Avi

I was thinking of getting one instead of an Impreza Sport.. anyone had one, or got any opinions. i know they would be completely different cars

Cheers


Andy

druddle

Have only been a passenger in one and followed a Williams 3 recently but I would say they are one of THE best handling hot hatches ever. I am sure you will be able to get some more info from Cliosport.net.

Dave

StevieG

Andy,
I owned a MK1 (no41) between nov96 & april 1999 before I changed to Scoobies. I can't recommend them enough. Plenty fast enough for most; superb handling in the dry, fantastic steering feel.
Used to get lots of (friendly) attention from other car enthusiasts as they are so rare.
The great thing is that they are simple cars mechanically, no complicated turbos/traction control/aircon to go wrong and cost loads - the engine/gearbox is very tough & should be fine if properly serviced. The tyres can be expensive as most use the unusual 185/55 size.
Make sure any car you view has an FSH though and do the usual HPI checks. Also, the only trouble I had with mine was with the occasional blown fuse; check the operation of the boot light as well as this can stay switched on when it shouldn't causing the battery to keep running down.

Hope this all helps,
Steve

[Edited by StevieG - 5/16/2002 12:39:36 PM]

chris singleton

Owned a 16 valve for 2 years before the scoob, couldn't quite manage a Williams, they just don't seem to depriciate at all. Cars are very similar though, I think the Williams has about 150BHP and is much lighter compared to 137BHP of the 16valve.

Still, fantastic car, really quick and was sad to see it go. Agree with Steve, check the electrics, especially windows.

Chris

Avi

Trying to decide whether it;s worth the extra over the 16v

Brun

Owned a 16v for two years. I really wanted a Williams but found it would cost £900 more to insure. (rang round loads) I figured that for the sake of 13bhp i am not paying that.
Absolutely get a 16v. I also owned a 205 gti 1.9 for two years and prefered the clio.
P.s - if you do get a clio, get a k&n 57i, it's an amazing noise which i even prefer to my scoob turbo.

M8TT J

Owned a Modified Williams 2 for a year and it was the most fun I have ever had in a car...apart from s##gging in one.

Anyway I would recommend them to anyone. Make sure it has a FSH and speak to the previous owners. Check the front wings aren't cracked as well as they are plastic.

Also I would strongly advise a full de cat pipe and K&N filter if you get one.

Just be warned the clutch is set in stone but apart from that well worth getting and in my eyes a lot better than a normal 16v

chris singleton

Agree with Brun, K&N a must, sounds fantastic but not quite as a good as my Scoobysport exhaust

DazV

I had a 16v Clio many moons ago and really loved it.

I had a nut shear through one morning on the way to work which caused me to lose all breaking and produce some nasty sparks and screeching, which could've killed me, but apart from that it was great!

-DV

skiddusmarkus

Check all the electric toys as they are prone to fail-The leccy sunroof on my old R19 16v used to like to stay open when it started raining and the central locking worked at least twice in a year of ownership.Good engines that love to rev,agree about the k+n,they sound great on them.Check for rust on rear arches.

Fast_Blue_Scooby

I had a Clio Williams for 5 years before changing to the Scooby.
Best car I had driven until the Scooby, easily better than the current range of hot hatches. I fitted a magnex exhaust and K+N Air filter although I had to keep the radio up load on motorway journeys!

My Williams drank a lot of oil, over a good litre every month!! I needed the front discs changed after a year. The electrics were fine on my car and apart from the things I have mentioned, couldn't really fault the car mechanically. Excellent gear change, but heavy clutch. Superb in the dry but not as composed as the Subaru in the wet.

If you do decide to get one, I have some brand new Williams mats up for sale!!!

Tractor

I also used to have a 16v with K+N and a magnex exhaust. I would say definately get the Williams though - the 16v is fantastic, but the ***** is better still. I also read somewhere that a K+N on a Williams actually loses BHP!!! That was in Evo I think.

Mike

johnfelstead

Buy my Sport AVi, its a much better alround package than a Clio.

