Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo: PH Fleet

Danny swaps the Clio for a 208 GTI to see if Peugeot's doing any better at hot hatch revivalism

If the ability to recall the number plate of a car is a sure sign of its eminence, then F311 FJO - my poor abused Peugeot 205 XS (1989-2000 RIP) - has reserved a permanent parking space in my memory. That it was only my second car, run on a shoestring bike mechanic's wage, no doubt helped ensure its status. But it's the character and ability to put a smile on my face that still sticks in the mind today.

Neither exactly has oil painting qualities

Even now I can vividly remember the grey cloth seats with their purposeful bolsters, the three-spoke GTI steering wheel and the deep front splitter housing a pair of all-important fog lights (permanently on, naturally). Best of all though, was that moment that both chokes opened up in second gear and all 85 horses were unleashed - it was, until the CRX at least, the late 80s equivalent of VTEC kicking in. Despite surviving my repeated attempts to destroy it, F311 FJO - according to DVLA records - met an unknown fate a year later. Only its soul lives on.

Those brief few years endeared me to fast Pugs, and particularly anything with a Rallye sticker on the side. Even now I wish I'd replaced it with a 106 Rallye, instead of a green KA that made it look like I was borrowing my mum's car. But then Peugeot spawned the 206, and it all went sour. I'm sure I'm not alone in being comprehensively turned off the brand.

Word is though that Peugeot has rediscovered its mojo and cars like the RCZ and 208 GTI are reigniting the flame in nostalgic old fools like me. Then a chance came to find out for myself, when Dan borrowed the Clio for a week, and threw me the keys to a 208 GTI.

Are both trading too hard on past glories?

While the Clio bears no visual relation to its predecessors, there are obvious references to the 205 in the styling of the 208: the broad C-pillars decorated with that GTI emblem and the shape of the quarter glass in particular. It's not a contrived pastiche, but the inspiration is clear. At which point the marketing department seems to have taken over and chucked a container-load of Chinese chrome plastic at it.

Inside it's a similar story. The seats bulge in every direction, as though they've been on an intense course of steroids, the gear knob resembles a sex toy and, running with the theme, there's a strip of LED lights running either side of the glass roof that makes me think the interior designers did all their research in a branch of Spearmint Rhino.

Further distorting the proportions of the swollen upholstery is a steering wheel so miniscule I actually laughed when I saw it. Yet, despite the lack of real estate, Peugeot has found room to add ergonomic thumb grips, a flat bottom and red stitching at 12'o'clock in addition to the usual plethora of ancillary controls. You need to run it really low, too, otherwise it impedes your view of the high-mounted instrument panel.

Visual nods to 205 GTI sadly as far as it goes

Start the 208 with a nice, traditional turn of the key and there's a rather apologetic burble. It's certainly eager, but the throttle mapping delivers most of the oomph in the early part of the travel. So it's a case of too much, too soon, making for slightly jerky gear changes and little extra reward for exploring the widest throttle openings.

Power levels between the Clio and 208 may be identical, but the Pug is 45kg lighter and boasts a decent slug of extra torque from its 1.6-litre turbocharged engine. Even so, it doesn't feel any faster. In fact, it seems hamstrung by greater turbo lag. In the Clio - providing you're in Race mode - you can always grab a paddle and get a (fairly) prompt downshift if it bogs down, but in the 208 it seems hardly worth the legwork.

There's an appealing suppleness to the ride of the 208. I'd even go as far as saying it's more comfortable than the Clio for day-to-day urban commuting. Get it into the sticks, however, and, just like the road surface, cracks begin to appear. If the Clio is a model of composure on lumpen B-roads and mid-corner bumps, then the 208 is rather more unruly when making progress; jolting and jostling and exhibiting a slightly panicked flutter to the dampers as you plumb the depths of their stroke. It's as if the chassis engineers were on the home straight when the styling department rang and said "sorry, time's up; we've got some chrome bits to fit."

On paper promise not entirely delivered on

If the steering wheel looks like it's been confiscated from a teenager's XBOX, then it actually feels like it's still plugged in. I say feel, but that might imply that it provides some actual tactile feedback. It doesn't. On the other hand, it's also arcade direct and wired up to a chassis that feels pointy and adjustable. Not to the extent of its forebears but keen and alert are words that spring to mind when recalling the handling.

All that probably sounds like I hated the 208 actually I think it was more a case that we just didn't gel. Really I should have loved it. It's three-door, manual, overtly sporty - exactly as a hot hatch should be. But it's here, though, the past kept getting in the way. Not in the shape of the 205 - I'm not that curmugeonly - but the last generation Clio 200 Cup. A car that, in my eyes, perfected the recipe for three-door, manual, shopping trolley racers. I'd have one over either the 208 GTI or our Clio 200 EDC in a heartbeat.

That I'd still choose the current Clio Renaultsport over the Peugeot is perhaps the ultimate blow. Both, it seems, are works in progress, the Peugeot more so. But with the recent announcement of the exciting 208 GTI 30th anniversary edition, with its Torsen LSD, revised suspension and merciful lack of mirrored plastic, the tables may be about to turn.

FACT SHEET
Car: Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo EDC LUX
Run by: Danny Milner
On fleet since: April 2014
Mileage: 6,968
List price new: £21,535 (Basic list of £19,995 plus £650 for Cup Chassis including revised spring/damper rates, gloss black 18-inch wheels, red brake calipers and Dunlop Sport Maxx TT tyres, £595 for Flame Red i.d. metallic paint, £295 for Renaultsport Monitor)
Last month at a glance: Danny swaps Clio for a Peugeot 208 GTI for a week, adjusts rose tints accordingly

Previous updates:
Clio arrives on the PH Fleet; faces an uphill struggle for popular opinion
PH 'accidentally' ends up in an impromptu Clio Cup race at Spa
Danny heads to Scotland in search of the Clio's hidden depths
Found - the Clio's wild side

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Dave G fsi

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