Clio 182 - hit me with your thoughts

[jedi-knight83 0]

well i needed a longer test drive really. maybe if i had had it for a whole morning and taken it for a decent thrash i would have appreciated some of the handling. i tried to throw it into some corners and roundabouts but the roads were too busy really.

 

yeah someone else said stick to the 3.0 M3.

 

i've never really been taken with the 200sx to be honest. not sure i really see myself owning one.

 

back to the drawing board i guess... i'll just have to keep plodding round in the pug till i decide! :(

[billinjah 0]

as for the gay car comment billinjahg60, i'll ignore that you little ****.

 

 

oh i meant little happy car sory for the confusion! :flower:

[jedi-knight83 0]

well i can forget the m3 idea for now... insurance quotes around £2k still!!!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Not worth paying that kind of insurance premium for an M3 that's not much quicker than your old S3!

They're damn good fun off the lights tho those M3s.....just side step the clutch at 4500rpm and the acceleration is phenomenal. The big rear tyres and LSD give huge traction, in the dry at least, I never could get my mate's 3.0 to wheelspin....too much grip!

[crdo16v 0]

The Clio looks gay & both pictures of it made me snigger. :gag:

[Baz2004 0]

I drove a friends 172 last year, excellent little car sharp as a razor and comfortable everyday car.

 

It looked well too in silver (not sure if the 182 comes in metallic silver) but they do look the best in that colour IMO.

 

Could prob outrun most non Mod VRs especially through the twisty’s cant rate it highly enough as a full package price/running costs/comfort the full package.

[designrob 0]

Jedi: Buy this months EVO Mag! They have a complete buying guide on the Renault Clio 172 or 182's! (cant remember which!)

 

By the way they rave about it! And the new Clio Trophy came 1st by beating the Nissan 350Z, M3 CS, Golf R32 and the Impreza WRX in a test drive round a circuit! So it must be good!

 

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah it's a silver 172 they're profiling this month..... just look at the interior though, christ, it's only 2 years old and looks ancient already :-)

 

I do have the utmost respect for Evo's journalism as it's generally accurate and well written, but I've never found the 172/182 to be the revelation they think it is. It's good, yeah, but by no means an M3 beater (scoring wise) imo. Wasn't it the trophy that came 3rd in eCoty? The one with the dampers 10x the cost of the regular 182 Cup's? :-)

[Baz2004 0]

Wasn't it the trophy that came 3rd in eCoty? The one with the dampers 10x the cost of the regular 182 Cup's? :-)

 

 

Yep but it was going up against a lambo an F430 AMV8 TVR M3CS etc not bad when you think about it.

 

Still I reckon they were influenced by its price and bang for your buck compared to the rest of the cars and the ever growing hot hatch market.

[designrob 0]

Kev I agree on the interior... its shocking!!!

[GIXXERUK 0]

. one thing this forum is very bad for is being very narrow minded

 

so true .looks like a fun car to me with probably low maintenance and reasonable residuals

your probably looking at keeping it 1- 2 years , not a partner for life , so the decision isnt life altering :-)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yep but it was going up against a lambo an F430 AMV8 TVR M3CS etc not bad when you think about it.

 

But that's like comparing Prince Naseem to Frank Bruno. I know they shoved the Clio in there as a wildcard but I prefer consistency and testing of evenly matched cars.....and then outcomes aren't purely based on weight and power differences, which are easier to judge than the finer nuances of 9/10ths driving feedback etc etc...

 

Still I reckon they were influenced by its price and bang for your buck compared to the rest of the cars and the ever growing hot hatch market.

 

Of course they were and I wouldn't be surprised if Renault have been slinging them a bob or two. It's also funny how BMW always win group tests....or is it?

The Clio is no more of a giant slayer now, than the MK1 GTI was back in 1976.... it's just that things were more reserved back then. Everything these days is overhyped and exaggerated.

 

It's a good car for the money, don't get me wrong..... but it's not that good.

[Baz2004 0]

The cup did win the smaller “real world” category which is reasonable enough but rating 3rd among exotica cars was a bit much I agree. I was recently in Aus and it’s very obvious that there is a huge influence/backhanders given to editors of car mags.I read somewhere the Suzuki swift was car of the year last yr in Aus further evidence of such influenced opinions.

[GIXXERUK 0]

my possible next car line up atm

 

focus rs

tvr tuscan

lotus elise

boxster s

tbh i would like to keep the c aswell but the driveway may not be big enough, move house ? hmm maybe :-)

[Baz2004 0]

how much do tuscans go for these days?

 

What about the E46 M? OK its a Beemer....

[GIXXERUK 0]

Baz2004, you can pick on up with reasonable mileage for 15k :-)

 

190mph.....

[biggrim 0]

And an engine that'll melt and cost £6k for a rebuild apparently.

[GIXXERUK 0]

biggrim, but what a grin you'd have til it melted :-)

[biggrim 0]

Too true mate!

[beastieboy 0]

sorry to post so late in the day (in terms of topic age!).

my mum has a 182 trophy and although its no german masterpiece its a bloody good car. very versitile (my mum can go to work and do the shopping in it/my dad will be doing some hillclimbing and trackdays with it) and look good too. a hot hatch in the true sense of the word and quite good value for money ! theres my two pence anyhoo.

[beastieboy 0]

And an engine that'll melt and cost £6k for a rebuild apparently.

 

they don't all melt. get one that has been looked after, warmed up properly before use and serviced regularly and you'll be fine. I have a customer who did 12kmiles and 10 trackdays in a year in his t350 and it never missed a beat ! mechanical sympathy is the key !

[Storm77 0]

One of my neighbours has a 172 and just couldn't understand why i bought a C when I could've got one of them!...he also argued that it was quicker than the C. I'm a great believer in actions speaking louder than words so I just said I'll get the C and take him for a burn! You could tell he was quietly impressed as soon he got in - wasn't expecting heated leather etc! After a few sprints down the dual carriageway he finally submitted and agreed the C was quicker! He said the sound of the engine also made it feel faster! :D

 

As we parked up, I then reminded him in a couple of years time, his would be worth alot less than my higher milage dinasaur too! :wink: