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Megane RS 280 sport VS cup VS Trophy



A

ashleythe3rd

  Renault Clio
Hi everyone. I posted a while back about your opinions on different cars - I’ve decided (I think) that I’m going to stick with Renault and go for a 280 but with the normal ‘sport’ chassis - anyone got any experience with these? I did have a look for a Megane RS website but they seemed pretty dead.
Anyway, from my research, I think that although softer and obviously not as quick as the 300 - a 280 without the Cup chassis is going to be best for me - I need a bigger car than my current 220 Clio Trophy. Do you think I will regret not have 300bhp and the stiff chassis? The car I’m getting is a 19 plate with about 6k miles so fairly new. Some decent specs and 19 inch wheels. Any thoughts and opinions would be welcomed.
 
Clio_fool

Clio_fool

ClioSport Club Member
There were a few reviews that said the sport chassis was better on road than the stiffer Cup set up. Power wise I wouldn't worry either, a remap is only a few £££ away. I test drove 280 and thrphy both cup packed and pace wise they were both far too fast compared to my 182😂.
 
Ricardos

Ricardos

ClioSport Club Member
  LY 200 EDC
I had the 280 cup chassis, this gives you the red Brembo calipers, LSD, 10% stiffer dampers. As I knew it was going on track I wanted the Cup chassis. Apparently it's not as forgiving out on the road but with my history of modded cars it wasn't a deal breaker. Mapped saw it to 330bhp and 360ft/lbs.

I've also driven a Trophy 300, the biggest difference was the exhaust, it just sounds so much nicer. From the cold start fire up to the slightly more pronounced crackles it just makes you smile and let you know what you have but not in an over the top and ASBO way. I have to say though you won't go far wrong with a 280 with options ticked. Renault for what they are gives you a decent all rounder.... These will be the last of the petrol Renaultsport cars.

If you do buy it, ditch the Bridgestone tyres. The ONLY components that let the chassis down, no real feedback, they really are that bad. I went to Michelin and the difference even half a mile up the road from fitting spoke volumes.
DSC_0896~3-01.jpeg
 
GiT

GiT

ClioSport Club Member
  Shit little Yaris...
I've gone from a hard Clio 200 FF, to a soft Mondeo ST220, to a new Golf R, to 2 rock hard Pug 208 GTi BPS's to the Megane 280 Cup... it's hardish, but soft compared to the 208's.

I'd have another without a doubt.
 
Martin_172

Martin_172

ClioSport Club Member
cup chassis would be a must for me purely due to the LSD. Both for performance and resale, surely keen drivers looking for a hot hatch don't buy these without an LSD????
 
Darren S

Darren S

ClioSport Club Member
Ricardos said:
I had the 280 cup chassis, this gives you the red Brembo calipers, LSD, 10% stiffer dampers. As I knew it was going on track I wanted the Cup chassis. Apparently it's not as forgiving out on the road but with my history of modded cars it wasn't a deal breaker. Mapped saw it to 330bhp and 360ft/lbs.

I've also driven a Trophy 300, the biggest difference was the exhaust, it just sounds so much nicer. From the cold start fire up to the slightly more pronounced crackles it just makes you smile and let you know what you have but not in an over the top and ASBO way. I have to say though you won't go far wrong with a 280 with options ticked. Renault for what they are gives you a decent all rounder.... These will be the last of the petrol Renaultsport cars.

If you do buy it, ditch the Bridgestone tyres. The ONLY components that let the chassis down, no real feedback, they really are that bad. I went to Michelin and the difference even half a mile up the road from fitting spoke volumes.
View attachment 1542933
Click to expand...
I think these look great - pretty rare sight on the roads too.

Any idea of the numbers registered in the UK?
 
A

ashleythe3rd

  Renault Clio
Thanks for all your feedback - I think I read that article and it does suggest that the Sport chassis is better for roads. I do know what you mean about the resale though - at first, I wasn’t even entertaining the 280s; let alone one without the cup chassis. I just don’t want to be underwhelmed after having the Clio Trophy but I am hoping the extra 60hp makes up for that. It’s got Bose, heated seats, reverse camera and 19 inch black wheels - not sure if it’s got anything else. Ricardos - that car looks mint! Suppose I could get it mapped. The difference in price between 280 standard and Trophy seems about 3/4K but a lot of that is because of the age I think.
Hope you are all good!
 
Steve

Steve

ClioSport Club Member
  ST3 8.5
I have the identical car to GiT, my mate has the Trophy but he pays a lot more a month for it.
Also had the Clio Trophy for three years when they were fresh in 2006, Meg has the tech to come out on top, just ridiculous speeds without noticing.

8F28357C-D125-4EEF-911A-F6F62EAAF726.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Darren S

Darren S

ClioSport Club Member
Steve said:
I have the identical car to GiT, my mate has the Trophy but he pays a lot more a month for it.
Also had the Clio Trophy for three years when they were fresh in 2006, Meg has the tech to come out on top, just ridiculous speeds without noticing.

View attachment 1542970
Click to expand...
Bit of silly question given the obvious size difference - but does the Meg feel much bigger from behind the wheel, compared to the Clio Trophy?
 
gambit

gambit

ClioSport Club Member
  182 Trophy
What’s people options of the latest trophy 300? Worthwhile over the older trophy 300?
 
Rob G

Rob G

  172 Cup
I have a cup chassis'd 280. I would go as far to say as it is probably the best car i've owned!
Previous to the meg I had an S4 and a Leon Cupra 280. The megane just feels more special, like an actual hot hatch rather than a fast version of the cooking model!
 
