Going from a 197 RS to a Robin Hood. Good decision?
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm thinking of purchasing a Robin Hood but that would mean I'd have to sell my current car, which is a Clio 197 rs. I want to know from anyone who's owned or driven a 2 litre Robin Hood if they think whether that's a good decision or not. Will I be disappointed by the driving experience? There's not much information on the specs of Robin Hoods, but I suspect the acceleration and speed will be there alright, and should about match the 197. But it's handling that I'm interested in, I haven't heard good thing about the chassis for these cars (from posts on Pistonheads in fact) and even the engine is slated for being from a pinto. I've always like the Caterham style kit cars, but right now only the Robin Hood is in my price bracket. The 197 is the first serious car I've owned and after having previously owned a Yaris I've been blown away by the handling of the Renault. Would the Robin Hood match that?
I'm thinking of purchasing a Robin Hood but that would mean I'd have to sell my current car, which is a Clio 197 rs. I want to know from anyone who's owned or driven a 2 litre Robin Hood if they think whether that's a good decision or not. Will I be disappointed by the driving experience? There's not much information on the specs of Robin Hoods, but I suspect the acceleration and speed will be there alright, and should about match the 197. But it's handling that I'm interested in, I haven't heard good thing about the chassis for these cars (from posts on Pistonheads in fact) and even the engine is slated for being from a pinto. I've always like the Caterham style kit cars, but right now only the Robin Hood is in my price bracket. The 197 is the first serious car I've owned and after having previously owned a Yaris I've been blown away by the handling of the Renault. Would the Robin Hood match that?
Tbh I am very partial to the Caterham-esque aesthetics, which the Robin Hood posseses, but I've also been informed about Tiger and locost kitcars, which seem a bit more put together than the Robin Hood's. I guess the best thing to do is wait till the summer and then maybe see if I can nab a drive in one of them to see if it's worth the buy. Until then I'm more than happy to pootle around in my Clio
I'm definitely not doubting the reliability of the pinto engine, it's one of the good things about the Robin Hood, because it means maintenance and repair won't be scary. But I've heard that they're not the most engaging, nor best sounding, which is to be expected I suppose. It's not exactly an exotic item. But cars always sound way different in person, so it'd be unfair to pass judgement on that I suppose
LLantrisant said:
RH´s are the worst engineered kitcars....some models even dangerous!!!
it was a chaep approach to the kitcar world and unfortunaltey it attracted also "cheap" buyers. so most cars never came out right, as the huge engineering mistakes were never solved from those buyers.
never ever buy such a car...if you get it free of charge or the boot full of money...you may take it.
I daresay you're right, but the funny thing I find is that you can alway find quite a few Robin Hoods for sale at any given time, and some command prices in the higher end of 7 grand. Is it perhaps because maybe the older models are more well built, or that the cars you see for sale are factory built?
it was a chaep approach to the kitcar world and unfortunaltey it attracted also "cheap" buyers. so most cars never came out right, as the huge engineering mistakes were never solved from those buyers.
never ever buy such a car...if you get it free of charge or the boot full of money...you may take it.
I daresay you're right, but the funny thing I find is that you can alway find quite a few Robin Hoods for sale at any given time, and some command prices in the higher end of 7 grand. Is it perhaps because maybe the older models are more well built, or that the cars you see for sale are factory built?
Equus said:
Sadly, there is an adequate supply of fools willing to be parted from their money: plenty of people don't know enough about the underlying engineering and simply see something that looks quite similar to a Caterham.
Ah, fair enough. Tbh as soon as I learnt that the chassis was also derived from the donor car I had my doubts
Joey Deacon said:
Equus said:
Salvi139 said:
... the funny thing I find is that you can alway find quite a few Robin Hoods for sale at any given time, and some command prices in the higher end of 7 grand. Is it perhaps because maybe the older models are more well built, or that the cars you see for sale are factory built?
