My little blue Clio

[Marneus]

Hey everyone, finally picked my Renaultsport Clio 200 up on Wednesday. Must say I am very impressed with it despite the lack of seat time (only done 300miles so it's not run in yet) Can't wait to get on some propper roads once it's run in & see how it fares.

Anyhoo here's a few piccies.















Cheers

Jamie

[Marneus]

Cheers for the comments guys. I've no plans to mod her yet, just drive her & see how things pan out. I'm seriously thinking about a CL10 plate but want to spend my money on fuel at the moment, need to get her run in ASAP..... I don't like not being able to blast away from the chavved up corsa's/saxo's or having to take roundabouts in 4th so I'm carrying enough speed to test the chassis. Only 250miles to go till the run in period is up & with a trip to alton towers in her tomorrow, should see me playing next week

[Marneus]

Rocky Balboa said:

Stunning!

How many miles do you have to do before it's run in? Bet it's agony not being able to thrash it!

625 is the run in period, it's a long time to be stuck under 3500rpm
Just turned over 380miles though so almost there.... I neeeeeeed to hear the change up beep!

I was a bit torn about getting the anthracite pack but prefered it to the black, especially as I liked the standard cup wheels & the come in anthracite.... I think the wheels, bumper, mirrors & rear diffuser all in matching colour works.

[Marneus]

Finally got her run in this week & all I can say is wow! This car is awesome, not the fastest car I've driven but the complete package is damn near perfect for me. The damping is exceptional, even though the chassis is so stiff the car never crashes or bangs over potholes, it deals with the road degradation that's happened this winter very well & hasn't made me wince once (I normally cringe when i go over potholes/cracked roads when driving on low profile tyres lol)
The feedback through the stearing wheel & seat is excellent, I can feel what every tyre is doing at all times & the brakes are superb! The engine & gearbox are loosening up nicely, the engine is very tractable, it will happily pootle around at 30mph in 6th but will also chase the redline with gusto. I love how the exhaust note hardens above 4500rpm it sounds fantastic. All in all I'm very happy with the car & can't wait to get some decent road trips under the wheels!

[Marneus]

I have my eye on another CL10 plate but will wait for a bit before buying it & I know the front end devides opinion (Especially with the anthracite pack) but it does look alot better in the flesh than on the pics.... Until I had the test drive in them I though all the reviews might be a little over rated but they're not, it's sooooo much fun! Chasing the gearchange beep in 2nd & 3rd is addictive..... Just need to watch out for lol

[Marneus]

Had a day off today & decided to actually wash the car myself (Usually take it to the local immagrants lol)
So went over to euro car parts for some things £63 later I had a Meguires NXT Wash kit, a Meguires Clay kit & a synthetic drying towel.... The car wasn't too bad but there were a lot of surface contaminants (lots on dried in bugs, tar, tree sap the usual) I'd never clayed a car before but thought it couldn't be rocket science so gave it a go.

Here's what I did (incase anyones actually interested lol)
Rinsed it off with the power washer,
Washed using the 2 bucket method,
Rinsed it off,
Dried it,
Clayed pretty much the whole car,
Washed again,
Rinsed again,
Dried again,
Then waxed it.

After 5hrs here are the results (Sorry about the quality, I think my next purchase should be a decent camera)







In this pic you can see my mums Renaultspot Twingo



I've just found some old pics of some of my old cars so thought I'd put em up too


This is the car I sold when I decided to get the Clio 1983 BMW E21 316


This was my 1st decent performance car 1996 VW Golf VR6


My 2007 Ford Focus ST which I traded in for this...

Which is my current daily, 2008 Toyota Hilux HL3 3.0Td (Complete with £50 ebay canopy lol)


I owned this from 2006-2007 1996 BMW M3 Evo which I traded in for the Focus


And way back in 2004 I owned this 1989 Chevrolet Camaro Iroc-Z (5.7V8 Auto)

Here are some of my mums Twingo







Thanks for looking

Jamie

[Marneus]

Cheers for the comments guys, I get bored easily & there are another 8cars I've had that I don't have piccies of lol

[Marneus]

Thanks mate.

[Marneus]

I plan on keeping the Clio for a while. I had to take it to work with me last week, so loaded the boot up with tools & headed off to Dumfries. Even fully loaded the car was faultless, managed to get a run on the A702 from just south of Sanquhar across to the A74. Awesome road, not another car in sight & taking the twisties without slowing. so much fun! lol

Just wish I'd have remembered my Camera

[Marneus]

Cheers guys! I initially wanted a White or Yellow one but everyone I spoke to who had already ordered their car had ordered either White or Yellow lol

As for the anthacite pack, I have a thing for blue & grey together so went for it (Also knowing that few would like it so mine would be a bit unique lol) The rear spoiler was a no brainer for me, a hot hatch should have a spoiler & the cup one is just about the right size/shape and it finishes off the back end perfectly.

