Help me Decide - Mazda or Renault

[Zaphrox]

Hi Guys

I currently have the Mazda RX8 high power but have seen the Renault Megan F1 Edition and I can't make up my mind if I should go for the Megan or should I keep my car. What do you guys think...?



OR

[Firestrm_ZA]

Having driven both, on a few occasions. The Rx8 is fast make no mistake.... and comfy..... the renault is just plain brutal in all departments.... i like stiff suspension and eff off fast turbo spool.... the turbo noise outta the F1 version is enough to get my vote

[Tribble]

I drive a Renault and love it - but looking at the pic of the Mazda, and going on looks alone, I would stick with that one. But then I am a girl and know nothing about cars

[Frozenfireside]

The Mazda is great but high fuel consumption is a bit of a problem.
I think for the same money you could get a 350Z.

I don't like French car reliability-Renault and so on finish quite low down in the JD power survey.

Ever considered a Ford Focus ST?

[thealluseless]

i would avoid the renault, they seem to de-value fast and parts are a nightmare if you ever need them.
I imagine the consumption on your mazda at the moment is pretty high but i reckon it is a far better package over all than the renault.

What are u really looking for? Yeah the Focus St is a nice alternative (and i love them....), but maybe look at an A3 or even hold out for the Focus RS?

[Screeper]

I'm not sure the Focus ST is in the same class as the other two. They are another 'step-up' in my eyes.
Both the Mazda and the Renault de-value badly, they are performance cars and are not driven by little old ladies, so every dealer/buyer knows that whoever owns it certainly didn't just use it to drive softly to the corner shop and back.

I saw the Renault at the JIMS, I liked it a lot. But what Frozen said about the JD survey is worth noting, Renault didn't fare to well in it.

[maxxis]

My brother had the F1 for a short while and withing the first 2 days the key card slot broke causing the key to get stuck and no way to lock the car for a whole weekend until Renault could assist on monday. Not exactly safe.

The car on the other hand is brutal and incredible to drive. High consumption also and the interior leaves quite a bit to be desired.

Otherwise its a brilliant car.

My money is on keeping the RX8 or getting a Focus ST.

[Mow]

My Vote :

Stay away from renault . Get the 08 bodykit for your mazda( if you dont have the o8 model) and sit back knowing you have a superior car.

[Frozenfireside]

or even hold out for the Focus RS?

Mega awesomeness of incredible power and speed. Lovely car.

Code: Select all

first 2 days the key card slot broke causing the key to get stuck

Yeha my next door neighbours renault key thing broke and the coils for the engine.
It's R2k for the key alone.

Get the 08 bodykit for your mazda and sit back knowing you have a superior car.

If your car is junk-get a body kit. It makes it superior.LOL Joking. I know what you meant-superior over the Renault.

Also the ride in the French thing is harsh-read a review on it a while ago.

[beerman]

Take it from an ex-Renault owner:

Lovely car, BUT once things start going south as they always do, you'd hate having a Renault. Worst service (I tried a few dealerships!), coupled with EXCEPTIONALLY poor 2nd hand value requires you to walk WIDE circles around it! And by WIDE I mean W-I-D-E. I also have Renault-driving colleagues that moan about the same thing - so it's not just me! These SA Renault okes can't maintain the cars - simple as that!

To give you an idea ... I paid R180k for mine, after 2 years I had to sell it as it was constantly switching off whilst driving and no one could fix. The bext offer I received was R75k for it! The others offered my R55 - R60k. Over and above that, if you want to speak to their MD about the crap service, you get told that he does not speak to customers!

Go check out hellopeter.com if you don't believe me and see the amount of complaints the receive!

[Mow]

Frozenfireside,

Obviously the man cares about the way his ride looks. The 2008 Mazda has a much sportier(read aggressive styling) kit , thats all .

[Frozenfireside]

My moms Volvo V70 T5 which was R280k 2nd hand is now worth R45 000. That's not a lot.

[Pinkfluffybunnys]

I have a friend that has a RX8 with a HKS exhaust system and AEM intake

That car sounds amazing but to be brutally honest it will have a hard time pulling away from a modded STI Saber. I love the whole rotor experience but the thing starts like a Harvit and uses as much fuel.
Any motor that injects oil into the intake system needs a good revision in my eyes. If you had a RX7 FD I would say keep the car but an RX8 I would change for something boosted that’s more fuel economical.

I would look at a ST or Renault Megan F1 Edition

[Frozenfireside]

....REALLY? A Renault F1? Damn man where did that come from? It's not like it's half the choice in this thread or anything. Sorry. Dickhead mode disabled.

[po10cy]

which is why he suggested the car he would chose out of the options...

[SBSP]

Any motor that injects oil into the intake system needs a good revision in my eyes.

Is it not supposed to do that ? whether its a Rotary or Normal engine.

Dont meant o get technical as i have limited knowledge on this.
It dapms the air a bit so its not too dry, hot and burn the valves ?
Ive even heard its supposed to be like that by law, cus the oil fumes are poisonous, so it gets pushed into the air intake
to get burned away.


Edit sorry the above is off topic.

