Tuesday 10th June 2014

Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo: PH Fleet

We've tried it on track; now for the Highlands as the Clio takes on Scottish back roads

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One of the principle marketing stories with the Clio 200 Turbo, is that that you buy one, get one free. OK, so you don't actually end up with two Clios on your drive, but apparently you do get two cars in one. On the one hand it's a placid lap dog, content to effortlessly mooch around town with a lazy throttle and the gearbox in auto. But knock the gear selector to the left, depress the R.S. button and suddenly you've got a rabid dingo intent on raising hell. For someone who should have grown out of hot hatches years ago, I like to think of it as the 10-years-younger-button. Although I may have gone too far by sticking a photo of Mylene Klass' face over the top.

Highlands let Clio reveal more of its character

As most of my mileage in the Clio has so far consisted of suburban commuting and motorway cruising, I've been stuck in sensible mode rather more than I would have liked. Other than a few short blasts, opportunities for Nicole (all Clios are called Nicole, right?) to let her hair down have been few and far between. At the end of May, however, an opportunity arose to finally redress the balance. A last minute entry to a mountain bike race in the Scottish Borders gave me the chance to spend a few days blatting to and from the venue on the brilliant roads south of Edinburgh. Plenty of time, then, to find out just how much of a B-road wild-child the 200 Turbo can be.

The Clio has already proved to be a relaxing companion on mundane motorway hacks and the long journey north it was no different. Hooking up to the Bluetooth is simple and reliable, and with the cruise control set, I could just hunker down in the excellent seats, catch up on some 6 Music shows and watch the miles tick by.

Hopefully a few midges bagged along the way...

Would that have been the case in the old Clio 200? Well, the cabin is definitely a more comfortable place to spend a long drive. And the 200 Turbo also has a mellower ride and less intrusive engine note on the motorway. As an overall package, there's no doubt it takes less out of you.

All of which leaves more energy for enjoying the back roads. And the one I was aiming for certainly requires plenty of focus and concentration. I'm talking about the stunning A708 from Moffat to Selkirk; a road that includes one of the most bent and buckled stretches of Tarmac in Britain. It's a section that ruffles up the road into mile-after-mile of sharp crests and sudden compressions. There are short straights and slight kinks, and although the Tarmac is smooth and fresh, already there's a chilling array of sump marks scarring the surface. With good damping and a talented chassis, it's a thrilling roller coaster. If there are deficiencies in either department, it's terrifying rodeo.

Well, the Clio's suspension simply monstered the whole thing. It may be missing the fancy Perfohub front linkage of the last Clio 200 - and suffers from moments of torque steer as a result - but the new Hydraulic Compression Control damper does wonders for the chassis control. Delving deep into the travel, as it drops into dips and settles after crests, brings seamless progression rather than untamed deflection. Mid-corner bumps are also met with a Gallic shrug and an air of disdain. And yet there is compliance that the previous Cup Chassis would have given its right ball joint for.

Danny's certainly been racking up the miles

Even those desperate moments where I'd carried a bit too much speed into a yump and expected the sickening sound of metal scraping asphalt were met with little worse than the sense of going over a speed bump a little too quickly.

As impressive as the chassis is, though, the complete package still has its frustrations. And yet again it's the gearbox that's below par. My default setting for back road fun is to put it in Sport mode and use the shift paddles. There's improved throttle response, manual control of the gears and faster shift times, but the stability control stays on so you still get a bit of a safety net. However, four days of B-road blasts revealed a flaw in that combo. Entering a corner I'd brake, pull the left hand paddle, turn in and go to apply some throttle to stabilise the front end, only to find that the gearbox was still doing its stuff. I'm only talking fractions of a second here, but the end result would be a small window of disconcerting front-end ambiguity.

As soon as I put it in Race mode (which gives the fastest shift times), the problem disappeared, but this also switches off the stability control. Now I'm sure the 200 is not going to bite back like a 306 Rallye or a 172 Cup, but on a wet public road I'd like to be able to choose the best gearbox mode and keep all the electronic aids engaged.

So, quick and fabulously damped though it is, I still can't help feeling that the old Clio 200 would have been a more engaging companion on those Scottish roads. However, it's such a relaxing, comfortable place to be when you're not in the mood, that at the end of each long day in the saddle, I was definitely glad to be stepping into the new car. Indeed, there's a lot to like about the Clio's split personality, I just wish Renault would make the dark side a bit darker.

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FACT SHEET
Car: Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo EDC LUX
Run by: Danny Milner
On fleet since: April 2014
Mileage: 3,943
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: Spa swapped for Scottish B-roads, chassis begins to show its class

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

[jonm01]

Still not seen ONE of these on the road....

[j_s14a]

How the mighty have fallen. Been a fan of hot Clios since the original 16v and Williams models, and every itteration has been fantastic until this latest one. Ihope this is just a blip, and that the next hot Clio is back on form - and a 3 door with a manual gearbox!!

[The_Gza]

My old 172 Cup was a complete hoot, but I've little or no inclination for one of these which is a real shame. I'm clearly not the only one who feels that way as I've yet to see one on the roads either. Renault seem to have caught the Peugeot malaise of the 2000's recently when it comes to the Clio.

