RE: SOTW: Renault Clio Renaultsport 172
Discussion
TameRacingDriver said:
That is very nice.
I do think that the 172 Cup is the best looking 1*2 variant there was (and I include the Trophy in that). It also has the benefit of being lighter and cheaper to service / run. In the very unlikely event that I bought another it would be the one for me.
I too think they look great, and much better than standard 172s. But royal blue 182 Cups look by far the best in real life I think. The colour stands out so much on the road, they just look amazing.I do think that the 172 Cup is the best looking 1*2 variant there was (and I include the Trophy in that). It also has the benefit of being lighter and cheaper to service / run. In the very unlikely event that I bought another it would be the one for me.
Photo stolen from CS.net. Hope the owner doesn't mind. Keen eyes will notice it has non-Cup alloys
I need to spend less time reading about these cars!Skyedriver said:
Will read the rest of this thread later as it's 8 pages long BUT would this make a competitive Roadgoing Class Hilclimb car?
Depends where you are. I hillclimb mine in the SW where the class is up to 2600cc, it is great fun but not class leading. With some money spent on it that might change but mine is almost standard. RenOHH said:
TameRacingDriver said:
That is very nice.
I do think that the 172 Cup is the best looking 1*2 variant there was (and I include the Trophy in that). It also has the benefit of being lighter and cheaper to service / run. In the very unlikely event that I bought another it would be the one for me.
I too think they look great, and much better than standard 172s. But royal blue 182 Cups look by far the best in real life I think. The colour stands out so much on the road, they just look amazing.I do think that the 172 Cup is the best looking 1*2 variant there was (and I include the Trophy in that). It also has the benefit of being lighter and cheaper to service / run. In the very unlikely event that I bought another it would be the one for me.
Photo stolen from CS.net. Hope the owner doesn't mind. Keen eyes will notice it has non-Cup alloys
I need to spend less time reading about these cars!I ran a Racing blue 182 Cup as a demo for six months, mine had Gordini stripes. So far it has been my favourite demo, I much prefer 182's to 197's and 200's.
HTP99 said:
RenOHH said:
TameRacingDriver said:
That is very nice.
I do think that the 172 Cup is the best looking 1*2 variant there was (and I include the Trophy in that). It also has the benefit of being lighter and cheaper to service / run. In the very unlikely event that I bought another it would be the one for me.
I too think they look great, and much better than standard 172s. But royal blue 182 Cups look by far the best in real life I think. The colour stands out so much on the road, they just look amazing.I do think that the 172 Cup is the best looking 1*2 variant there was (and I include the Trophy in that). It also has the benefit of being lighter and cheaper to service / run. In the very unlikely event that I bought another it would be the one for me.
Photo stolen from CS.net. Hope the owner doesn't mind. Keen eyes will notice it has non-Cup alloys
I need to spend less time reading about these cars!I ran a Racing blue 182 Cup as a demo for six months, mine had Gordini stripes. So far it has been my favourite demo, I much prefer 182's to 197's and 200's.
172 Cup has always been the best looker for me. That metalic blue paint and the silver alloys - lovely
John D. said:
HTP99 said:
RenOHH said:
TameRacingDriver said:
That is very nice.
I do think that the 172 Cup is the best looking 1*2 variant there was (and I include the Trophy in that). It also has the benefit of being lighter and cheaper to service / run. In the very unlikely event that I bought another it would be the one for me.
I too think they look great, and much better than standard 172s. But royal blue 182 Cups look by far the best in real life I think. The colour stands out so much on the road, they just look amazing.I do think that the 172 Cup is the best looking 1*2 variant there was (and I include the Trophy in that). It also has the benefit of being lighter and cheaper to service / run. In the very unlikely event that I bought another it would be the one for me.
Photo stolen from CS.net. Hope the owner doesn't mind. Keen eyes will notice it has non-Cup alloys
I need to spend less time reading about these cars!I ran a Racing blue 182 Cup as a demo for six months, mine had Gordini stripes. So far it has been my favourite demo, I much prefer 182's to 197's and 200's.
