Clio 182 or EP3 Civic Type-R?
Discussion
It has been nearly 10 years since I owned my last hot hatch (a Peugeot 205 GTi 1.6 which I loved) and I'm thinking with the low prices of these two at the moment, it's time to take the plunge again.
I looked at the Clio 182 in 2004 when it was new but ended up buying an MX5 instead, as I found the Clio a bit disappointing. However, I read such positive reviews about them that maybe I need to try one again. At the time, the motoring press said that if you wanted a modern 205 GTi, buy one of these. They're compact, light, fairly powerful for their size and are supposed to handle really well and be fairly economical on fuel. I like the look of them and all the ingredients seem to be there. In my dream garage, I would have a Mexico Blue 997 GT3 RS with black wheels, so a French Racing blue 182 with black wheels would complement it nicely as a DD! I remember not liking the driving position much at the time though!
I also looked at the Civic Type-R at the time. Again, I liked the looks and from a brief drive it had a more comfortable driving position and a fantastic engine and gearbox plus I like Honda's reputation for engineering integrity but 3000 pound insurance put me off!
Which would make the best buy now and which is the nicest car to live with? Anything else in the price range is either too slow or too heavy to give me the kind of hot hatch experience that I am looking for and I prefer high-revving NA power to turbocharged torque.
Should I consider spending a bit more and getting a Clio 197/200? Would I like them that much better?
I looked at the Clio 182 in 2004 when it was new but ended up buying an MX5 instead, as I found the Clio a bit disappointing. However, I read such positive reviews about them that maybe I need to try one again. At the time, the motoring press said that if you wanted a modern 205 GTi, buy one of these. They're compact, light, fairly powerful for their size and are supposed to handle really well and be fairly economical on fuel. I like the look of them and all the ingredients seem to be there. In my dream garage, I would have a Mexico Blue 997 GT3 RS with black wheels, so a French Racing blue 182 with black wheels would complement it nicely as a DD! I remember not liking the driving position much at the time though!
I also looked at the Civic Type-R at the time. Again, I liked the looks and from a brief drive it had a more comfortable driving position and a fantastic engine and gearbox plus I like Honda's reputation for engineering integrity but 3000 pound insurance put me off!
Which would make the best buy now and which is the nicest car to live with? Anything else in the price range is either too slow or too heavy to give me the kind of hot hatch experience that I am looking for and I prefer high-revving NA power to turbocharged torque.
Should I consider spending a bit more and getting a Clio 197/200? Would I like them that much better?
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