paul clarke

Has anyone swapped their scoob for a clio 172?Is this a move that anyone can recommend? Anyone got any views in general about the 172 especially people who have owned one as apposed to people who just think they are ****e because they aren't a scoob.ta

bluto22b

Totally different beast. Would you start eating sardines when you have been used to salmon ?
Its a hatchback, a badly assembled one at that. The Subaru isn't without fault but its pretty well screwed together. Incidently my neighbour has a 1996 "N" Clio Williams, and the rear arches are so badly chipped rust has now appeared and quite severe too.... Blutes

Mathew

try over on http://www.cliosport.net/

skiddus_markus

I thought the wings on a Williams were fibreglass-maybe it's just the front ones.

sammyh

iTrader: (1)

Just the front ones, I beleive they are plastic.

Corpulent Tosser

I like sardines

I also think the Clio could be quite fun to drive, I don't think I would buy one though - But at less than £15K it's quite a bit cheaper than a Scooby !

pisshead

I would'nt touch anything remotley french. Would be frightened of breaking it

MARK MORRIS

dont do it, i thought it would be a cheaper way of having some fun, i went to renault , got a part x price of £20,250 for my y reg p1 with 18's and alcons against a 172 cup, went to local scoob dealer, they offered me 23k against a y reg clio 172, took it for a test drive, wat a load of ****e,crap interior, crap performance, crap exterior, good brakes, in the end i got a sti 7 instead, got 24k part x
mark

paul clarke

Thanks all for your views,intresting,but the scoob is going mainly because its been the most unreliable car i've ever owned,and i've owned some crapI bought my one owner car from a main dealer i've been brought home on a low loader with major engine failure,i've had problems with clutch,turbo and lots of other annoying faults that have destroyed my love for the car,i'm looking to p/x the scoob against something new/fun/and not subaru.

bluenose172

iTrader: (2)

Riiiight!

Crap performance - I don't think a car that can do 60 in 6.6 seconds out of the box and do 100 in 16ish seconds is poor performance, however coming from a P1 I may have a similar view!

Crap Interior - Compared to what, a scoob? I can't see anything wrong with the interior, unless you were talking about the Cup!

Good brakes - I'll give you that!

Crap exterior - It's down to personal preference!

I'd say go for a test drive, see what you think, I find it a great fun car to drive!!

Cheers

Paul

MARK MORRIS

paul
the one i tried was an early 2001 car, horrible dash etc, nice seats, as you said, coming from a decatted p1, no performance, found the honda civic type r not so bad, did test drive both, and i think the later shape is better looking, i was disappointed to find the one i nearly had to be the early shape
mark

LG John

Blue I'm stuggeling to see how the 172 can be hitting a non-indicated, i.e. real 100mph from standstill in the 16 seconds bracket. It's quoted in the high 17s, 18s by most mags and the mags tend to be fairly accurate IMO. Have you tested this some how?

Scott W

Dave Ruddle (Druddle) has, and I'm sure he'll post his thoughts in here sooner or later.

bluenose172

iTrader: (2)

Saxoboy,

I'm going by the fact that I cross the line at Crail at 95 MPH at 15 dead! You're not telling me that im going to take another 2.5> seconds to do 5 mph, when im in the meat of 4th!

LG John

You'd be surprised dude. Next time your doing such speeds have someone watch how long the speedo takes to go from an 95-100 and I think you'll be surprised that it will take a few seconds.

If I recall I was crossing the line in 15.3 at about 88mph. Are you telling me the VTS would take another 7 seconds to put on 12mph.......I don't know for sure.....perhaps it would??

bluenose172

iTrader: (2)

I think it would!

;D;D

lpitt

I went out in Druddles a while back with him doing the driving. Have to say it's a very rapid little car (it was standard at the time) and felt very good.

IMHO The only thing that lets it down is the build quality (and I'm sure Dave would agree here) which is pretty cr8ppy.

Horses for courses though. You're trying to compare a Scooby and a 172 like Burger K and McD's. In reality it's more like comparing Indian and Chinese food.

Laurence

paul clarke

I've now test driven a new shape 172 and like everything to do with cars its all a personal opinion,but i liked it,i thought that the level of equipment that you get for your money was good,it didn't squeak and rattle when i drove it,but it was only 3000miles old,the doors sure shut with a much meatier sound than my scoob,however i accept that the performance is in a different league(bearing in mind that recently i've spent alot of my time in the dealers subaru justy Also i can buy a brand new import for£11800 on the road with a 9K trade in for my 98MY turbo,i'm still tempted

druddle

Just read this at last....

Yep i have a 2001 new shape 172. Heres what i would say about it....

Best points
-----------

Grip - The car has bags of grip, at the front and rear. The only car i have cornered faster in is a Racing Puma.
Brakes - Although they will fade badly after continuous heavy ( and i mean heavy) abuse, they are ouststanding for stock brakes.
Looks - I actualy think it looks nice ! Lol
MPG - Recently did an average of 43mpg on a trip from Bracknell to Luton Airport. Try getting that in a Scoob !!!!

