Goodbye little Clio 182...
Discussion
Have just said farewell to my little Clio 182 after only 10 months, but it has been a great 10 months, and i've just posted this on the Cliosport forum, but with the amount of photo's in it (including several of PH events) i decided to put it on here as well :
After only 10 month it's time for me to say goodby to my 182, and to the Renault-sport scene (at least for now), so here's a little photo story of my adventures in the 182 as it has served me well and deserves a good send off.
My story started in April 2014. My weekend toy, a 500 bph Mitsubishi 3000GT was off the road again (engine rebuild, problems with the Map2 ECU, damaged turbos etc) and i was ended up constantly driving my wife's 1.0 Corsa, which bored me to death.
I said i wanted to replace it with something a bit more fun, but she wasn't keen on changing her first ever car, despite the fact she never ever drives it. She commutes to London for work and actually hates driving. In the last 3 years she's driven a total of 2 times, and both journeys were a necessity as she had to take our cat to the local Vets when i was stuck at work.
She finally agreed it letting me change her car, but it had to be something similar size wise, as she doesn't like big cars.
I'd never driven a 172/182 or even sat in one, but had heard good things about them. I showed her some pictures, "look, the same size as your corsa, just with a better engine" and she was happy for me to get one. I was lucky a few days later one popped up at a dealer here in Leigh-on-sea, Essex, and after a short testdrive i was sold and handed over £ 3500, of my finest pounds.
It turned out my car had been owned by a girl on here, and then by her boyfriend (DebV6 and Col 182), so it was wel looked after, and she added some lovely Recaro chairs to it.
Only a few months earlier we'd bought our first house, with a garage, and i was excited to finally be able to put my car in my garage as the 3000GT was too big for it.
I specifially wanted a house with a garage as i've had my eye on the TVR Chimaera for some years now, and needed a garage to keep it on overnight.
The plan was to keep the 182 as a daily, fix and sell the 3000GT and buy a chimaera as a weekend toy that can live in the garage.
I started playing with the 182, getting loads of helpfull info from here, and added a new radio with pop-up sat nav screen, new badge on the back and got some nice floormats.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 182, especially around some of the twisty roads here, and found myself taking the 182 out for a spin more often then the GT (which is great in a straight line, but with nearly 2 ton not so much on in the corners).
I even started driving the work every time despite it being an 8 minute walk (shortcurts) on foot, and nearly 15 by car (traffic).
Parked next to my work horse (Landrover, or a Skoda that's not in the picture)
For my birthday i fancied a weekend away, so we booked a hotel in Bournmouth, 165 miles away, and spend a few days there being tourist enjoying the sights and local roads.
Great fun, and the Clio performed effortlessly.
So when summer arrived and i fancied coming home (The Netherlands) for a bit we actually ended up taking the Clio, instead of the GT.
So, on the boat it went, and through France and Belgium we drove up to the South tip of Holland (on the border with Germany and Belgium) and i enjoyed some of my local quiet countryroads back home :
As we're both fan of the Belgium beer La Chouffe we decided to drive to their Brewery in Belgium for a factory tour (and to stock up on beers, which are much cheaper there, and with the Clio having a much bigger boot then the GT we filled it up to the brim!)
I've got some friends in Amsterdam and in The Hague, and with that only being a 2 hour drive from my town we decided to not take the train but drive to Clio up there, doing Amsterdam in a day, and then staying at our favorite seaside hotel in Scheveningen (near The Hague)
In amsterdam, trying to overtake the tram
And at the Kurhaus hotel in Scheveningen :
Same hotel, the year before, in the GT :
So i think in 10 months the Clio hasn't done bad travelwise, seeing large parts of Essex, a bit of Bournmouth/Devon, Holland (Limburg, Amsterdam, The Hague), Belgium (including the Ardennes) and a bit of France. And all without any problems/issue's.
I've also taken the Clio to some car meets with friends where i would normally take the GT to.