Sadly, there is an adequate supply of fools willing to be parted from their money: plenty of people don't know enough about the underlying engineering and simply see something that looks quite similar to a Caterham.The car was far, far from 90% finished, it was literally a rolling chassis with an old 2.0 Pinto bolted into to. My Father then covered it with a Tarpaulin and then spent a few more years buying bits and pieces from it eBay and travelling hundreds of miles to collect them. In all this time he did not actually lay a spanner on the car.
About 3 years after purchase my mother finally got sick of it being on the drive, so it was up to me to list it on eBay. A dad and lad purchased it next, the son was training to be a mechanic so this was a project for them both to do.
A few years later it was on eBay again, looking a lot better than it did when my Father owned it, but still far from complete.
As others have said, these have the engines and running gear from an old sierra. My advice to you would be to stick with the Clio 197, I would imagine it is light years better than a Robin Hood with a wheezy old pinto and suspension from a (much heavier) sierra.
Just don't.
Hard-Drive said:
I'm lucky enough to own a very well sorted Caterham R400, and I often get a bit miffed with the attitudes of some Caterham drivers who look down their noses at "Fakerhams". I take my R400 to a few local car shows and there's often a pair of S7's there with young enthusiastic owners, and I hold them in much higher esteem than a stanced/slammed Civic, as I think they "get" driving more and have gone for the 7 experience as best they can within their budget. When I was young I desperately wanted an RH S7, after all it was going to be monumentally more fun than the Mk1 Golf 1.1/Astra 1.2 pushrod/Cavalier 1.6 type stuff I was driving at the time.
However your Clio is a properly sorted car with great lineage, and quite possibly an appreciating modern classic. It's going to start every time, and just "work". You can throw it into a bend and know that Renault Sport spent millions of euros making sure it will come out the other side, and you'll have had some fun whilst doing it. The RH just isn't like that, it's a collection of various donor bits built by a bloke in a shed with their own take on lots of it, the ones I have seen have never been "sorted". Interestingly the weight quoted on some of their cars is over 50% more than what my Caterham weighs, and that's going to blunt the experience an awful lot.
Not sure what your intended use is but no matter how great the appeal of a 7 style car as a daily seems, the reality is very, very different. You really don't want to do it, keep the car for special, dry days and the track. But be prepared for your RS to have been a much better track car anyway!
I do find the some of the prices of RH's a bit of an eye opener too. For that kind of money you could get yourself a very, very nice Porsche Boxster, which will do daily duties, track duties, is an appreciating classic, will start every day, and you get a RWD mid engine flat six, absolutley sublime handling and a Porsche badge on the front.
Thanks mate, yeah I was initially intending to get the RH for just a weekend car and a few trackdays, which is what my Clio is used for currently. But yeah it did occur to me that a Robin Hood with its Ford pinto engine and donor chassis wouldn't likely hold up to the Clio's performance, but then again it is a French hot hatch after all! And I'm still amazed that I brought my Clio for around 2 grand less than the average RH, they're ridiculously cheap for such a sorted car However your Clio is a properly sorted car with great lineage, and quite possibly an appreciating modern classic. It's going to start every time, and just "work". You can throw it into a bend and know that Renault Sport spent millions of euros making sure it will come out the other side, and you'll have had some fun whilst doing it. The RH just isn't like that, it's a collection of various donor bits built by a bloke in a shed with their own take on lots of it, the ones I have seen have never been "sorted". Interestingly the weight quoted on some of their cars is over 50% more than what my Caterham weighs, and that's going to blunt the experience an awful lot.
Not sure what your intended use is but no matter how great the appeal of a 7 style car as a daily seems, the reality is very, very different. You really don't want to do it, keep the car for special, dry days and the track. But be prepared for your RS to have been a much better track car anyway!
I do find the some of the prices of RH's a bit of an eye opener too. For that kind of money you could get yourself a very, very nice Porsche Boxster, which will do daily duties, track duties, is an appreciating classic, will start every day, and you get a RWD mid engine flat six, absolutley sublime handling and a Porsche badge on the front.
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