I would say it is a real fun car to drive, very good if you chuck it about, esp once the rear tyres get a bit worn !! Had an enthusiastic drive with a couple of CTRs last week and there was not alot in it.

Bad points
----------

Dealers - IMHO the after sales service from Renault is not at all good. I wont go into details but i am not the only one to think this (check cliosport.net)
Build - the car is a bit rattly, but then its a 15k car new (12 if you import it) so i just got used to it.
Front tyre wear - if you drive like a hooligan then it will eat front tyres. I have just had my 3rd set fitted after 16000 miles.

Other than that, its a as far as value for money, its a bloody quick car for what you pay.

Look into the Limited edition Cup version, thats about 13k i think but no ABS, climate control, Xenons, and a few minor bits, but bigger wheels and slightly wider track. Supposed to handle even better.

Dave

P.S. You cant compare it to a Scoob really, they are like chalk and cheese.

[Edited by druddle - 9/16/2002 8:02:01 AM]

Kussimurran

Well, I am a sucker for hot hatches, and I have a Cup on order...

paul clarke

Cheers

The Zohan

Not driven a 172, driven most others including a Williams2

My thoughts

The clio has possibly the worst inerior i have seen for a long time, the plastic is the cheapest/nastiest looking and rattles like nothing else, now the scoobs interior may not be the best but it looks s like a Merc in comparison. The general build quality of clio's is pretty poor, i have a friend of mine who runs a car hire company, he has had 30 or so Clio's, they just do not last, the interiors are weak, the build quality is poor and the engines do not stand up to hire car type abuse. I concur, i must have had around seven different ones from him.

I am sure the 172 goes, handles and stops well, just the build quality and materials that would worry me.

Having said that i like the look of thwe new Clio, just could not buy one meself

SiPie

Had one as a courtesy car ....! when my old Laguna shed was in for it's weekly repairs. Daibolical car with terrible driving position and offset pedals... either that or my legs have become squint. So plasticky too...

Renault dealers in general couldn't give a t$ss so I would steer well clear of them. You will also find yourself steering well clear of tarmac when your fronts struggle for grip with less than perfect tyres up front.

Follow the EVO guides on their long termer and that's your best bet (coupled with a lengthy test drive) but please don't think you'll save alot of cash as they are still quite pricey to service and being french you'll be buying new bits as they fall off.

LG John

My mates 172 seemed pretty well screwed together and the interior was defo an improvement over the saxo He didn't have any problems either until he spun it into a kerb and bent his axles Problem was because of some silly little wheel part not being available he was in a hire car for months!!!

My brother had problems with his clio and after a fair bit of moaning to the dealer one of the managers took him under his wing and got his car totally sorted, valeted to the max, scratches that weren't their fault taken out and then some cash comphensation (rare) to boot.

gareth

My 172 (new shape) stands up well overall alongside my scooby, though they are very different cars.

Re the Clio Cup, I think Renault are failing in their responsibility to other road users by deleting ABS from what is a very fast road car that is within the price range of young/inexperienced drivers.

Wouldn't mind a set of those speedlines though...

Gareth

paul clarke

Saxo Boy,my wife has got a VTR saxo and although its nowhere as quick as my scoob i still enjoy driving the wheels off it(if she reads this i'm dead and it was her car that got me thinking about a 172,i can live with the cheapo plastics in the citroen because at the end of the day it was a cheap car,and likewise i don't expect the car that i replace the scoob with to be better in most areas because it will be a cheaper car,all views still gratefully received

rich uk300

just stick my bit in.....evo mag has clio down for 20secs for 100mile

AliWrx

I think we are missing the point here guy's.

I think what Paul is more interested in is how the car goes and stops and handles. No one on here can claim that they bought there scoob based on its glorious interior finish, if that was the case we would all be driving BMW's and Audi's.

Anyone here who actually own's one of these wee beasties got anything to comment....

Ali

LG John

If you can live with the interior and don't want to spend the extra cash you should consider upgrading to a VTS or 106 GTI, which can be had very cheap as they are nearing the end of their life. The are a lot faster than the VTR when you rev them and will keep up very well with the clio.

If I was to buy a brand new hot-hatch today I think I'd struggle to decide between a CTR and a VTS. The civic is the only new hot-hatch that is noticably quicker than a VTS and it looks the mutts but it costs a lot more to buy and probably to run as well.

gareth

IMHO the 172 beats my MY01 (with PPP) hands-down for in-gear throttle response, quality of interior and equipment.

It is obviously down on outright power. I'm guessing it is down on grip and handling as well, but there's not that much in it and I know that if I drove it every day I could get a lot more out of it than I do now.

Only had the 172 for a year so can't really comment on durability etc, but I'd be surprised if Renault could beat Subaru's reliability and service record. Like I've said before, we treat it kindly and hope it will last.

G