172 Cup has always been the best looker for me. That metalic blue paint and the silver alloys - lovely
LocoBlade said:
only1ian said:
Rust could have easily developed in the last 2 years. Ive gone and checked and dont take your point about the door handles and the wheel cover is definitively the same, as is the sale price. I think this is someone trying to claw their shed money back. For someone who has gone to alot of trouble to clean the car up, they are very low on service details and the 6 owners issue would be covered by "clio previously had a different registration number but this is going onto one of our other cars"
The steering wheel cover isnt the same though.3 Blocks of white on front face, no shape to them
2 blocks of white, tapers from top around the outside of the wheel
Edited by LocoBlade on Friday 14th December 14:50
We've been giving one of these some stick over the past couple of years.
Clio 172 Beaver 2012 by Ian Mitchell 2012, on Flickr
Clio 172 beaver Rally 2012 by Ian Mitchell 2012, on Flickr
Running in the Northern Road Rally events on both fast tarmac roads and rough whites (unsurfaced tracks) it's been damn fast and pretty reliable too. It's done about two dozen events so far and hasn't let us down, yet, though it did go into safe mode once after the engine bay filled up with sloppy mud. There is talk in the road rally world that the 172's will become the replacement for the 205 GTi soon as the Peugeots steadily die.
Main problem for us is finding suitable Tyres which will fit under the arches and still go over the calipers, currently using Khumo Ecsta V70A's, but they have no grip on the Whites.
It's taken some very hard knocks and had a few excursions into the scenery, but it's always come back for more. Mind you, we've bent a strut, wrecked two rear wheel bearings and a drive shaft, cracked the sump, broken the front air dam, ruined the dampers, taken the friction material right off a set of pads and bent the chassis where the sump guard is mounted.
Brought us some good results though
Clio 172 Beaver 2012 by Ian Mitchell 2012, on Flickr
Clio 172 beaver Rally 2012 by Ian Mitchell 2012, on Flickr
Running in the Northern Road Rally events on both fast tarmac roads and rough whites (unsurfaced tracks) it's been damn fast and pretty reliable too. It's done about two dozen events so far and hasn't let us down, yet, though it did go into safe mode once after the engine bay filled up with sloppy mud. There is talk in the road rally world that the 172's will become the replacement for the 205 GTi soon as the Peugeots steadily die.
Main problem for us is finding suitable Tyres which will fit under the arches and still go over the calipers, currently using Khumo Ecsta V70A's, but they have no grip on the Whites.
It's taken some very hard knocks and had a few excursions into the scenery, but it's always come back for more. Mind you, we've bent a strut, wrecked two rear wheel bearings and a drive shaft, cracked the sump, broken the front air dam, ruined the dampers, taken the friction material right off a set of pads and bent the chassis where the sump guard is mounted.
Brought us some good results though
Fantastic, fun and far more reliable than any VW i've owned. 192k on my little nipper - had it from 22k and the engine still pulls strong, still on original clutch. Only thing that I dont love is the pedal placement and the seats. Service them on time and properly and they'll not fail you !
I love mine to bits. 100k miles and 6 years so fairly well qualified to comment on reliability issues.
Done all the usual servicing and done the belts twice. Dephaser went this time last year at 111k. It's had a new radiator and windscreen due to stone chips.
3 sets of disks and pads.
Rear shocks went at about 75k iirc.
Cat split at 115k that was a scary quote from a main dealer. Circa £1k. An Indy sorted me out for £300 with genuine new Renault part he had sat on his shelf.
I think it's had 3 new back boxes in its life.
I think the battery in the key needs replacing.
I get the fog light on the dash issue due to the rear light cluster connections needing cleaning. Must fix that as it knocks the cruise control off when indicating right.
Goes through sidelight bulbs every 6 months or so.
It's mot is this week so will report back if I get another big bill.
Great shed BTW. Drove a ph1 when mine was in for its first new cambelt service (at rentec in Portsmouth highly recommended) loved it. It felt much flatter through the corners than the ph2. The poverty cruise control was amusing. Sticky throttle cable.
Edit. Re the car seat. Not great but we've just got back from a 500 round trip with the baby we usually do in the wife's scenic. Rather do the journey in the 172 rather than thrash her car. If you don't use an isofix base it will fit better but is harder to remove the sleeping baby.
Done all the usual servicing and done the belts twice. Dephaser went this time last year at 111k. It's had a new radiator and windscreen due to stone chips.
3 sets of disks and pads.
Rear shocks went at about 75k iirc.
Cat split at 115k that was a scary quote from a main dealer. Circa £1k. An Indy sorted me out for £300 with genuine new Renault part he had sat on his shelf.
I think it's had 3 new back boxes in its life.