L

Luca.smr125

  Clio 2 Ph2 K4J
Rob G said:
I have a cup chassis'd 280. I would go as far to say as it is probably the best car i've owned!
Previous to the meg I had an S4 and a Leon Cupra 280. The megane just feels more special, like an actual hot hatch rather than a fast version of the cooking model!
Click to expand...
There are 3 280‘s listed with EDC and one Cup chassis with a Manual. Are all cup‘s Manual? And is the manual gearbox good?
 
Rob G

Rob G

  172 Cup
Luca.smr125 said:
There are 3 280‘s listed with EDC and one Cup chassis with a Manual. Are all cup‘s Manual? And is the manual gearbox good?
Click to expand...
Mine is a manual, not sure if all cups are. I've got no complaints with the gearbox, I deliberately went for a manual as I don't do mega miles/track it so wanted the added engagement over the advantages of an EDC gearbox (plus cheaper maintenance is a bonus!)
 
L

Luca.smr125

  Clio 2 Ph2 K4J
Rob G said:
Mine is a manual, not sure if all cups are. I've got no complaints with the gearbox, I deliberately went for a manual as I don't do mega miles/track it so wanted the added engagement over the advantages of an EDC gearbox (plus cheaper maintenance is a bonus!)
Click to expand...
You think the gearbox can handle 400 hp? And whats the diffrence from a cup to a normal one? i read the suspension is diffrent?
 
L

Luca.smr125

  Clio 2 Ph2 K4J
Brigsy

Brigsy

ClioSport Club Member
  T.Turbo
Luca.smr125 said:
You think the gearbox can handle 400 hp? And whats the diffrence from a cup to a normal one? i read the suspension is diffrent?
Click to expand...
As far as im aware manual box is pk4 same as mk3 rs. Can handle 400 no problem.

Cup chassis is stiffer suspension and lsd etc. Essential.
 
T

T3gav

ClioSport Club Member
How do these compare to the MK3? I've been on the lookout for a mint mk3 but see a lot of nice mk4's popping up now.
 
L

Luca.smr125

  Clio 2 Ph2 K4J
Ricardos said:
Yep the same box as the MK3, mine was ok with 360 ft/lbs
Click to expand...
So whats the big diffrence between the 4 cars?
Megane 280
Megane 280 Cup : LSD, 10% Stiffer dampers and Red Brakes
Megane 300 Trophy: All the Cup stuff, Bucket Seats more Power
Megane 300 Trophy-R :All the stuff mentioned above+no rear seats another Hood+ RMonitor and other seeats?
Is that all. I think ill go with a Trophy, wanted a M140i PFL before but they cost like 30k in my area and a Meg 300 is cheaper and beats a M140 on the track.
 
Clio_fool

Clio_fool

ClioSport Club Member
Recaros we're an option on the trophy and after the 2020 face-lift (barely noticeable) the 280 became the 300 alongside the 300 trophy. The 280 without cup suspension rides a lot better than the cup / trophy imo.
 
Martin_172

Martin_172

ClioSport Club Member
Luca.smr125 said:
So whats the big diffrence between the 4 cars?
Megane 280
Megane 280 Cup : LSD, 10% Stiffer dampers and Red Brakes
Megane 300 Trophy: All the Cup stuff, Bucket Seats more Power
Megane 300 Trophy-R :All the stuff mentioned above+no rear seats another Hood+ RMonitor and other seeats?
Is that all. I think ill go with a Trophy, wanted a M140i PFL before but they cost like 30k in my area and a Meg 300 is cheaper and beats a M140 on the track.
Click to expand...
300 trophy would be my choice, the Trophy-R is very cool but looses everything that actually makes a mk4 meg nice to live with!, its 130kg lighter after ditching the 4control, rear seats, carbon bonnet, thinner glass etc etc

The facelift got the much nicer large screen dials and the newer infotainment setup (although I prefer the Rlink2 in the pre facelift personally!)

few videos on YouTube of the 280 and 300 side by side and it appears there isn't really anything in it performance wise so the 20bhp jump (probably 10 knowing Renaults) doesn't seem to make much difference

Would need to be a Cup/Trophy chassis car for me with the LSD

My daily driver is a MK4 Meg GT205 and its fantastic, can imagine a 280/300 EDC would be brilliant - I wasn't sure on 4control at first, feels really un natural, but now I'm used to it i love it and every car i drive feels like it just wants to understeer!
 
M.C..

M.C..

ClioSport Club Member
I have a facelift trophy EDC currently on 45k miles the suspension is fine for daily driving, the screen is much nicer than the pre facelift and it also has physical buttons for the heater controls.

I didn’t bother with recaros as it was standard with the alcantara heated seats (which are great) and they are comfortable and supportive, the recaros do look better but they are not the same base as the ones in the mk3 as they are flatter
 
L

Luca.smr125

  Clio 2 Ph2 K4J
Do the GPF cars only have a GPF and no cat.?
On other cars they have a Downpipe with cat. and after that a GPF? Is that the case too on the megane?
 
GiT

GiT

ClioSport Club Member
  Shit little Yaris...
Luca.smr125 said:
Im looking forward to buy a RS 280. I dislike the GPF Trophy/R.

How do you guys like the normal 4 RS to other cars?
Click to expand...
I'll be honest, the Megane RS 280 was brilliant. But completely forgotten everything about it after getting the Yaris.

It munched up Scotland, though!
 
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