[roystinho]

I'm yet to drive one, but have been into renaultsports for as long as I can remember. I really can't understand why they made it so the driver can't select race mode for the gearbox but keep the esc on. Surely being able to set up the car in a number of different ways depending on what you were doing (like a 12C) would have made total sense. Could it not be a software thing that could be programmed in somehow?

[Imafreeman]

This is another Subaru Impreza moment

[davyvee]

jonm01 said:

Still not seen ONE of these on the road....

Me neither. Not sure many have tbh.

[WCZ]

they look so bland that you wouldn't know if you've seen one, they are indistinguishable from the standard car

[davidc1]

i bet that alot of old 200 owners decided not to replace with this car. alot went over to fiesta st...

[IntriguedUser]

I don't think I've seen one yet. But as above, they look like the standard clio so I might have seen one and not known.

And what is with the horrible paintwork? A weird water-thin looking layer of paint!

[Dave G fsi]

Well they certainly have wrecked what used to be a good car.

Looks terrible, and they have removed all the good points of the last one mechanically, what were they thinking?

Not seen ONE yet either, although as said, they look the same as the standard car so who knows... (although I haven't really seen many of them either...!)

[Otispunkmeyer]

WCZ said:

they look so bland that you wouldn't know if you've seen one, they are indistinguishable from the standard car

Indeed, a neighbor has a normal Clio but in that very same red and you'd be hard pressed to really tell what model it is, especially from the front. Round the back lack of obvious exhausts gives the game away for people who know, but for those who don't it really doesn't look much different.

Black ones seem to hide all subtle features completely and the only give away colour is the liquid yellow as you can only have the RS cars in that colour.

[iloveboost]

I don't want to be a 'driving god' but isn't downshifting in a corner a bad idea?
I though the idea was to do always downshift before turning in, come off the brakes at the same rate you add lock then slowly get on the throttle at the same rate you unwind lock. Unless I'm talking rubbish and tightening bend deceleration+dual clutch smoothness= I'm wrong?!

Also if the gearbox is crap that's a bit of a shame other reviewers frequently mention the 'no downshift for you!' problems that many dual clutch gearboxes have. I presume it's to make sure they never over-rev the engine on a downshift but it must be a bit frustrating occasionally until you get used to it.
I'm pleased that the chassis sounds decent over bumpy B roads I think if it was me I'd save money and buy the Fiesta ST though it seems like the best value in it's class.
Also I liked this bit:
"And yet there is compliance that the previous Cup Chassis would have given its right ball joint for."
I see what you did there.

[323ti]

davidc1 said:

i bet that alot of old 200 owners decided not to replace with this car. alot went over to fiesta st...

This. I sure did not replace my old 200 with the new one! It would indeed have been the Fiesta ST or a young Meg RS 265, but instead fell for an old inline-six with RWD. A year in, no regrets...

[Oz83]

Imafreeman said:

This is another Subaru Impreza moment

Funny you should say that. I have very fond memories of the A708 in a Subaru Impreza on our monthly mountainbike trips to Innerleithen. Moffat to the carpark at Inners in well under 30 minutes :-) Great fun!

Brake, Turn in, then gear down. Doesn't sound right to me.

[Dan Trent]

Otispunkmeyer said:

WCZ said:

they look so bland that you wouldn't know if you've seen one, they are indistinguishable from the standard car

Indeed, a neighbor has a normal Clio but in that very same red and you'd be hard pressed to really tell what model it is, especially from the front. Round the back lack of obvious exhausts gives the game away for people who know, but for those who don't it really doesn't look much different.

Black ones seem to hide all subtle features completely and the only give away colour is the liquid yellow as you can only have the RS cars in that colour.

Renaultsport versions get the DRLs in the bumper, which looks a lot neater than the standard ones embedded in the grille, aftermarket stylee.

Cheers,

Dan

[joemaxi]

wonder how the residents in the Lowlands will feel about now being in the Highlands!

[iloveboost]

323ti said:

This. I sure did not replace my old 200 with the new one! It would indeed have been the Fiesta ST or a young Meg RS 265, but instead fell for an old inline-six with RWD. A year in, no regrets...

We didn't get the 323ti here we got a 318ti I think until the E46 325i 'compact'. It also looked a bit weird to me as well like it's 1 series replacement.

[Amirhussain]

Hardly seen any of these on the road, seen tons of Fiesta's.

[Dan Trent]

joemaxi said:

wonder how the residents in the Lowlands will feel about now being in the Highlands!

He was up there too!

Dan

[Danny Milner]

iloveboost said:

I don't want to be a 'driving god' but isn't downshifting in a corner a bad idea?
I though the idea was to do always downshift before turning in, come off the brakes at the same rate you add lock then slowly get on the throttle at the same rate you unwind lock. Unless I'm talking rubbish and tightening bend deceleration+dual clutch smoothness= I'm wrong?!

You're right. In fiddling about with the copy i must have pasted these the wrong way round. Should have read; brake, downshift, turn in.