I like the Mazda more

[GreyWolf]

ok, forget the french car. I really like the looks, and performance is good. HOWEVER! like people have said, service is kaak. And forget fixing it yourself. For some reason french automobile manufacturers invent complete new tool sets for each new model they make (an exaggeration I know, but maintenance requires a LOT of specialised tools. trust me).

also, forget anything boosted. myself and all my closest friends have been down that route, and it is NOT worth the pain and hastle. The more complicated a system is, the more likely something goes wrong.

my vote is RX8. why would you want to buy anything else when you have such an awesome and unique vehicle in you garage?

you want more power? you can release something like 30% more power from that engine JUST BY CHANGING THE EXHAUST AND INTAKE!

[Frozenfireside]

I still love my dads Supra. 2L in-line 6 twin turbo. R60K but looks good, goes ok, easy to maintain with parts costing the same as a Corolla and fun.

[Pinkfluffybunnys]

Is it not supposed to do that ? whether its a Rotary or Normal engine.

Dont meant o get technical as i have limited knowledge on this.
It dapms the air a bit so its not too dry, hot and burn the valves ?
Ive even heard its supposed to be like that by law, cus the oil fumes are poisonous, so it gets pushed into the air intake
to get burned away.

Sorry for the off topic guys please dont flame me

You are thinking of a PVC system that found on piston driven cars, The rotors have a system that meters the intake of oil to lubricate the rotor in the housing as all rotors themselves don’t seal to well and need oil to help build compression that’s why most if not all big name rotor cars out there also throw in two stroke oil into there fuel to increase and stabilize there compression

It dapms the air a bit so its not too dry, hot and burn the valves ?

If I can correct you it’s used to meet emission regulations. Oil drops the octane value of fuel so its not a very good thing to ingest into a motor

my vote is RX8. why would you want to buy anything else when you have such an awesome and unique vehicle in you garage?

you want more power? you can release something like 30% more power from that engine JUST BY CHANGING THE EXHAUST AND INTAKE!

I’m sorry the most I have seen gained on a dyno with those modifications in 10Kw at the very most plus have you been in a RX8 with a performance exhaust you can’t hear anything. The Renault Megan F1 Edition is just as comfy as an RX8 its just not rear wheel drive but it will hold its own around a track and will leave the rx8 for dead on the straights plus will use less fuel doing it.

[GreyWolf]

I’m sorry the most I have seen gained on a dyno with those modifications in 10Kw at the very most plus have you been in a RX8 with a performance exhaust you can’t hear anything. The Renault Megan F1 Edition is just as comfy as an RX8 its just not rear wheel drive but it will hold its own around a track and will leave the rx8 for dead on the straights plus will use less fuel doing it.

obviously you don't know as much about rotary's as you do about CA18s.

stick to your detonating 200sx mate, and leave rotary discussion to the ones who know.

[SykomantiS]

Show me any other 1300 motor that can beat the pants off a 2L or even V6 (sometimes V8 if you mod it heavily)

No guess where my vote's going...

I'm gonna go out on a limb and ask, what about vtec? Those Type-R's go like stink, I'll also wager a guess and say it's relatively same performance class? (Though I stand to be corrected.)

[GreyWolf]

Show me any other 1300 motor that can beat the pants off a 2L or even V6 (sometimes V8 if you mod it heavily)

proof:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a_1cKbrAxo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wd5P_1iP3s

No guess where my vote's going...

hell yeah!

I'm gonna go out on a limb and ask, what about vtec? Those Type-R's go like stink, I'll also wager a guess and say it's relatively same performance class? (Though I stand to be corrected.)

HELL NO!

[SykomantiS]

I dunno... that's a lot of effort for a simple statement. I am in love with vtec... What intrigues me the most is that other car manufacturers all have their own form of variable valve timing, but the end result just ain't the same. The 'boost' is simply lacking. Say what you will, vtec is popular for a reason.

That being said, it's just my opinion.

[GreyWolf]

I dunno... that's a lot of effort for a simple statement. I am in love with vtec... What intrigues me the most is that other car manufacturers all have their own form of variable valve timing, but the end result just ain't the same. The 'boost' is simply lacking. Say what you will, vtec is popular for a reason.

That being said, it's just my opinion.

look, I am a big honda fan too. great cars, great engineering. for example, polishing a honda head will yield less power then in any other comparable car. This is because the engines are so well made from the factory, that there is not much more room for improvement in that area.

But there is nothing special about the v-tec system. only reason it is popular is because it was first on the market.

Also, watch Clarkson's review of the new Civic Type R. He s**ts all over it.

[SykomantiS]

Clarkson s**ts over most anything that's not from Europe, I dare say he's biased. He favours supercars. He also thinks a Z4 is an average car... Just goes to show you what exactly he expects from a car. I'm not saying it's a super duper special car- just pointing out the he's more geared toward Ferrari's and the like.

You have one thing right though, they are damn good cars. And let's be honest about it. they aren't exactly slow.

And about being first on the market, I'm still trying to figure out if vtec was actually the first variable timing system, but they were early bloomers, and again it just points towards the engineering skill and ingenuity.