Clio Renaultsport 182 : PH Carpool
Long-held love of French hot hatches + opportunity to buy one = dream come true
Car: Clio Renaultsport 182
Owned since: January 2015
Previously owned: Toyota Avensis D4D (six years of bouncing from ditch to ditch)
A rare moment stationary for Maurice's Clio
"I drove the trusty Avensis all the way through university, along with my first graduate job which entailed 650 miles of commuting per week. It was cheap to run and just wouldn't die despite the abuse it got. Since I was a small lad I've been mad into motorsport, and lusted after an S1 106 Rallye a worrying amount for an otherwise normal teenager.
"I moved to a new job, with much less commuting and better pay, so first on the agenda was to buy something fun. Thought about the usual suspects; Imprezas, Integras and the rest but it's getting quite hard to get non-wrecked examples for reasonable money here in Ireland and the French hot hatch itch just wouldn't go away. So I formulated a plan. Buy a tatty 106 GTI/306 GTI-6/Clio 172 for small money, drive the brains out of it for six months while saving up for a Clio 200 Cup, then turn the now slightly more tatty 106 GTI/306 GTI-6/Clio 172 into a rally car. This went well, so well in fact that I ended up buying a spotless two-owner Arctic Blue 182 with the Cup packs that I almost can't bear to drive in the wet, never mind sell. Oops."
What I wish I'd known:
"How every new tiny bit of dirt and tar spot would drive me mental. I probably washed the Toyota seven times in the six years I had it. Now I cry when I come up behind trucks in the rain, it's awful. Also how much the little shopping trolley would get under my skin, I even called it Sophie, because I used to fancy the ears off Sophie Marceau when I was 10."
Things I love:
"The way it steers, stops, pulls in every gear, lifts the inside rear wheel when you're pushing on, the seats, the half-turn of opposite lock required in the wet sometimes to remind you that it's a French hot hatch and the back wheels are merely there to stop the bumper dragging on the road.
"It gets a nice bit of attention as they are quite rare over here, it gets that sort of 'I know there's something different about that, but what?' look from people who don't know what it is, makes a change from the usual Civics and Altezzas that are the norm in Ireland. Other Renaultsport fanciers love it, a friend of mine bought an identical car after driving this one. I love the way it overfuels like a maniac when it's cold too, nothing like the smell of unburnt hydrocarbons to wake you up in the morning. My dad insists on driving it whenever I'm back home, and usually returns it with half a tank of fuel gone and a silly grin on his face."
Things I hate:
Hot hatches seem to work on Irish roads
"The expected fragility of certain components - exhaust hangers are a service item, along with hazard light switches. I'm on my third one. Sort of annoying when it pops during the night and flashes away, draining the battery as it goes. Steering lock is chronic too, makes me look like an idiot that can't park a small hatchback. It also refused to pass an NCT (the Irish equivalent of MoT) for a period. It threw a hissy fit the night before the first attempt, frying its own alternator. Second attempt resulted in a fail on emissions (mostly because the centre tested it while the car was cold), third time lucky!"
Costs:
"I budgeted for roughly twice of what I put into the Avensis, but multiplying zero by two still gives you zero.. It's had a bit of work done in the last few months, the aforementioned alternator, water pump and associated belt and pulleys, brakes all round, tie rods, bushings, couple of oil and filter changes, the usual stuff. Every part used was genuine Renault because I'm particular that way. Fuel economy depends on how you drive it obviously. Unfortunately it's impossible to drive the thing slowly so I haven't seen above 300 miles out of a tank yet. Who cares though? If I wanted to save money I'd live in a tree."
Where I've been:
"Been to a couple of Cars and Coffee meets, driven it up and down the country over famous rally stages, mountain passes and coast roads. It comes alive on well surfaced B-roads as it's a tiny bit too stiff for the bumpier stuff. Hope to take it to Le Mans next year, and squeeze in a visit to Spa or the 'ring of course. Sometimes I just park it up and look at it. I'm sick that way."
What's next?
"There are some tiny stone chips on the bonnet that are annoying me, but if I get them resprayed I'll be afraid to drive it any more. I watched a video of the KTR induction kit, so now I'm buying a KTR induction kit. Need more noise in my life. Also have a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport 3s to go on. It's going to stay standard apart from that though. Some recent Man Maths has led me to believe that I may be able to buy an R26.R soon. I also still want an S1 Rallye at some stage. But I think Sophie is for keeps"!
Want to share your car with PHers on Carpool? Email us at carpool@pistonheads.com!
Whether you should change is a personal thing though. Some say you can make a 182 'better' than a Trophy by upgrading parts, I on the other hand like that it's OEM, is great to drive standard, and will be a future classic that I can roll out in 5/10/20 yrs to shows
£7k will get you into a really tidy 30-40k car. A full damper refurb is around the £350 mark, so not too bad. New rear shocks have just come back into production at ~£350/pair. Cambelt at around £400-£600 depending on where you go
If anything, some choice mods for what you've got would go a long way - KTR Induction which was mentioned in the article, Exhaust, Suspension, maybe brakes, Powerflex engine mounts.
Keep it looking OEM, keep it as a daily driver, and just enjoy it
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