Buying a Clio

[cito quod fortis]

I am thinking of getting a Renault Clio but not sure whether to go 182 or 197.

The main object is for use as a normal road car, so a reasonable level of practicality is useful – trips to tip, shopping, DIY etc. I will however also use it for a few trackdays each year. I rarely use the car for work now that I “enjoy the pleasure of public transport” but will still tot up I guess about 7000 miles a year, so it does need to be reliable and useable.

I’m fairly open on price, so anything from about £4k to £8.5k might be ok for me, which seems to bring in the better 182’s and the earlier 197’s. I don’t want anything chaved up by a boy racer but I think there’s still some good 182’s out there.

A 197 will most likely be a little more expensive, lower mileage and in better shape but then the better it is, the less you enjoy putting stone chips on the front on track.

On either, presumably the cup chassis will be more suitable for the odd track days, although these seem to be harder to find on the 197’s, but is this really something where you notice the difference? I have seen a few R27’s at the top of my price range, but are these worth the extra cash or is it just a gimmick for a few stickers?

Also, anything particular to look out for, problems or good things?

Finally, are there any other cars I should consider? I have already ruled out Focus, Civic, Astra, any cabrio etc. A Golf would be ok, but the decent ones with sensible mileage are too expensive.

Cheers. Andy

[Sir_Dave]

Bear in mind that tyres are considerably more expensive on a 197, not good for a track car! The T1R's i use on my Trophy (on 15's) are £30 a corner ...

For me, im probably biased, but id go 1*2 everytime, i'm on my 4th. The 197 didnt really do much for me im afraid.

[Steve H]

I'd go 197, good fun car to drive and nice on track straight out the box. Perhaps not the perfect regular trackday car but a very good occasional one.

[Ian_sUK]

Id say a 197 will be easier to drive quickly but a 182 will be more fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2QtiGsxX5k

^ taken yesterday me in the 182

[Slagathore]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Might be useful reading that thread.

I'd go for the 197.

It'll do everything just as well as the 182, but will be a better daily driver.

The 'Cup' option is good, especially if you intend to track it. Still plenty comfortable as a daily driver with it.

The 197s don't seem to be as economical as the 182s. Probably not much of an issue with the mileage you'll be doing.

[TopCAD]

Sir_Dave said:

Bear in mind that tyres are considerably more expensive on a 197, not good for a track car! The T1R's i use on my Trophy (on 15's) are £30 a corner ...

For me, im probably biased, but id go 1*2 everytime, i'm on my 4th. The 197 didnt really do much for me im afraid.

Go for a Trophy like Sir_Dave has, I have a 182, just started a thread in readers cars, if you have any specific questions feel free to email me through my profile and I shall do my best to help. I haven't had a 197 but I've had a Phase 3 Clio and I would also take a Phase 2 everytime!

ETA: For those that don't know Phase 3 is the 197 shape, Phase 2 is the 172/182 shape.

Edited by TopCAD on Tuesday 7th December 22:06

[Acehood]

Go sign up at cliosport and read some of the info there.

I personally think I made a huge mistake buying my 182 but by most accounts it seems I just got a bad one. There are people who have had hardly any issues with theirs yet I've had to spend about £2k on fixing broken stuff in the last 6 months.

ETA: If I was using it on track I'm sure even more things would have gone wrong. They're fairly tough cars but I managed to break 2 coil springs just driving normally on the road...

Edited by Acehood on Tuesday 7th December 22:07

[16v_paddy]

TopCAD said:

ETA: For those that don't know Phase 3 is the 197 shape, Phase 2 is the 172/182 shape.

Edited by TopCAD on Tuesday 7th December 22:06

Sorry to be pedantic but that inaccuracy bugs me in an unhealthy way, the 197 shape is the Mark 3 phase 1 & the 200 would be the facelifted mk3 phase 2, mine is a Mk1 phase 2. Then with the mk2 clios you have the Phase 1 172 which then went to the facelifted Phase2 172 which is the same shape as the 182

In that sort of price bracket I'd also be looking at meganes, there's the odd R26 F1 at the top of your budget & the standard LSD would sway me away from the newer clios

Edited by 16v_paddy on Wednesday 8th December 01:39

[Ian_sUK]

16v_paddy said:

TopCAD said:

ETA: For those that don't know Phase 3 is the 197 shape, Phase 2 is the 172/182 shape.

Edited by TopCAD on Tuesday 7th December 22:06

Sorry to be pedantic but that inaccuracy bugs me in an unhealthy way, the 197 shape is the Mark 3 phase 1 & the 200 would be the facelifted mk3 phase 2, mine is a Mk1 phase 2. Then with the mk2 clios you have the Phase 1 172 which then went to the facelifted Phase2 172 which is the same shape as the 182

In that sort of price bracket I'd also be looking at meganes, there's the odd R26 F1 at the top of your budget & the standard LSD would sway me away from the newer clios

Edited by 16v_paddy on Wednesday 8th December 01:39

To be even more pedantic there is also a mk 2 phase 3 (the campus) that was being produced at the same time as the mk 3 phase 1.

[cito quod fortis]

Thanks for all the comments guys and the links were helpful too. Doesn't make me any closer to deciding, but it all helps. I'll try and test drive a few different things over the weekend.

Cheers. Andy