RE: Shed of the Week: Renault Clio
Discussion
I inherited a 5 door 1.4RT auto (3 speed! - but it'll still do 110mph) about 15 years ago when my grandmother died. Drove it for about 5 years. Always liked driving it: quite comfy inside, useful amount of room (four adults will fit without it being torture), good quality stereo, performance fine, with acceleration at town speeds particularly good since it didn't change out of 1st until about 35mph. Doors closed with a nice reassuring thunk as well.
This does get a thumbs up from me, because it's a good everyday car. I've been in plenty worse. But... "classic"? I certainly like the looks. I just don't know if I'd go any further than that.
(If you're thinking of buying it, or one like it, do check the sunroof very carefully, because mine leaked, and it broke the alarm and central locking... just like everybody else's too, it seems...)
This does get a thumbs up from me, because it's a good everyday car. I've been in plenty worse. But... "classic"? I certainly like the looks. I just don't know if I'd go any further than that.
(If you're thinking of buying it, or one like it, do check the sunroof very carefully, because mine leaked, and it broke the alarm and central locking... just like everybody else's too, it seems...)
Edited by to3m on Friday 4th August 22:20
carinaman said:
Funnily enough I was going to link the same car in my original post to but thought since it's a mk2 which although a much better car for the money it's not really comparing apples with apples. Then I found this and thought screw that, if i had to buy a Clio for SHED money this would do nicely.
https://www.gumtree.com/p/renault/renault-clio-spo...
Very cheap motoring this. Run it for 12 months and sell it on, if you're lucky you might even be a few quid up. Something fun about driving a low value car too, no worries about where you leave it etc. I have an old Mark 1 Audi TT for just this reason. (They are very cheap just now - £1500 buys you a reasonable one)
I was given a 1992 J Plate Clio for free when I was a student. I nearly burst with excitement when I saw "1.9" on the wing badge, but I missed the D. It was a naturally aspirated boat anchor of a diesel engine, you could put the throttle to the floor in idle and it would take a good 3 seconds to actually rev up to the redline.
Deathly slow, astonishingly loud, and with that huge weight over the front wheels it understeered in the wet like the wheels were made of soap. Also had seats like broken camp beds, the stereo was mounted at an angle so would overheat and shut down, and parts were really f
king expensive!
Are the little petrols a bit more like the small/light French cars that can be such fun?
Deathly slow, astonishingly loud, and with that huge weight over the front wheels it understeered in the wet like the wheels were made of soap. Also had seats like broken camp beds, the stereo was mounted at an angle so would overheat and shut down, and parts were really f
king expensive!Are the little petrols a bit more like the small/light French cars that can be such fun?
helix402 said:
My wife had a 1.2 Clio when I met her. It did 47 mpg (calculated). That was the only good thing about it.
That's better than my 1.9D. I used to keep my foot pinned to the floor most of the time though, no point lifting the throttle during a gear change as it gained and lost revs too slowly to make any difference 
This SOTW gets my vote for a couple of reasons.
My first car was a MK1 Clio 1.2 Oasis which I loved. It was reliable and my first sense of freedom, plus even at 18 I tastefully modified it and it served me well.
Then many years later, around 2006 I decided I bought a 1994 Clio RT 1.4 which had 50k on the clock and although had a couple of rough edges was solid. Electric windows, central locking, power steering...all things my first car lacked. I used to daily for about 18 months. Then sold it to my next door neighbours who had it another 2 years or so. It did them well until it eventually gave up with 100k on the clock but it was the 18 years and rust that saw to it's end.
A personal appreciation for SOTW from me. Even though the last Clio I bought was a 172 and it cost me £800!
My first car was a MK1 Clio 1.2 Oasis which I loved. It was reliable and my first sense of freedom, plus even at 18 I tastefully modified it and it served me well.
Then many years later, around 2006 I decided I bought a 1994 Clio RT 1.4 which had 50k on the clock and although had a couple of rough edges was solid. Electric windows, central locking, power steering...all things my first car lacked. I used to daily for about 18 months. Then sold it to my next door neighbours who had it another 2 years or so. It did them well until it eventually gave up with 100k on the clock but it was the 18 years and rust that saw to it's end.
A personal appreciation for SOTW from me. Even though the last Clio I bought was a 172 and it cost me £800!
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