[Marneus]

Took the Clio to the Sunday Service at Silverstone this weekend, great morning out & some fantastic cars to gawp at..... I REALLY NEED a GT3

Forgot the camera like a numpty again so didn't get any pics but 2 members got a couple of shots of it & have kindly let me post them



And the 1st mod to the car



Now up to 4500miles & returning around 29mpg.... I'm happy with that as I only drive her when going out for a play.

Cheers

Jamie

[Marneus]

The Riddler said:

Where in Yorkshire are you?

Seriously considering one of these and wouldnt mind having a look/blast with someone who knows the car a little better than the average salesman.

I'm in Bradford mate, I'm around most of this week & I'll be happy to take you out for a little blast

[Marneus]

The Riddler said:

Cheers, I'm a little busy this week though. Any other time and I'm normally free..

Couple of questions, real world MPG and reliability, much to say on either? And what is it like to 'live' with?

Thanks!

ETA - Just seen your 29mpg above.

Edited by The Riddler on Wednesday 20th October 18:47

Well, the reliability has been faultless with my car. Absoloutley no problems at all, and I'm very hard on the little thing as she's just my toy & I don't use her unless I'm going for a blast..... There's the odd rattle inside but if you consider the acres of plastic that are in modern car interiors then it's normal. The upgraded soundpack is rubbish, worth it for the bluetooth which is very clear but the actual sond system is very dissapointing.

The MPG varies really, I normally see 25-29mpg, if you're really having fun then 20mpg is a very real possibility.I once saw 33mpg when I was running it in but never since.... The quoted figures from Renault are a load of twaddle!

To live with as it's not my daily it's fine, the cup chassis is very stiff & can be a bit rattly on bad roads but once your pushing on it all makes sense & is worth a little jiggling.... It depends on what your used to.

The Recaros are the best option after the cup chassis IMO, they are so supportive & very comfy on a long run.

I'm around most of the time so just let me know if you want to come have a look, chat & I'll take you for a blast in it.

[Marneus]

I dealt with Jamie Sykes at Harratts in Wakefield.... He did me a cracking deal. I'm used to aftermarket suspension & coilovers on cars so I like the ride firmness of the cup chassis, my bro on the other hand detests it & moans about why I need suspension thats so hard (I duly throw the car down the next decent road to demonstrate)

I think you need to secure a test drive in both a cupped & a non cupped Clio that way you'll be able to tell for yourself.

And Snails you hit the nail on the head, I wanted the anthracite pack & actually prefer the cup wheels to the speedlines. Nimbus grey looks good, very subtle a mean....

Edited by Marneus on Wednesday 20th October 21:30

[Marneus]

I really can't think of any negatives for the car, I thought all the reviews & articles aboout the car were a little much, that it couldn't be as good as all the magazines say..... Then I test drove one! In the 15min test drive I found that they were correct in everything they said, the handling, the feedback, the chassis it's all as good as they say.

I was torn between Liquid Yellow & Racing Blue..... In the end I couldn't justify the £1250 extra for LY when RB is just as eye catching & a no cost option.

My advice is go for a decent test drive on decent roads, don't let them fob you off with motorways & town driving. You need a decent twisty road to feel what the cars all about.

[Marneus]

RossB_eg4 said:

Keep thinking that colour coding the front bumper would make a huge difference? As i initially thought the front end was rather ugly, although it has grown on me.

I'm having the same thoughts, I like how the front stands out but am thinking I might get the front insert wrapped if they can get a good colour match, just to see what it looks like.

[Marneus]

Went up to Lake Windermere with the OH for my birthday, took the Clio, got lost on some country roads, found a frozen lake & decided to take a couple of piccies.

[Marneus]

phillyctr said:

rear end looks very nice,in two minds over the front thou,fanastic motor thou,whats rear space like,enough room for two little ones?

I was the same regarding the front but after living with it for 10months I really like the way it stands out from other cars, especially against the RB paint.
There's loads of space in the back, my 2 brothers are big lads (6' 4" 19st & 5' 11" 15st) and they both fit comfortably in the back. Do remember though that it's a 4 seater, there's no centre belt in the rear.

[Marneus]

Thanks Track Talent

106 gti said:

it looked too good not to take a picture of it tbh ......

I love this picture, it's my desktop wallpaper. Thanks for taking it