Clio RS choice. 2.0 or newer 1.6 turbo with the same power?

[Grindle]

I am buying my son-in-law his first sporty car for his 25th birthday and he loves Renault Clios. Which is the better car, the turbo 1.6 which are around from around £11,000 or the earlier and revvy 2 litre car?

[kambites]

I believe the turbo model is automatic only and the 2.0 is manual only, if that matters.

[Steve vRS]

The previous shape 3 door with a manual box and a NA engine by a country mile.

[Grindle]

Is the newer 1618cc engine not much good? I notice it's pared with a dsg gearbox which sounded useful?

[ZX10R NIN]

The older one is the better car the newer one isn't as bad as some people say but it's gearbox detracts some enjoyment from the car, also if you want to spend the higher end of your budget then I'd be looking at the Megane RS250 it's a better car than the 1.6T Clio.

If you're going for the older model get one with the Recaros & the Cup Chassis they're hard to find but worth seeking out.

Clio 200

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Clio 1.6 RS non Cup Car

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Megane RS250 Cup

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[Grindle]

Thanks for that. Some good value out there clearly. It's the 7,500 rpm Clio 200 i think will do him nicely. Megane bigger than he needs.

[ecsrobin]

Can I be your son in law?

As above look out for the recaros, I'm not sure why people didn't spec them as they are cracking seats and IIRC not a huge cost option.

[MDL111]

Bought a 2012 RS a few months ago and love it
Perfect little run around for country roads etc - even ok on the Autobahn, but not its best use clearly

[angels95]

The older 2.0 one is a much better car.

[lukeharding]

I had a 2.0 RS200 Cup, wish I hadn't sold it, brilliant car all round. Just try and get one with Recaros too or you get all those annoying buyers who want one with Recaros but come and look anyway just to tell you yours doesn't have them when you both already knew it.

[Alex_225]

The first Clio 200 with the manual box and normally aspirated 2.0 engine is the car I'd be picking.

I'm not entirely averse to the newer 200 with the auto box but the last of the N/A Clios does more for me as a hot hatch.

[culpz]

The N/A Clio 200 is more more of a "special" car i'd say. Bespoke bodywork and flared arches and that engine is a screamer. It may not feel all that fast in a straight line though. It's not slow by any means but you really need to be revving the car out to get it's full potential. That' s all part of the fun but it can grow tiresome after a while.

I wouldn't knock the 200 EDC though. I really like them they're much more of a less-frantic car day-to-day. It may be the same BHP but remember that it's a turbo'ed lump so much more mid-range pull and it has the dual-clutch transmission for faster shifts. It's a bit less bespoke compared to the N/A 200 but each to their own really. I personally like the looks.

It all depends what he's after in a car, whether it's straight line speed with all the latest tech or something more old-school and fun. They're both two very different cars now.

[DoubleD]

Grindle said:

Is the newer 1618cc engine not much good? I notice it's pared with a dsg gearbox which sounded useful?

An automatic can be useful if you are often stuck in lots of traffic.

[Grindle]

I or actually we compromised in the end. He drove both models again and decided that a 2013 car in white which was just in budget at £9,500 was better for him overall, as the dsg gearbox will be handy for stop-start UK roads and adding power later will be a lot easier than with the n/a 2.0 engine, where getting any more bhp is pretty much impossible without mega outlay. The better power from mid-range rpm will also be handy around his local and busy Herts. / Bucks. towns. Thanks for the suggestions. He called me last night to say that K Tec (i may have spelt that wrong) can cheaply re-map the 1.6 engine to a useful 245 bhp. He can pay for that!

[culpz]

Grindle said:

I or actually we compromised in the end. He drove both models again and decided that a 2013 car in white which was just in budget at £9,500 was better for him overall, as the dsg gearbox will be handy for stop-start UK roads and adding power later will be a lot easier than with the n/a 2.0 engine, where getting any more bhp is pretty much impossible without mega outlay. The better power from mid-range rpm will also be handy around his local and busy Herts. / Bucks. towns. Thanks for the suggestions. He called me last night to say that K Tec (i may have spelt that wrong) can cheaply re-map the 1.6 engine to a useful 245 bhp. He can pay for that!

I'd be speaking to Paul @ RS Tuning about mapping one of those, if it was me.

[Ahbefive]

You are buying your Son in law a £10k car for his 25th? Do people do that?

[ZX10R NIN]

Glad you got the right car for him OP

[Butter Face]

Ahbefive said:

You are buying your Son in law a £10k car for his 25th? Do people do that?

No, everyone gets a stter. That's the law.


Good work OP, that's a super cheap car.

The ne RS has got some bad press, purely because it is so different to the old car, but for a 25 year old it's a cracking car. My colleague is the same age and he has a 2013 in Yellow and loves it.

Kids these days are lazy and like autos /cliche

[exelero]

ecsrobin said:

Can I be your son in law?

As above look out for the recaros, I'm not sure why people didn't spec them as they are cracking seats and IIRC not a huge cost option.

If you don't want him, you can get me as your son in law. I have cheaper taste as well, I like the MK2 Lexus Gs300. You will still have 9 grand to spend on something else

[Ahbefive]

Butter Face said:

No, everyone gets a stter. That's the law.

Just surprised. Everyone I have ever known that were bought their first car by a parent have after that been responsible for saving up and buying their own cars after, even the ones whose parents were extremely well off. Just seems bizarre for a guy to be buying a grown man a car. Each to their own though I guess.