I agree they are a fantastic car, but as an alround package the sport is much much better, especially when it rains, which, lets face it is the majority of the time in the UK.

My add is http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/threa...threadid=91328 It's a bloody good car.

Caronte

Had it for 5 years.

On performance side there were no cars that could handle it in small twisty roads, not even an impreza.
On high speed roads it suffered its smaller wheelbase.
It can be driven with the accelerator. Just slam it into the corner and play with th accelerator to move the tail.

The Willi has the most communicative steering i ever experienced. you can feel the stones of the tarmac!

The accelerator is very sensible and the engine responds immediately to it. It has a two difference wheights along its movement: that's because the clio has a double trottle valve that open in sequece the more you press the accelerator.

The brakes need some uprated pads.

The engine, on my opinions needs some more Hp as it can be slightly "lazy" below 400 rpm. I fitted at the tome a Renaul Sport gr N chip ,, and the car was going very fast. It also eats Oil a lot.

The gear change is fragile as the electrical system is not that reliable.

Have fun!

polarbearit

Umm, Avi, I thought you were going for a Sport rather than a turbo for insurance reasons? If so surely the Clio ***** is about as bad, AFAIK it is group 18ish I think. Have you had a quote?

johnfelstead

clio williams is group17
Impreza UK Turbo is group17
Impreza Sport is group13

source is http://www.parkers.co.uk/owning/insu...guide/ins7.asp

Avi

I am ideally after a Sport, but a few money Problems have meant I Don't have as much as I used to

I don't really want a High Miler, so I was looking at alternatives. I have seen a Nice Williams 2 for 5k FSH, low miles etc...

These are the quotes I've had so far.

Insurance quotes :

Imp Turbo UK : £1320 (2 Out of 4 In my area have been carjacked - Put me off a bit as I need to leave it in Manchester)

Imp Turbo WRX :£2000

Imp Sport :£850

Clio Williams 2: £1157

Clio 1.8 16V : £985

John - I would buy your Sport, but I'm a bit Short

Maybe if you've not sold it in a few weeks.. I might be able to scrape it.


Andy

johnfelstead

you have mail Andy.

thecirsch

Avi,
I agree with everthing above

Had my 16V for over 5 years, only problem during that time was the electric sunroof motor went, which was replaced under warranty. Check the wheels as the do have a tendancy to 'collide' with the kerb due to high shoulder.
Had the biggest smiles driving that, only matched and passed by the Scooby.

Good luck,

Ed.

iain atkins

I can just re-itterate what everyone has said.

I owned the Williams 3 for 4 years before i went Scooby. Handling was fantastic, and i would probably have to say more predictable than the Scooby, and definately more chuckable.

Mine was running 190bhp, and i had been known to 'weld' myself to scoobies down country roads. The only reason i went Scooby was because i knew when i finished tuning, it would have quite a power hike

I am still considering buying another Willi as a second car.

Cheers



Iain

ChrisB

What year were the last of the version 3s made?

iain atkins

Mine was one of the last on a late MY95 'n' reg

ChrisB

Cheers Iain.

Too right on the insurance front...

MY99 UK Turbo with light mods, worth ~£11k - smidge under £1000

Williams MY95 worth ~£6.5 - £940 (quote from Tescos today)

Renewal on the Scoob is due July though, so will prolly go up a bit.

Not cheap.

[Edited by ChrisB - 5/20/2002 6:37:04 PM]

iain atkins

Chris,

Here is a picture of my 'old baby' when it was featured in performance car.



Wicked little car

Iain

ChrisB

Iain.

I had a 1.8RT Clio a couple of cars back and that was ace. Looked just like a 1.4RT from the outside but had a little extra poke up front.

Not much saving on the insurance but looking on AutoTrader, you can pick what looks to be a good example up for £5k - £7k.

Hmmm!

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

Williams nice But I would stay clear of any 137bhp 16v ones, they seem to be prone to headgasket failure on higher mileages [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] And believe me you do not want to get that fixed by anyone, let alone a Reno dealer, as its at least a £800-1000 bill I should know [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]