Awesome breakfast meet with some great motors turning up, hence i've 'hidden' it in the corner :
So it's been kept in good company, and despite some of these cars costing 30 times the price of the Clio i've never had any people take their nose up and make nasty comments. A lot of people seem to be interested and either wanted to sit in it, and even asked for a spin as it is a great daily to have when you don't want to take your supercar out. 1 meet i went to i actually found out 3 others there (including a ferrari and a tvr owner) had one and they all love the 182.
I also found it did well keeping up in the conveys, as long as there were a lot of twisties and bends. One of my favourite hoons was to the Imperial War Museum in Duxford for some car and plane show. We left locally with a small group, met up with the rest of the convoy, went for breakfast together and then, via a long awesome route, to the actual event :
Unfortunately last month disaster strook
And big vauxhal 4x4 number and myself wanted to be in the same lane on this roundabout and that didn't go well....
He had barely any damage (in the background) but Clio looked poorly
Was able to drive it home, and put some pictures on here, but everyone told me it would definately be a write off :sweat:
So i instantly started looking for another 182 again. I briefly looked at Throphy's, but do really prefer this colour.
But then the mrs asked if we couldn't go for something else, stating she doesn't really like the Clio...
Part of that will be probably the way i drove it (the car just asked for it!) but on things like comfort on long journeys, road noise (exhaust), the 'boy racer' image, and the fact it's a pain to get people in the back (especially with the recaro's, and everytime i moved the chair the airbag light came back on and i had to fiddle with the resistor under the chair) i had to agree with her.
She then asked if we couldn't just get a "sensible 4 door car" so it's easier to take people in the back and then i could have a fun weekend toy that would fit in the garage. But with one of my friends in his TVR just coming back from France on the back of a lowloader i was getting more and more doubts about getting one as well.
And then as my mrs pointed to a Jaguar S-type that drove past, saying she likes them a little lightbulb, in the shape of a supercharged V8, popped up in my head, and i started looking, went on a testdrive and bought this black 2006 Jaguar S-type R, with a 4.2 supercharged V8.
And with 406 BHP and 554 NM torque, it's like driving a luxury sofa on steroids!
jgg
And it's absolute monster. Completely different to the Clio offcourse, but i love it. I've had a custom full exhaust system installed and the V8 sounds brutal now. Am really looking forward to taken this to Holland in a few months now.
My current MPG is crap, but will be down to the way i drive it, and i don't care as it's so much fun...
So the insurance company then confirmed the Clio was going to be a write off, with damages valued at £ 3360,
With some advice from here, and the help of a local member my recaro's were removed and the car was taken away :
The insurance offered me £ 2500, in the end, and with the £ 700, i got for the recaro's i've got £ 3200, back which isn't bad as i only paid £ 3500, for it, and had a great 10 months.
So i've now got my V8 i always wanted and the mrs is happy as it had 4 doors, a big boot and very comfy (heatd) seats.
I just need something fun for the weekends now that i can store in the garage. I do want the same fun factor the 182 gave me, so currently thinking towards either a Caterham (though the mrs isn't keen of a car with no doors/roof/anything) or a VX220 turbo, driven them before and they are brilliant around the twisties.
After only 10 month it's time for me to say goodby to my 182, and to the Renault-sport scene (at least for now), so here's a little photo story of my adventures in the 182 as it has served me well and deserves a good send off.
My story started in April 2014. My weekend toy, a 500 bph Mitsubishi 3000GT was off the road again (engine rebuild, problems with the Map2 ECU, damaged turbos etc) and i was ended up constantly driving my wife's 1.0 Corsa, which bored me to death.
I said i wanted to replace it with something a bit more fun, but she wasn't keen on changing her first ever car, despite the fact she never ever drives it. She commutes to London for work and actually hates driving. In the last 3 years she's driven a total of 2 times, and both journeys were a necessity as she had to take our cat to the local Vets when i was stuck at work.
She finally agreed it letting me change her car, but it had to be something similar size wise, as she doesn't like big cars.