I think the battery in the key needs replacing.
I get the fog light on the dash issue due to the rear light cluster connections needing cleaning. Must fix that as it knocks the cruise control off when indicating right.
Goes through sidelight bulbs every 6 months or so.
It's mot is this week so will report back if I get another big bill.
Great shed BTW. Drove a ph1 when mine was in for its first new cambelt service (at rentec in Portsmouth highly recommended) loved it. It felt much flatter through the corners than the ph2. The poverty cruise control was amusing. Sticky throttle cable.
Edit. Re the car seat. Not great but we've just got back from a 500 round trip with the baby we usually do in the wife's scenic. Rather do the journey in the 172 rather than thrash her car. If you don't use an isofix base it will fit better but is harder to remove the sleeping baby.
Edited by 172ff on Sunday 16th December 23:21
Well you could easily rack up £1000 in bills if you didn't change the tyres until someone tells you to, can't/won't change discs and pads yourself and a rear shock popped (for example). Then you're stuffed and have to pay garage prices.
I'm not saying you did this, but if a car isn't maintained then the bills will come all at once at MOT time costing twice as much as doing it at home. Any 100,000 mile car of any manufacturer could cost £1000 to put through an MOT if the tyres and brakes are worn out and it has one other failure of some sort.
I'm not saying you did this, but if a car isn't maintained then the bills will come all at once at MOT time costing twice as much as doing it at home. Any 100,000 mile car of any manufacturer could cost £1000 to put through an MOT if the tyres and brakes are worn out and it has one other failure of some sort.
Have run one of these for just over five years now.
Its approaching 130K miles now, probably 70K of which are mine.
Bought it off a family member so I knew it from new and knew it had never been ragged.
If I take into account the amount of miles I have done I can just about justify how expensive this car has been to run.
It is very fragile. You cannot nurse faults with it. It generally breaks with little warning.
Main issues:
Poor (high) driving position, rubbish lateral support from the seats means you cannot corner anywhere near the limit the car is capable of.
Steering wheel too far away.
Handbrake is very poor. Will not hold car on any kind of hill (this is even after replacing every part that makes up the rear brakes).
Standard sound system poor.
Trim rattles.
Looks too much like a standard Clio (in silver). However this is both a good and bad thing as it gives it a certain stealth, but also allows people to pull out on you etc as they don't expect it to be going quite so quick.
(Standard) exhaust continually failing/blowing.
Bought it with the memory of my beloved 1.9GTI, but I would not take this car anywhere near a trackday as I could not afford to repair it.
Its approaching 130K miles now, probably 70K of which are mine.
Bought it off a family member so I knew it from new and knew it had never been ragged.
If I take into account the amount of miles I have done I can just about justify how expensive this car has been to run.
It is very fragile. You cannot nurse faults with it. It generally breaks with little warning.
Main issues:
Poor (high) driving position, rubbish lateral support from the seats means you cannot corner anywhere near the limit the car is capable of.
Steering wheel too far away.
Handbrake is very poor. Will not hold car on any kind of hill (this is even after replacing every part that makes up the rear brakes).
Standard sound system poor.
Trim rattles.
Looks too much like a standard Clio (in silver). However this is both a good and bad thing as it gives it a certain stealth, but also allows people to pull out on you etc as they don't expect it to be going quite so quick.
(Standard) exhaust continually failing/blowing.
Bought it with the memory of my beloved 1.9GTI, but I would not take this car anywhere near a trackday as I could not afford to repair it.
This is what has gone wrong/needed replacing on mine over last five years/70K miles, bear in mind I have replaced stuff when things go wrong rather than because I have money to burn:
Rear discs/pads/bearings (twice), Rear calipers, Rear beam bushes, Rear shocks, Rear springs (one snapped), Handbrake cables.
(So thats basically the whole rear end of the car).
Mid and rear section exhaust (twice) and Rear exhaust hanger (twice)
Looking at the invoices from the first six years of the cars life when it had genuine Renault exhausts, these also only lasted three years - same as Kwik fit, except the Kwik fit ones are half the price and are warrantied for those three years, but then are also generally subject to poor Kwik fit fit and can require multiple visits to get right. The gen ones are quieter though.
Cambelt inc tensioners at £800 on mates rates and requiring two days on the ramp (due to unexpected additional requirement for crank pulley replacement - Can't see how this could be expected to be a DIY job).
