jonnyesse

QUICKER THAN A RS FOCUS, HANDLES BETTER, CHEAPER, THE ULTIMATE SMALL HATCH BUT NO COMPARISON TO MY STI 6.BUT BEWARE IF UR NOT CLOSE TO 280ISH BHP BEWARE THE CUP, IT IS 200KG LIGHTER THAN THE 172 AND MANAGES TO BEET ITS BIG BROTHER THE V6 CLIO TO 60 AND 100MPH, LUCKILY IF U SEE OURS IT WILL BE DRIVEN BY THE WIFE.

TurboKitty

Why are you SHOUTING?

Pavlo

80kg lighter than 172

jonnyesse

yep ur right its only 89 kg lighter (8% reduction) its the cup racer that weighs in at 950kg which also has a 6 speed sequential gearbox.

DaveR

I'm test driving one (Clio Cup) on Saturday (had a go in a CooperS this week) and will let you know!!!

petersen

I'm picking mine up on Friday....

So i've got 570 bhp now,,,,,,,,,,,

pity it's over 3 cars!!!!!!!!!

logiclee

Your having a laugh aren't you?

All IMO. The driving position in the clio is aweful and the ride is overfirm causing it to be skittish on anything other than smooth tarmac. I couldn't tell anydiffence on the road between the Cup and the 172, would rather have the aircon etc rather than the 80kg weight saving.

Still waiting to have a go in the RS Focus but the handling balance and steering feel on the ST170 is superb, way ahead of the Clio.

Lee

jonnyesse

ask clarkeson in last weeks sunday times driving supplement about the handling of the rsfocus, the worst b-road handling he has ever witnessed. apart from that a good car he thought.what about the old 172, yes it doesn't have the best driving position but it got last years top superhatch award 'car' magazine let alone the cup which has exclipsed the 172 in every performance area, bound to test it around a circuit soon, so beware!

Dave T-S

Ignoring the better than RS Focus rose tinted glasses crap.......

"the wife"...oh, how refreshingly un-sexist - isn't she a person then, just an object?

andycrowther

i had a 172 before my 01 wrx....the car is ace fun it might be skittish but if you keep your bottle it'll grip and thrashing it puts a big smile on your face...i'd rather have the aircon as a real world car but at that weight with that performance it's got to knock spots off the foetus anyday!!!!!!!!!

polarbearit

Didn't read the papers but what clarkson said (@ tg filming) about the RS was that the car was awesomely quick around the track, but the diff made it lethal on the road. I don't think that makes it slower than a 172 At the end of the day even if it doesn't handle poorly surfaced roads etc, I don't think the 172 was every great at that either...

jonnyesse

we can only wait to see how the cup performs on a track (bound to be a mag out soon that do this)but at 7k more expensive lets hope the rs fucus is faster for if it cant get away on a track it will have no chance on a real road where i quote 'the 172 has the ability to cross country as fast as anything this side of a mitsub.evo'and 'the clio has a wonderful adjustability that allows u to go from understeer to oversteer and back mid-bend'never mind the cup which has a wider track and tweaked susp.
hope this ads to the thread.
as for 'the wife' (sorry my wife) she loves the car for looks, speed and a average mpg of over 30.

jonnyesse

atlast! check out this months evo magazine tested are rs focus mini cooper s standard scooby wrx 215bhp and a clio cup.at times on the road the focus struggled to keep up with the wrx and the cup which incidently has the highest bhp/tonne at 171 compared to the focus at 169.
in the end the cup came out top of the pile but dont take my word, go out and buy it as it has another good group test with a m5 winning.