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Renault Megane 265 RS Trophy Vs Renault Clio Gordini

Renault  Megane 265 RS Trophy Vs Renault Clio Gordini

Heads up,this is bound to get technical. What better way to round up the Renualt Sport arsenal than a head to head battle between the Clio Gordini vs the Megane 265RS Trophy. Both this cars are quite capable,quite agile and both come from the skunk works of Renault Sport. However there are attributes that both possess that seperate them from each other sort of like a Range Rover Evoque vs a Range Rover Sport. Both quite capable off-roaders, both quite similar yet so different in some aspects. In short what makes the Renault Clio RS Gordini and what makes the Renault Megane 265RS a Trophy?

Let’s start with the power plants in both of these cars. The Renault Gordini comes with a 1998cc naturally aspirated engine that revs all the way to 7100 before redlining while the 265RS Trophy comes with a 1998cc turbo charged engine that red-lines at 6100. One wonders if it is exactly the same heart only in different guises(talk about DNA). One on life support and the other breathing naturally. In the Gordini the engine delivers 147.5kW of power and 215Nm torques while the 265RS Trophy delivers 195kW of power and 360Nm of torque. The Gordini has a high compression ratio of 11.5:1 compared to the 265RS Trophy’s 8.5:1. In terms of performance the 0 – 100km/h times are 6.9s for the Gordini and 6.0s for the 265RS Trophy.

Coming to the exhaust note the Renault 265RS Trophy delivers a Volvo T5 beating deep thrum while the Gordini comes with a high pitched wail that am forever in love with. The exhaust tips on the Gordini are real while the 265RS Trophy’s is a fake.

Coming to the weight, here is where I am extremely baffled. The Gordini has a licencing mass of 1690kg* while the 265RS Trophy has a liscencing mass of 1345kg*??That probably explains the 0.9 second lead the 265RS Trophy has over the Gordini but still that’s quite a lot of extra weight for a tiny hatch. Also the 265RS Trophy has a lot more luggage space at 344 cc compared to the Gordini’s 288 cc.

Finally,lets compare the prices. The 265RS Trophy comes in at R409,900 while the Gordini at R280,000.So,both require quite deep pockets. The only reason one would get a Gordini apart from not having enough cash to splash out on the 265RS Trophy is the wonderful engine with its beautiful exhaust note. The 265RS Trophy comes out on top not because of its heftier price tag but because of the performance it offers for its price. One doesn’t need to splash out over a million rand to get serious performance. In the words of the Nissan marketing team “Performance is not for the privileged but those who want it the most.”

*values from Renault Sport Website.

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