Col

Had the scoob a while now and cover very few miles and to be honest is just draining my wallet sitting about. Got a couple of faults so will probably just chop it in to a dealer rather than the hassle of private sales.Will take a big hit but,hey ho!
Looking for something cheaper to run but still fun and thought about a clio cup, heard a couple of stories about reliabilty issues and would like some opinions from people on here,
Cheers,
Colin.

Dai-Tec

I've only had a little go in it but I do love these cars for some reason. Just something about these that appeals, like a small car that shifts very quickly!

Not so keen on the interior (well bland), but apart from that they are a bargain I think.

CooperS

Nice little nippy cars but the build quality isn't too clever.

CooperS

P.S. Get over to www.cliosport.net

Quality bunch of chaps

LIDDO

As posted on a 182 thread

Had a 172 last year! Like driving a go cart! High revs on motorway, and had a pulley seal go, costing £500 to get sorted! It wouldnt tick over smoothly, and the garage could find no fault! The car only had 50k on it and it was 4yrs old! These things dont last like other marques. French crap Im afraid!
I personally wouldnt touch another one with a barge pole and I'd go for something with a better build quality, but each to there own, and good luck with whatever you end up getting.

PS, I believe the Pug GTI-6 to be the best hot hatch around (French again though )

elgaz

What about an Integra Type R? Similar performance to 172 (maybe quicker) and not that hard to run compared to a Scooby. Bulletproof engine, and a good one can be bought for 7k. I have one now and love it, am only planning to sell it cos I fancy something more rwd oriented again ....


Gaz

McWRX

We all did a northweald day last year and my friend came along in his 172... awesome little cars and very quick. Brakes were brilliant.

Only problem though, he snapped an engine mount and a driveshaft popped out. £480 to get repaired, renault do seem to charge a lot for their parts and labour though.

Apart from that I thought the performance for £8500 was amazing!

DarkForce

I used to have one bought new in 2002 - never again. Although i didn't have any major faults, the build quality was shocking and the threat of something serious going wrong was never far away - How does a new exhaust needed when it was a year old with 10k miles sound?

dtriggs

I was very close to buying one after all the positive reviews in the press. But they were just too compromised. The 2 I drove were 1 year old (182's) and both were looking shabby and worn and were low mileage. I am sure they handle well and are great fun but I found it wasnt as good as the hype. On the track it may be fantastic, but on normal badly maintained roads (usual round my way) I found it wasnt that great. The driving position is terrible too.

I can see why people buy them but I got a Fabia vRS - witha remap it isnt much if any slower, and although not as nimble and 'pointy' it handles 90 pct of roads more comfortably.

chris n`nic

I think the problem is that there are good and bad ones about. Mine did a 14.1 @ 97.5 mph @ York. That was with £600 mods. build quality isn`t good (but I`m sure this can be put down to the fact that they are cheap as chips. One guy of cliosport (Yozza,on here as well I think) did something daft like 80,000 miles of mostly track days and hammerings b4 it blew (probably the mods that did it in the end) Think you can get 53 reg ones for about 8k with 12months warrenty on so any problems will be sorted out for nowt. Mine on several occasions has kept right next to my m8s 260bhp scoobie to over 100 so they aren`t too slow! Keep it to about 85mph on the motorway and you`ll see 40+mpg (managed 11mpg on Curborough tho lol)

Chris

Senior_AP

You would be correct.

Daz34

Best hot hatch the pug maybe but the Clio is the best very hot hatch

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

My uncle just had to fit new CV gaiters to his...failed the first MOT @ 25K miles - boths side had gone - poor materials, not a coincidence. Unaccetpable IMO..should last much much much longer than that.

Then there's the clucth issue, running problems when cold, non starting, trim rattles, 3rd gear syncro (possibly an after effect caused by the clutch problem, - which dealers denied ). Plus other stuff he hasn't moaned at me about yet

So yes, they have their problems. But they are good to drive, not my cup of tea personally (not the most planted of chassis - but then its no Integra), but it is alot more fun to drive than most cars out there.

meganesport.net

I used to have one before I got my meg 225, they are awsome cars and I'd have one again tomorrow.Dont expect too much from the interior build quality but the mechanicals and engine are sublime and can take serious abuse. They are a bit quicker than a WRX too so you wont feel like your missing out on performance (depending on what scoob your getting rid of obviously)

R1916v

Drive it, if you like it buy it, if you don't then don't

Senior_AP

You old boys and ya over powered FWD electronic buzz boxes.

