Clio 197, Mini Cooper S or Lupo GTi

[davidsc]

I'm replacing my girlfriends car soon, currently a 53 plate 1.2 Clio, and I'd like to get something a bit more involving to drive when I'm behind the wheel.

Options that I can think of are...

Clio 197

Mini Cooper S

Lupo Gti

Now, I think the Clio would be the best steer, but considering she is going to be using it the most I need to trade off with fuel economy, interior vs exterior size and how civilised it would be on a 26 mile commute to uni.

The max mileage the car will be doing is 10k a year, max budget will be £5k and ideally if it could return 35mpg on a dual carriageway and roughly 30mpg mixed driving.

Real life opinions would be ideal.

Cheers.

[900T-R]

Of those three, Cooper S. The Clio 197 was not that impressive - it seems that it always takes RenaultSport a second go to get things nailed after a model change...

[martinj46]

It would have to be the Mini for me too, you can forget about fuel economy though, I never saw above 28mpg sat on cruise control at 70mph

[TameRacingDriver]

900T-R said:

Of those three, Cooper S. The Clio 197 was not that impressive - it seems that it always takes RenaultSport a second go to get things nailed after a model change...

Whats wrong with the 197 Cup or R27 F1 ?

[WCZ]

I hated the mini personally, feels cramped inside (lupo gti has more of a spacious feel!), i'd either go for loops or the 197, all are massively different to drive though.

[900T-R]

True for the old supercharged car, but my R56 is quite good on fuel, well over 40 mpg on my commute (motorway with a small bit of city traffic on either end of the journey).

[StottyZr]

martinj46 said:

It would have to be the Mini for me too, you can forget about fuel economy though, I never saw above 28mpg sat on cruise control at 70mph

Was it the 51 plates supercharged version?!

If its an 57 onwards Mini you should easily see 40mpg+ with normal driving. IIRC it achieved 47mpg on the combined cycle.

[Maty]

900T-R said:

True for the old supercharged car, but my R56 is quite good on fuel, well over 40 mpg on my commute (motorway with a small bit of city traffic on either end of the journey).

Yeah but you won't get an R56 for 5k.

Would have to be the MINI for me as well. Having had one before and now driving an RS Megane the build quality in the Renault is enough to put me off for life.

Supercharged whine is so addictive!

[davidsc]

28mpg doesnt sound very good!

She gets 50mpg in her Clio so it can be a massive drop!

I haven't heard much about the 197 being a bit limp. Can anyone else expand?

[KarlMac]

I adored my Lupo's - both the 1.0 and the 1.4. They were proper basic but fun and easy to drive. Full of character. Fuel economy was surprisingly awesome in the 1.4. Pretty much the same as my Zetec TDCI focus. Tiny fuel tank though.

[Prof Prolapse]

Cooper S.

The Clio has just gotten too fat.

Don't buy the Lupo for fks sake.

[tom felty]

900T-R said:

Of those three, Cooper S. The Clio 197 was not that impressive - it seems that it always takes RenaultSport a second go to get things nailed after a model change...

have you ever owned a 197 by any chance? my guess is no!

[900T-R]

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/2003...

Direct confrontation with early R56 MCS:

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cargrouptests/2037...

Largely what I'd have expected I must say.

[DanDC5]

I'd honestly suggest none of these and say get a Civic Type R instead.

[anonymous-user]

Cooper S hands down. JCW one if you can!
Sort of agree with the Type R comment above though.

[davidsc]

I don't want a Civic because I really dislike the look of them. (so does the girl)

Thanks for those 2 Evo articles, however we are talking about the Supercharged S not the Turbo as this is out of budget.

Cheers.

Edit - I think the review of the 197 on Evo sounds good!

Edited by davidsc on Thursday 16th August 10:02

[s m]

martinj46 said:

It would have to be the Mini for me too, you can forget about fuel economy though, I never saw above 28mpg sat on cruise control at 70mph

They are thirsty cars but the one I've got managed well above that on a run - easily mid 30s. It's a 55 plate though and is on 16s. Where they are thirsty is cross town driving where mid/high 20s were the norm.
What made a big difference was switching to normal tyres ( Continental non runflats ).
A run to the Welsh coast was a revelation - 3-4 mpg better enjoying the roads and about 2mpg on stop/start commuting - not to mention the improvement in ride and steering feedback. Just my experiences and I'm sure others will differ.

Not driven the 197 or Lupo though so I'd be doing that as well if I were you

[Doodles19]

Prof Prolapse said:

Cooper S.

The Clio has just gotten too fat.

Don't buy the Lupo for fks sake.

And the Cooper S isn't fat?

Why not the Lupo? Cracking cars.

[DanDC5]

In that case I'd buy the MINI to be honest, drove a 197 before I bought my Civic when they 1st came out, handle great but just lacked something, not sure what, the MINI handles nearly aswell but has more character, mainly because it pops and bangs

[Challo]

davidsc said:

I'm replacing my girlfriends car soon, currently a 53 plate 1.2 Clio, and I'd like to get something a bit more involving to drive when I'm behind the wheel.

Options that I can think of are...

Clio 197

Mini Cooper S

Lupo Gti

Now, I think the Clio would be the best steer, but considering she is going to be using it the most I need to trade off with fuel economy, interior vs exterior size and how civilised it would be on a 26 mile commute to uni.

The max mileage the car will be doing is 10k a year, max budget will be £5k and ideally if it could return 35mpg on a dual carriageway and roughly 30mpg mixed driving.

Real life opinions would be ideal.

Cheers.

Can you get a 197 for 5k? Also for 5k you would be getting R53 and not a R56 in the mini so mpg will be around 28/30mpg