I'd never driven a 172/182 or even sat in one, but had heard good things about them. I showed her some pictures, "look, the same size as your corsa, just with a better engine" and she was happy for me to get one. I was lucky a few days later one popped up at a dealer here in Leigh-on-sea, Essex, and after a short testdrive i was sold and handed over £ 3500, of my finest pounds.
It turned out my car had been owned by a girl on here, and then by her boyfriend (DebV6 and Col 182), so it was wel looked after, and she added some lovely Recaro chairs to it.
Only a few months earlier we'd bought our first house, with a garage, and i was excited to finally be able to put my car in my garage as the 3000GT was too big for it.
I specifially wanted a house with a garage as i've had my eye on the TVR Chimaera for some years now, and needed a garage to keep it on overnight.
The plan was to keep the 182 as a daily, fix and sell the 3000GT and buy a chimaera as a weekend toy that can live in the garage.
I started playing with the 182, getting loads of helpfull info from here, and added a new radio with pop-up sat nav screen, new badge on the back and got some nice floormats.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 182, especially around some of the twisty roads here, and found myself taking the 182 out for a spin more often then the GT (which is great in a straight line, but with nearly 2 ton not so much on in the corners).
I even started driving the work every time despite it being an 8 minute walk (shortcurts) on foot, and nearly 15 by car (traffic).
Parked next to my work horse (Landrover, or a Skoda that's not in the picture)
For my birthday i fancied a weekend away, so we booked a hotel in Bournmouth, 165 miles away, and spend a few days there being tourist enjoying the sights and local roads.
Great fun, and the Clio performed effortlessly.
So when summer arrived and i fancied coming home (The Netherlands) for a bit we actually ended up taking the Clio, instead of the GT.
So, on the boat it went, and through France and Belgium we drove up to the South tip of Holland (on the border with Germany and Belgium) and i enjoyed some of my local quiet countryroads back home :
As we're both fan of the Belgium beer La Chouffe we decided to drive to their Brewery in Belgium for a factory tour (and to stock up on beers, which are much cheaper there, and with the Clio having a much bigger boot then the GT we filled it up to the brim!)
I've got some friends in Amsterdam and in The Hague, and with that only being a 2 hour drive from my town we decided to not take the train but drive to Clio up there, doing Amsterdam in a day, and then staying at our favorite seaside hotel in Scheveningen (near The Hague)
In amsterdam, trying to overtake the tram
And at the Kurhaus hotel in Scheveningen :
Same hotel, the year before, in the GT :
So i think in 10 months the Clio hasn't done bad travelwise, seeing large parts of Essex, a bit of Bournmouth/Devon, Holland (Limburg, Amsterdam, The Hague), Belgium (including the Ardennes) and a bit of France. And all without any problems/issue's.
I've also taken the Clio to some car meets with friends where i would normally take the GT to.
Awesome breakfast meet with some great motors turning up, hence i've 'hidden' it in the corner :
So it's been kept in good company, and despite some of these cars costing 30 times the price of the Clio i've never had any people take their nose up and make nasty comments. A lot of people seem to be interested and either wanted to sit in it, and even asked for a spin as it is a great daily to have when you don't want to take your supercar out. 1 meet i went to i actually found out 3 others there (including a ferrari and a tvr owner) had one and they all love the 182.
I also found it did well keeping up in the conveys, as long as there were a lot of twisties and bends. One of my favourite hoons was to the Imperial War Museum in Duxford for some car and plane show. We left locally with a small group, met up with the rest of the convoy, went for breakfast together and then, via a long awesome route, to the actual event :
Unfortunately last month disaster strook
And big vauxhal 4x4 number and myself wanted to be in the same lane on this roundabout and that didn't go well....
He had barely any damage (in the background) but Clio looked poorly
Was able to drive it home, and put some pictures on here, but everyone told me it would definately be a write off :sweat:
So i instantly started looking for another 182 again. I briefly looked at Throphy's, but do really prefer this colour.
