Category: Hot Hatchbacks 
Price Range: No data available
Sublime handling, incredible grip, bargain pricetag.
Poor practicality for a hatchback, lack of radio and soundproofing make Megane tiring over long distances.
Raw and uncompromised R26.R will be too much for most. Shame, because it's one of the finest hot hatches to have ever turned a wheel in anger.
Theoretically, it is possible to use an R26.R as your everyday car. After all it doesn't have a huge sill to clamber over, the suspension doesn't make you wince and despite the cut in soundproofing it isn't deafening even at motorway speeds. What will wear you down are those seats that need to be negotiated and the hassle required to bolt on the six-point harness a few times a day. We'd also miss not having a radio.
There are not many options for the R26.R, but then again there's not much standard equipment either. We would spend £700 on the factory-fit rollcage, if only because it adds those ultra-sticky Toyo tyres. Climate control costs £450, while to have the alloy wheels painted black costs £150. The big decision, though, is whether or not plump for the £2,250 titanium exhaust. We say it would be rude not to.
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wrote on 18 03 2007