dCi. The most important thing to note is that the 1.9 has a six speed gearbox, the 1.5 only has a 5 speed so if you will be doing the long journeys get the 1.9 dCi. As far as I know, the 1.9 dCi 90 is very very hard to come by. The 120 HP version is everywhere, and it was later upped to 130.

As for reliability. Early cars had plenty of issues, most of which came up when the car was still in warranty, so everything should be fine. Mine is 2003, I've had it since February and nothing wrong yet! Also, I don't think Méganes respond very well to having their engines messed with, so just go for the 1.9 dCi 120 and leave it alone!! However, I know that turbos blowing is a common issue with the diesels which is why I went for the 2.0 petrol.

Good luck!

[direstraits]

...the 1.5 only has a 5 speed so if you will be doing the long journeys get the 1.9 dCi.

The 1.5 dci with 106HP has a six-speed gearbox. Consumption is lower, and the ride is a little bit slower than in a 1.9 dci.

[djbenny1]

as stated i was joking in the last paragraph

reason i would go for a 1.9 [90] if i could get one is that they are so much cheaper to insure, about £350 at LEAST difference for me as ive lost all my no claims so its pretty considerable difference! thats why i ask if the 90 and 120 are just the same engine on different maps.

i have read that some people on here have had remaps and they are fine so far

[Toodeep]

But when you remap the engine and get straight on the phone to your insurer to let them know they'll probably hit you for more than if you'd had the more powerful standard engine.

[Stranger]

1.5 dCi (106) would be my advice and go for as new as you can, post 2005 models were more reliable afaik.

Ride is great

They do colour code the bumpers it depends what spec and year it is however, iirc they didn't colour code black ones.

Review here

[djbenny1]

im sure this has been asked a million times, but when exactly did renault finally fix all the problems that plagued the early megs??

i read that in 2006, the megane was ninth most reliable car in the uk (but im not sure what age cars it included) but i know that in the same ranking in like 2004, the megane was near the bottom! so im assuming it was probably 2 year old cars or so.

anyway what i want to know is were all the problems fixed by 2004?? i know that there are always going to be cars with problems in any range, but when did renault fix all the niggles?

i am looking at 2004 megane 1.9 dci 120's

thanks

[djbenny1]

anyone know the answer to this please?? im looking at buying in next couple of days

[Stranger]

As I mentioned above afaik post 2005 models were more reliable, that's not to say that they didn't have any problems but I am fairly sure that important things like the turbo oil flow was sorted on the diesels.

[djbenny1]

thanks

i think what ill do is just wait until i find one in a dealership and then make sure it comes with a warranty!

ill let you know how i get on