RE: Renault Clio Williams: PH Heroes
Discussion
Andy20vt said:
Sorry, have to disagree with you here. Having owned a 205 Gti, and driven a friends Williams on many occasions I have to say that for UK roads, the Peugeot felt better. Sure the Williams may be marginally faster on paper (or on a track) than the 205, but where it mattered, on a bumpy twisting B road the 205 felt to me the slightly more exploitable and more enjoyable car to drive. It was lighter than the Williams too (by about the weight of a large man), the possible downside to those luxuries you speak of. The Williams (whilst a great car) looks quite dated now, whereas the 205 still feels fresh to look at and has aged far better. That's just my opinion though.
Having owned two of each I love them both but I think the 205 Gti reputation is well justified and I still think they look fresh now... just my opinion but the original 1.9 wheels have not been bettered by anybody.Regards Ian
I was lucky enough to own a Williams 1 ( either no. 352 or 372 memory failing me) back in '99 and to this day is still my favourite car owned.
It was a one owner car with FSH when I bought it for £10k, yet was still unreliable and expensive to maintain. That said I loved every minute of the three years ownership I had with it and we had many motoring adventures.
At the time my girlfriend also had a 16v Clio so I used to get to drive both back to back regularly and the Williams was night and day better, most significantly the additional torque and better handling.
Prior to this I had a 1.9 205 GTi and whilst I also enjoyed this car, I never 'loved' it and have never really lusted after another in the same way.
Really nice to read the detailed write up but I do imagine that modern hot hatches would make the Williams feel quite pedestrian by comparison.
It was a one owner car with FSH when I bought it for £10k, yet was still unreliable and expensive to maintain. That said I loved every minute of the three years ownership I had with it and we had many motoring adventures.
At the time my girlfriend also had a 16v Clio so I used to get to drive both back to back regularly and the Williams was night and day better, most significantly the additional torque and better handling.
Prior to this I had a 1.9 205 GTi and whilst I also enjoyed this car, I never 'loved' it and have never really lusted after another in the same way.
Really nice to read the detailed write up but I do imagine that modern hot hatches would make the Williams feel quite pedestrian by comparison.
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It's a real shame you drove it on s
t tyres!
I know it's not what the car was about, but on 888s and coilovers, you really get a feel for just how nimble and well set up the chassis was. Mine was a rusty mess when I bought it, so turned it in to a track car.
If anyone is thinking about getting one, just do it!
I've not had many cars, but I also had a 197 and 182. Had a go in a V6 as well, but not driven hard, more just to experience it. That's got a real nice gear change. Even compared to the 197 and the 182, the Williams was still my favourite to drive.
Had a gearbox fault when I purchased it, had that fixed for not a great deal and was then perfectly reliable and that was with a hard life as a track car, both from me and the previous owner. Done the usual servicing, but was so cheap on tyres, brakes, servicing etc. £70 for decent tyre compared to £150 now for my car!!
It's funny that my diesel daily driver is quicker in probably every aspect, acceleration, lap times etc. Driving the same roads and it's no doubt just as quick if not quicker and a lot more stable, but compared to the Williams, it's just boring.
Cars have moved on so much since the 90s. It's good in some aspects, but ultimately new cars have become so competent, there's no character anymore.
t tyres! I know it's not what the car was about, but on 888s and coilovers, you really get a feel for just how nimble and well set up the chassis was. Mine was a rusty mess when I bought it, so turned it in to a track car.
If anyone is thinking about getting one, just do it!
I've not had many cars, but I also had a 197 and 182. Had a go in a V6 as well, but not driven hard, more just to experience it. That's got a real nice gear change. Even compared to the 197 and the 182, the Williams was still my favourite to drive.
Had a gearbox fault when I purchased it, had that fixed for not a great deal and was then perfectly reliable and that was with a hard life as a track car, both from me and the previous owner. Done the usual servicing, but was so cheap on tyres, brakes, servicing etc. £70 for decent tyre compared to £150 now for my car!!
It's funny that my diesel daily driver is quicker in probably every aspect, acceleration, lap times etc. Driving the same roads and it's no doubt just as quick if not quicker and a lot more stable, but compared to the Williams, it's just boring.
Cars have moved on so much since the 90s. It's good in some aspects, but ultimately new cars have become so competent, there's no character anymore.
PHMatt said:
I had a Valver and loved it.
I've had a 330bhp MR2 Turbo neither would get close on a public non motorway road to it
Either your glasses are very rose tinted or your MR2 was broken.I've had a 330bhp MR2 Turbo neither would get close on a public non motorway road to it
A 1.8 16v clio may be fun and light (approx 140bhp, 1000kg)
but it isn't less than half the weight of your (1300kg) MR2 which had over twice the power, it may be close on a B road but on a fast A road the clio wouldn't stand a chance - as a trackday would demonstrate.
rb5er said:
Great post 
rb5er, Hello from Japan, I Am new to this form and although my english is poor I love Britain and participating on PH with you English as it is the Best country in the world which makes amazing cars like in Thunderbirds, thank you for going me confidence and I going to give you a smilling green man.
V8RX7 said:
Either your glasses are very rose tinted or your MR2 was broken.
A 1.8 16v clio may be fun and light (approx 140bhp, 1000kg)
but it isn't less than half the weight of your (1300kg) MR2 which had over twice the power, it may be close on a B road but on a fast A road the clio wouldn't stand a chance - as a trackday would demonstrate.
A 1.8 16v clio may be fun and light (approx 140bhp, 1000kg)
but it isn't less than half the weight of your (1300kg) MR2 which had over twice the power, it may be close on a B road but on a fast A road the clio wouldn't stand a chance - as a trackday would demonstrate.
Great little French hot hatch as was the 1.9 205 GTI but for me the Renaults predecessor, the 5 GT turbo pipped them both, a sublime little thing on a twisty B road that very little could keep up with. I tried lots of them before buying my turbo. For me the 205 although it looked great on those lovely 15 inch alloys, wallowed around too much on them when really pressing on, whereas the 5 on its 13s was rock solid. The French had the hot hatch market pretty much wrapped up back then didn't they, apart from the awesome Integrale that is.
Happyjap said:
rb5er said:
Great post
rb5er, Hello from Japan, I Am new to this form and although my english is poor I love Britain and participating on PH with you English as it is the Best country in the world which makes amazing cars like in Thunderbirds, thank you for going me confidence and I going to give you a smilling green man.i owned a williams 3 for 8 years
then a williams 1 number 0215 came up for grabs, and have now owned her for nearly 3 years and still going strong
still makes me smile everytime i drive mine, and love the admiring looks these cars still get now to this day
then a williams 1 number 0215 came up for grabs, and have now owned her for nearly 3 years and still going strong
still makes me smile everytime i drive mine, and love the admiring looks these cars still get now to this day
Edited by fatboyz on Monday 27th April 20:53
Edited by fatboyz on Monday 27th April 22:11
i owned a williams 3 for 8 years
then a williams 1 number 0215 came up for grabs, and have now owned her for nearly 3 years and still going strong
still makes me smile everytime i drive mine, and love the admiring looks these cars still get now to this day
then a williams 1 number 0215 came up for grabs, and have now owned her for nearly 3 years and still going strong
still makes me smile everytime i drive mine, and love the admiring looks these cars still get now to this day
Edited by fatboyz on Monday 27th April 22:12
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