Fancy a Clio 182 or 197 any advice welcome
 

Fancy a Clio 182 or even a 197 if funds and Mrs come together, around £3600-£4000. Anyone had one and can offer some advice as I seem to have had Impreza 's for my last 5 cars.

Stick to scubys dude you"lol regret it Renaults are always specialists etc and just too small if you've had scubys, up to you though 3/4K is a lot of money get a golf instead?

Both suffer from the same problem now: chavvy and expensive to maintain.

I mean Clio Sports and Scoobs.;)

Timing belts are expensive on cliosports and can easily go wrong due to the floating pulleys but a good garage with the correct tools can easily do a belt change in a couple of hours.

For cheap, fun, motoring, a Clio 182 for around the £2k mark with the belts done in the last year or so is the way to go. Not the biggest car so don't expect to fit a family of 5 in them.

What ya reckon for chavved I'm still looking for a ford Capri!! Or a Bluebird zx turbo saloon:thumb:

The 172/182 stick the the road like glue with good tyres.
As above make sure the belts and DEPHASER have been done by a specialist or the power will be down without the correct tools.

Honestly a great car, used to go full lock, full power right round roundabouts (on a private track) and it still stuck to the road (ahem... track rather)

A Mini cooper S is meant to be quicker than a 197 which i'd find embarassing. If you've got the money for a 197 maybe look into tuning a 172/182.

The size isn't an issue as it's just me and the mrs, no kids just a large capacity motorbike, just getting a bit bored with the Scooby and looking for something else, Clio 197 looks the best bet for me, 20 miles to work through the back roads or 15 minutes up the motorway. Would get one with the belts done but can do all the other maintenance myself. Not that interested in tuning it as I I have the bike.

Found my 172 boring - actually preferred my soot chucking Fabia VRS to it!
They handle well but I found the rear end far too light off the back of owning a Scoob Classic and an Elise!
Going from a Scoob to a 182/197????? Not in a million years thank you!

Think I'll have to get out there and get some test drives in to see ;-)

Can't say about the 182, but the 197's have the following problems, none of which cheap.

1. Gearboxes go crunchy 3rd>4th.....the Cup and 200 boxes are better with a longer 6th too. Direct swap.
2. Gear linkages wear, gear change becomes like stirring porridge.
3. Rear brakes wear quite fast, discs include hubs so £300+ instead of £80.
4. Front ball joints include hubs so £210 instead of £40.
5. Exhaust manifolds split at the flexible joint. An OE one is £500+. A better one is £300...but needs a remap/map tweak as it leans out in the midrange.
6. Wiper motors are situated in a cavity which can fill with water, the wipers then work intermittently or not at all. Needs new motor, around £60, and remove the bung in the bottom of the cavity for better drainage.

Having said that, when they are going, they go well, and on back roads are fun to drive.

My eldest just had his remapped after a new exhaust manifold, gained only 3bhp at the top, but between 20 and 30 bhp across the midrange and almost the same in torque.

RS Tuning, Leeds.

I believe the 197 has an hydraulic clutch, where as the 182 doesn't. Thats what put me off a 182 when i had a drive in a friends clio, it felt like a workout using that clutch.

182 also doesn't have a spare wheel I believe due to the exhaust being where the spare wheel should be!

Totally loved my 172, one of the most fun cars I have ever owned and was totally bullet proof. The trick would be to find a decent one these days. I would also never go from a Scooby to a 172/182 unless its going to be a track toy.

They are great cheap fun cars though.

Was it a paddle clutch? Normal clutch is no problem on a 172/182. My mrs had my 172 cup for years and said it was the easiest car she has ever driven.

You need to hit the gym mate! lol

Cheers for the great advice alcazar

197 has no spare either, but with the age of the car, a full-size spare can be had for under £100 now.

Well it was a 1.2 clio i had ago in, pedal was really tough compared to scooby.

I have an Impreza and a Clio (a phase 1 172), both are great cars. Clio's lack power and take a lot of effort to get the best out of them; I've got a little extra HP now which makes it nicer, but it was a hassle to find it.

Oh, just spotted in a previous post the ball joint's cost, it's incorrect they only cost £12 from ECP.

Please don't post stuff you don't know about. That cost is for a 197 Sport. And it is correct.

I wouldn't mind the RS200 clio

Bought My Mrs one in October, Awesome car. Sounds epic on full tilt especially changing gear in race mode on the paddles, down shift equally as good with automatching revs. Not to mention launch control too:D

Drawbacks, Very small fuel tank and drinks for fun.
Don't much like the position of the starter button or the keycard access.
Lights are crap.
Gets filthy for fun

She loves it. 1.6 turbo 200bhp & bizarrely cheaper to insure than her old ds3 VTI 1.6 NA

There's only one car worthy of the RS200 name and it ain't a French shopping trolley

;)

Just sold my Scoob and picked up a 182 to run around in until I decide what's next.

Paid £1800, dephaser/timing belt done 3 months ago and it's on 80k miles. Couple of bodywork dings, and four different variety of linglong ditchfinders on it - but drives well and cost less for the whole car than my coilovers did for the Scoob :lol1:

They're really not bad, may keep it regardless and see if the missus fancies tracking it or something.

Awesome cars, had a few would have another in a heart heart.

I had as much fun in my Cup on track than I did in my Impreza's and the Evo.

A French car with your paranoia??? You sure that's a good idea :p

I've owned an RS Clio for ten years and serviced it myself so let's leave it there as this site is lately full of less than positive comments.

Cheers.

They are great fun.. but as of lately I seem to be having issues with my 172.

Small things which just cause an annoyance more than anything, the bonnet won't close properly, unlatched itself yesterday on the M1!

Also the exhaust has mounting issues so it hangs below the rear bumper slightly and then the headlights seem to not want to turn off, every time ignition is switched on they come on!

Always wanted a 182 after owning a 1.2 as a teen. Bought one between Scoobies and to be honest it wasn't anything special.

Glad I did it, but wouldn't go back.