There was a time when a car was exactly that - a car.

Clio? lol. Been there, done that, proved it, bored now. The '6 is better in EVERY respect except the looks, of which I do not care.

8 years on and the best hot hatch is still the '6 ........ and any other pretenders are being compared against the '6...STILL.

Say's it all.

Good night.

Daz34

Better performance? Nope. My mate has a nice '6' and my midrange is a lot better. Quicker off the mark as well. Even he admits that. Better brakes? I doubt it.
Ride and handling? Nothing beats an old school pug. Shame about the high seating position though. Even higher than the Clio.

Darren

silverstrike

COL, go for it buddy... i've had a subaru and a clio cup 172 both cars i loved to drive for different reasons, but when it comes to those tight little back roads then the clio shines outright!!! wish i still had my cup, i'm currently driving an 05 plate 182 with both cup packs...

you wont miss the subaru one bit buddy(well maybe just the burble LOL), the clio is half the costs with double the fun and more than a few old members on here had 172cups aswell...!!!

if you would like to test drive a full fat 182 then i'd be happy to let you have a go in mine.. no probs at all...

ross

Senior_AP

Sorry all, I was pissed when i did that post.

I prefer the 306 after owning a 172 - I find it a little bit better at everything than the 172, that's all.

Senior_AP

With regards to performance, in reality there's nothing in it, it's basically the same. Nit picking over 0.05 here and there. I will take your word on the mid range thing - I don't know myself.

Brakes?? Dunno, I've upgraded my GTi-6 with better disks/pads for track use.

Handling - 306. end of.

Seating position - My clio was higher than my GTi-6. Hmm, weird you see it t'other way round. Answer - buckets on a low subframe.

I LOVE my '6 !!!!

homerjay

right, my turn

i used to own a 99 gti-6 after my 205 gti, and it seriously was an immense car, stunning hangling, gorgeous box, but the clio 182 i owned up until 2 month ago was much quicker and much more fun, at almost half the price...

I would even go as far as sayin the 182 was more fun to drive that my current scoob, yes the scoob is much quicker but the 182 was a laugh a minute, enormous fun and i couldnt brake it no matter how hard i drove it, so there are good ones and bad ones around, like any car...

yes ive driven ther cooper s and civic type r and the cupra r but as far as im concerned there is NO better car under 1yr old and under £10k available today...

Daz34

Nearly 200kg lighter & a bit more power. Bigger difference than you think.
0 - 100 times have seconds in it

Senior_AP

On the road they sit next to each other.

Stats!! Pah, Like WR1's do 0-100 in 11 secs. lol

homerjay

IIRC

gti6 is about 19 secs
182 is about 17 secs

Senior_AP

Can't comment on the 182 - never driven or been in one. Thought we were on about the 172?

Anyway, Hot hatches are all much of a muchness in terms of straight line performance, it's the other things that make one variant (GTi-6) better than the other variants....

wilf

Right had my 172 Cup from new 3 years ago.

25k Miles

Faults - broken plastic clip on gear gaiter - err thats it.

MPG - 40 average

I bought it when I owned my P1 and had 3 scoobs before that.

The Renault is a better everday proposition particularly these days with fuel costs and speed cameras.

I would definitely buy another. I've owned the Cup for longer than I have ever owned any other car (I'm on my 32nd car) and I cant think of any other car in the same sector that equals or betters it (and gets no where near it for the money).

The driving position takes a bit of getting used to and yes the interior appears a bit flimsy but it actually works quite well and wears no worse than a scoob interior.

DarkForce

My 172 was bought new in 2002

In 18 Months and 15k miles;

Bits of trim randomly fell off/broke
Cabin becomes so squeaky it had to have the whole dashboard taken out and refitted by the dealer
Random cutting out at idle - never properly diagnosed or fixed
New exhaust required due to knackered mid-section

MPG: 30-37

I now have a Skoda Fabia vRS bought new last year. 12 months and 17k miles later? No faults,*none whatsoever. Handling wise its not as good as the Clio but in 95% of situations it feels faster.

MPG: 40-50

chris n`nic

Thats the key word tho.....The PD130`s are quick but that grunt makes it feel much quicker.....

Chris

wilf

I owned a Fabia prior to my Cup. Admittedly not VRS but I did have a few bits of trim fall off and break during the 10k I owned it (interior switches failed and seat and door handles fell off).

I like the Fabia but its a different deal to the Clio - softer and more of a cruiser

DarkForce

Very true, but around town all that grunt makes it quicker in reality too...