But then the mrs asked if we couldn't go for something else, stating she doesn't really like the Clio...
Part of that will be probably the way i drove it (the car just asked for it!) but on things like comfort on long journeys, road noise (exhaust), the 'boy racer' image, and the fact it's a pain to get people in the back (especially with the recaro's, and everytime i moved the chair the airbag light came back on and i had to fiddle with the resistor under the chair) i had to agree with her.
She then asked if we couldn't just get a "sensible 4 door car" so it's easier to take people in the back and then i could have a fun weekend toy that would fit in the garage. But with one of my friends in his TVR just coming back from France on the back of a lowloader i was getting more and more doubts about getting one as well.
And then as my mrs pointed to a Jaguar S-type that drove past, saying she likes them a little lightbulb, in the shape of a supercharged V8, popped up in my head, and i started looking, went on a testdrive and bought this black 2006 Jaguar S-type R, with a 4.2 supercharged V8.
And with 406 BHP and 554 NM torque, it's like driving a luxury sofa on steroids!
jgg
And it's absolute monster. Completely different to the Clio offcourse, but i love it. I've had a custom full exhaust system installed and the V8 sounds brutal now. Am really looking forward to taken this to Holland in a few months now.
My current MPG is crap, but will be down to the way i drive it, and i don't care as it's so much fun...
So the insurance company then confirmed the Clio was going to be a write off, with damages valued at £ 3360,
With some advice from here, and the help of a local member my recaro's were removed and the car was taken away :
The insurance offered me £ 2500, in the end, and with the £ 700, i got for the recaro's i've got £ 3200, back which isn't bad as i only paid £ 3500, for it, and had a great 10 months.
So i've now got my V8 i always wanted and the mrs is happy as it had 4 doors, a big boot and very comfy (heatd) seats.
I just need something fun for the weekends now that i can store in the garage. I do want the same fun factor the 182 gave me, so currently thinking towards either a Caterham (though the mrs isn't keen of a car with no doors/roof/anything) or a VX220 turbo, driven them before and they are brilliant around the twisties.
It seems that you had fun with yours! Despite knowing about them for some time I am a newbie to the RS Clio experience 
.
Yours looks like a peach it has to be said! It does have to be said that they are not the best motorway cruisers (with a 6th gear it would really improve matters IMO, but then one could argue that the Clio 197 and 200 do that abeit with more weight), but Lord aren't they fun?
If you do not mind me asking what is special about the Recaros? I shall not lie and will say that they look lovely!
.Yours looks like a peach it has to be said! It does have to be said that they are not the best motorway cruisers (with a 6th gear it would really improve matters IMO, but then one could argue that the Clio 197 and 200 do that abeit with more weight), but Lord aren't they fun?
If you do not mind me asking what is special about the Recaros? I shall not lie and will say that they look lovely!
SebringMan said:
If you do not mind me asking what is special about the Recaros? I shall not lie and will say that they look lovely!
As well as looking f
king awesome, IIRC they sit a lot lower than the standard seats, vastly improving the driving position which is arguably the worst part about the Clio sports. TREMAiNE said:
SebringMan said:
If you do not mind me asking what is special about the Recaros? I shall not lie and will say that they look lovely!
As well as looking fking awesome, IIRC they sit a lot lower than the standard seats, vastly improving the driving position which is arguably the worst part about the Clio sports. SebringMan said:
Aha, I never realised they sat lower than the RS Seats! I was wondering whether the Recaros were a special dealer fitment to some RS Clios upon seeing them, given that they compliment the interior very well.
Yeah, I'm 99% sure they sat lower - I'm sure someone else can confirm. And Recaro's were standard on the Trophy hence why they suit the interior. They weren't available on the normal 172/182 though, but obviously owners retrofit them if they can snag a set off eBay!. TREMAiNE said:
Yeah, I'm 99% sure they sat lower - I'm sure someone else can confirm. And Recaro's were standard on the Trophy hence why they suit the interior. They weren't available on the normal 172/182 though, but obviously owners retrofit them if they can snag a set off eBay!.