Other than this engine is good strong unit, just very tightly packed!
Front spring (broken) - common theme here on poor quality springs.
Complete O/S Drive shaft.
Steering wheel fallen apart.
Electrics
Coil pack, 1 injector, O/S xenon headlamp inc igniter and amplifer.
CD player stopped playing discs, Multichanger jammed
Heated screen control system randomly turning itself on leading to flat batteries on two occasions, Speedo stopped working, Thermometer stopped working, Oil pressure warning light coming on randomly, air con stopped doing hot or cold despite a recharge. Freqently the central locking won't lock and very occasionally the ignition locks out and won't start the engine.
In short everything you might expect from Renault electrics.
The car has mainly been used for motorways giving decent 40mpg here.
Not very DIY friendly, the Clio Haynes manual specifically omits the 172/182 probably for this reason.
This is not a car you would want as a shed unless you work in a garage or treat it as disposable. However it has a good strong engine in my experience with good fuel economy and is great fun on the right road.
My advice would be to avoid cars in shed territory and buy a newer 182 trophy (only Clio that has decent seats) and budget a grand a year on running costs, then you can't really go wrong.
Rear discs/pads/bearings (twice), Rear calipers, Rear beam bushes, Rear shocks, Rear springs (one snapped), Handbrake cables.
(So thats basically the whole rear end of the car).
Mid and rear section exhaust (twice) and Rear exhaust hanger (twice)
Looking at the invoices from the first six years of the cars life when it had genuine Renault exhausts, these also only lasted three years - same as Kwik fit, except the Kwik fit ones are half the price and are warrantied for those three years, but then are also generally subject to poor Kwik fit fit and can require multiple visits to get right. The gen ones are quieter though.
Cambelt inc tensioners at £800 on mates rates and requiring two days on the ramp (due to unexpected additional requirement for crank pulley replacement - Can't see how this could be expected to be a DIY job).
Other than this engine is good strong unit, just very tightly packed!
Front spring (broken) - common theme here on poor quality springs.
Complete O/S Drive shaft.
Steering wheel fallen apart.
Electrics
Coil pack, 1 injector, O/S xenon headlamp inc igniter and amplifer.
CD player stopped playing discs, Multichanger jammed
Heated screen control system randomly turning itself on leading to flat batteries on two occasions, Speedo stopped working, Thermometer stopped working, Oil pressure warning light coming on randomly, air con stopped doing hot or cold despite a recharge. Freqently the central locking won't lock and very occasionally the ignition locks out and won't start the engine.
In short everything you might expect from Renault electrics.
The car has mainly been used for motorways giving decent 40mpg here.
Not very DIY friendly, the Clio Haynes manual specifically omits the 172/182 probably for this reason.
This is not a car you would want as a shed unless you work in a garage or treat it as disposable. However it has a good strong engine in my experience with good fuel economy and is great fun on the right road.
My advice would be to avoid cars in shed territory and buy a newer 182 trophy (only Clio that has decent seats) and budget a grand a year on running costs, then you can't really go wrong.
Had my 182 since August and really fed up with it already, they are good wee cars but farrrrr to over rated in my opinion. They are good cars for when your in the mood for a hoon, but anything other then that they aren't very good and I wouldn't have another one as a full time car, unless I was doing well under 10k a year. But that might just be me!
As for diy-ing I found it to be like any other car to work on tbh, just you usually need to take a lot more stuff off then you should to gain access to certain things...
Changing the gearbox in mine just now on the drive as the diff went without any warning and its no fun at this time of year! But when its finished it will be going up for sale, because I personally don't see what all the fuss is about. But would have another one £1500 or less for a runabout.
As for diy-ing I found it to be like any other car to work on tbh, just you usually need to take a lot more stuff off then you should to gain access to certain things...
Changing the gearbox in mine just now on the drive as the diff went without any warning and its no fun at this time of year! But when its finished it will be going up for sale, because I personally don't see what all the fuss is about. But would have another one £1500 or less for a runabout.
xba55k said:
This is what has gone wrong/needed replacing on mine over last five years/70K miles, bear in mind I have replaced stuff when things go wrong rather than because I have money to burn:
Rear discs/pads/bearings (twice), Rear calipers, Rear beam bushes, Rear shocks, Rear springs (one snapped), Handbrake cables.
(So thats basically the whole rear end of the car).