They were an option on the 182's but very costly hence not many having them.
Great write on the Clio. Don't be put off the Chimaera, they are awesome cars to drive and with the soundtrack its a no brainer, They are not too bad in terms of upkeep. I owned one for 7 years until last summer. Just make sure that they have good TVR Service history and check the chassis for rust. You will love it far more than any other alternative.
I like the middle part of the OP with all the supercars and meets. Takes me back to when I had a RS Clio and went to loads of meets and hoons. They really do hold their own on the right roads. Seriously tempted to get another.
How good do F50s' look? Better every time I see them seemingly!
How good do F50s' look? Better every time I see them seemingly!
Just realised i never replied to any of the comments/questions on here 
I still want something else as a fun/weekend car, and probably will go for a VX220, but i can also see me buying another 182 at some stage over the next year, they are just brilliant little cars.
egor110 said:
Nice write up, you got some decent miles on your 182.
What were the best upgrades/mods you did to yours?
Mine came with the recaro's, aftermarket exhaust (blueflame) and was already lowered, so i've not done any mods to it, but i did testdrive another one before i bought it, which had the normal seats and not lowered, and that was nowhere near as much fun in the corners as mine. Lowered and those recaro's did make a big difference.What were the best upgrades/mods you did to yours?
alecescolme said:
Great write up.
Wow that MPG is low
Have you considered the mods, such as supercharger pulley and polished intake elbow?
Yes, looking at doing that pulley as wel speak Wow that MPG is low
Have you considered the mods, such as supercharger pulley and polished intake elbow?
SebringMan said:
It seems that you had fun with yours! Despite knowing about them for some time I am a newbie to the RS Clio experience .
It does have to be said that they are not the best motorway cruisers (with a 6th gear it would really improve matters IMO, but then one could argue that the Clio 197 and 200 do that abeit with more weight), but Lord aren't they fun?
If you do not mind me asking what is special about the Recaros? I shall not lie and will say that they look lovely!
True, the drive to Holland in it (90% motorways) was not much fun and not very comfortable. It'll be much better in the Jaaaaag .It does have to be said that they are not the best motorway cruisers (with a 6th gear it would really improve matters IMO, but then one could argue that the Clio 197 and 200 do that abeit with more weight), but Lord aren't they fun?
If you do not mind me asking what is special about the Recaros? I shall not lie and will say that they look lovely!
I still want something else as a fun/weekend car, and probably will go for a VX220, but i can also see me buying another 182 at some stage over the next year, they are just brilliant little cars.
TVaRt said:
If you enjoy the 182, consider an Elise S1. I currently run a 172 CUP (turbo'd) and used to have a S1 elise, they are fantastic drivers cars, reliable and cheap to run, and about as quick as a 182 straight line (surprising really)
Never really considered them, but have just started looking. By the looks of of it the mk1 elise has about 130 bph, which is about 50 less then the clio. You reckon it'll still feel/be as quick ? Or would it just feel quicker with the roof off etc ? I was suprised how powerfull the 182 was, even on motorways when overtaking cars, and i'd like that power in whatever next i'm buying.
Medic-one said:
Never really considered them, but have just started looking.
By the looks of of it the mk1 elise has about 130 bph, which is about 50 less then the clio. You reckon it'll still feel/be as quick ? Or would it just feel quicker with the roof off etc ? I was suprised how powerfull the 182 was, even on motorways when overtaking cars, and i'd like that power in whatever next i'm buying.
Probably similar or better power to weight ratio in the Elise.By the looks of of it the mk1 elise has about 130 bph, which is about 50 less then the clio. You reckon it'll still feel/be as quick ? Or would it just feel quicker with the roof off etc ? I was suprised how powerfull the 182 was, even on motorways when overtaking cars, and i'd like that power in whatever next i'm buying.
I had a drive in a Mk1 Elise years ago and it was certainly very involved. Very different car though so I guess it depends what you want it for?
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