Mid and rear section exhaust (twice) and Rear exhaust hanger (twice)
Looking at the invoices from the first six years of the cars life when it had genuine Renault exhausts, these also only lasted three years - same as Kwik fit, except the Kwik fit ones are half the price and are warrantied for those three years, but then are also generally subject to poor Kwik fit fit and can require multiple visits to get right. The gen ones are quieter though.
Cambelt inc tensioners at £800 on mates rates and requiring two days on the ramp (due to unexpected additional requirement for crank pulley replacement - Can't see how this could be expected to be a DIY job).
Other than this engine is good strong unit, just very tightly packed!
Front spring (broken) - common theme here on poor quality springs.
Complete O/S Drive shaft.
Steering wheel fallen apart.
Electrics
Coil pack, 1 injector, O/S xenon headlamp inc igniter and amplifer.
CD player stopped playing discs, Multichanger jammed
Heated screen control system randomly turning itself on leading to flat batteries on two occasions, Speedo stopped working, Thermometer stopped working, Oil pressure warning light coming on randomly, air con stopped doing hot or cold despite a recharge. Freqently the central locking won't lock and very occasionally the ignition locks out and won't start the engine.
In short everything you might expect from Renault electrics.
The car has mainly been used for motorways giving decent 40mpg here.
Not very DIY friendly, the Clio Haynes manual specifically omits the 172/182 probably for this reason.
This is not a car you would want as a shed unless you work in a garage or treat it as disposable. However it has a good strong engine in my experience with good fuel economy and is great fun on the right road.
My advice would be to avoid cars in shed territory and buy a newer 182 trophy (only Clio that has decent seats) and budget a grand a year on running costs, then you can't really go wrong.
Good post, and excellent advice on the last part (but I'd rather have the Cup - prefer the looks and simplicity).Rear discs/pads/bearings (twice), Rear calipers, Rear beam bushes, Rear shocks, Rear springs (one snapped), Handbrake cables.
(So thats basically the whole rear end of the car).
Mid and rear section exhaust (twice) and Rear exhaust hanger (twice)
Looking at the invoices from the first six years of the cars life when it had genuine Renault exhausts, these also only lasted three years - same as Kwik fit, except the Kwik fit ones are half the price and are warrantied for those three years, but then are also generally subject to poor Kwik fit fit and can require multiple visits to get right. The gen ones are quieter though.
Cambelt inc tensioners at £800 on mates rates and requiring two days on the ramp (due to unexpected additional requirement for crank pulley replacement - Can't see how this could be expected to be a DIY job).
Other than this engine is good strong unit, just very tightly packed!
Front spring (broken) - common theme here on poor quality springs.
Complete O/S Drive shaft.
Steering wheel fallen apart.
Electrics
Coil pack, 1 injector, O/S xenon headlamp inc igniter and amplifer.
CD player stopped playing discs, Multichanger jammed
Heated screen control system randomly turning itself on leading to flat batteries on two occasions, Speedo stopped working, Thermometer stopped working, Oil pressure warning light coming on randomly, air con stopped doing hot or cold despite a recharge. Freqently the central locking won't lock and very occasionally the ignition locks out and won't start the engine.
In short everything you might expect from Renault electrics.
The car has mainly been used for motorways giving decent 40mpg here.
Not very DIY friendly, the Clio Haynes manual specifically omits the 172/182 probably for this reason.
This is not a car you would want as a shed unless you work in a garage or treat it as disposable. However it has a good strong engine in my experience with good fuel economy and is great fun on the right road.
My advice would be to avoid cars in shed territory and buy a newer 182 trophy (only Clio that has decent seats) and budget a grand a year on running costs, then you can't really go wrong.
Just another thought on the whole reliability of a Mk 2 Clio such as the 172/182...
Although latest examples can be found on anything upto a 55 plate for a 182 Trophy (that's still 7 years old), the cars themselves are based on a design that was launched in 1998 - buy a 14 yr old design and some issues are to be expected. I'm pretty sure back in the late 90s, the measures that have more recently been taken to improve the quality and reliability of the brand were just a twinkle in someone's eye.
Although latest examples can be found on anything upto a 55 plate for a 182 Trophy (that's still 7 years old), the cars themselves are based on a design that was launched in 1998 - buy a 14 yr old design and some issues are to be expected. I'm pretty sure back in the late 90s, the measures that have more recently been taken to improve the quality and reliability of the brand were just a twinkle in someone's eye.
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