2002 - 2003 clio 172
 

At the moment I've got a 03 VW Golf tdi, but recently, my mileage has reduced dramatically. My sister on the otherhand has taken a new job recently which means she'll be travelling alot further than she has been, so she's interested in buying my car as she knows the history of it etc.

It's relatively low mileage in good condition, so I think around £4k is a reasonable price, however, cannot find anything for around this price that might be ok, otherthan a clio 172 (52 plate ish). There are a few about with 40-45000 miles that look ok.

I'm not a fan of French cars and only ever really heard bad things when it comes to Clio's, so interested in the past experiences of people who've had one and what to look out for.

I'm only averaging around 75 miles a week tops so want something a bit more fun that my lardy Golf, but something that's not going to cause me a headache.

Cheers

(Edited to say, I've tried the search function, but it didn't find much)

Ive not had one. But i have been up against a few on track. And i have to say. the Clio 172/182/192 etc is the car which has impressed me most on track!

They seem to be very fast, few mods can achieve 5.5/6 to sixty, they seem to handle very well!

I wasnt expecting much from them after dispatching Cupra R's and cooper S's with such ease, the 172's were noticably quicker. If i had to get a FWD car for that budget. Thats what it would probably be. :)

Hopefully someone has first hand experiance who can contribute.

I have one :) a 2003 172 in black. Its a fantastic car to drive, so much fun. I've had no problems with it other than the head unit has stopped working.
Where are you from Matt? As I am going to be selling mine in the next few months as I want something bigger and more comfortable to drive. The clio is great but the suspension is stiff so not so comfy.
Mine has only done 30k and is excellent condition............
Any thing else you want to know about them? I'd definitely reccommend them

My first one:
http://www.sidtech.co.uk/iu/Fantom00155379904.jpg
http://www.sidtech.co.uk/iu/Fantom093622371958.jpg
http://www.sidtech.co.uk/iu/Fantom120909842111.jpg

And my current one:
http://www.sidtech.co.uk/iu/Fantom4290989494.jpg
http://www.sidtech.co.uk/iu/Fantom5841884018.jpg

I'm from Rotherham, so a bit of a distance from you. It looks quite good in black, definately the best colour.

What kind of mpg do you get and are there any particular things to look out for?
Also, what is the driving position/interior room like, because i'm quite tall and small cars are usually quite uncomfortable.

Well I'm the man to talk to about driver comfort! I'm 6'5!
I'm just leaving work and will reply later this evening

Ok mate, thanks :thumb:

I was just thinking recently that I hardly ever see a 172 on the road these days. Wonder whats happened to them all :wonder:

Ok Matt. How tall are you btw?
I thought I would be fine after test driving but after a few weeks of driving it I just had to do something. The driving position is awful for a tall person. The seats look the business, they look plush and comfy but I didn't find them comfortable at all really. The only way I can describe it is it feels like you're sitting in a childs seat. The back of the seat only comes 3/4 up my back. I also found I had a lot of leaning down to do every time I turned left cos I couldn't see under the rear view mirror. For a while I just took it off as its not a requirement for the mot anyway.
However, as I loved the car so much I had to take some action about the seats....
So I bought a set of cobra misanos from ClioSport and it was the best mod I've ever done. They sit a little bit lower than the standard seats but that wasn't enough so with the help of my brother we cut & rewelded the subframe on the drivers side so the seat sits as low as possible. The difference is unreal. At 6'5 I have about 4" of headroom and my view is more in the middle of the windscreen. The rearview mirror is back on as well :)
Here is a pic from behind so you can see how much lower my drivers seat is than the passengers:

http://www.sidtech.co.uk/iu/Fantom50546037401.jpg

I would definitely recommend doing this as the car is so much nicer to drive when seated properly. I only really noticed after doing this how much better the car was to drive. When it fels like you're sat on top of the controls you really don't have the same driving skills as when seated correctly.
So if you don't want to change the seats then I would seriously consider some trial driving in one and really think about it cos it only took me a few weeks to decide I couldn't take it any more.

With regards to the mpg...........well its pretty good. Over the last 1600 miles I have got 33mpg according to the computer. I do a lot of short journeys sat in traffic to work and its still that high. You can average 40mpg on the motorway.

Ok....things to look for........
Well I haven't had any major problems with the two I've had apart from the exhausts.
The exhausts are ****. Its as simple as that. They are appalling. The backboxes last around 4 years. Both my clios had these replaced before my ownership.
There is a design flaw on the centre section which means it seems to split in the same place. My first clio went so I bought a £380 stainless system only for the car to be written off 2 weeks later and they wouldn't let me take the exhaust off!
My second clio also had the centre section go so i replaced it with the standard part £49from ebay. Its actually blowing a bit recently but the exhaust looks ok so it just needs some paste in the join I think.
The other thing is the cv boot. The turning circle is not that great and sometimes the cv boot comes off at full lock. This happened on my first one and it sprayer grease all over the wheel etc. Cheap to fix though.

Can't really think of much else......
I remember from previous threads about the 172/182 that there a quite a few haters on this site. I'm sure they will be along to tell you that they are gutless etc but you need to drive one for yourself really. Don't let anyone convince you that they are not fast though. For a clio it is pretty impressive and easily matches if not beats a standard wrx.
Also as the guy said above, on track they are quick! Easy to drive fast as well as they handle so well! You won't believe how much grip there is at the front.

Hope this helps.........let me know if you need anything else........
+ if you want to come to Essex you can take mine away with the seats and original seats for £4.5k

Regards
Steve

Thanks alot for that Steve, it's cleared alot of things up.
I'm 6'3 so although it might not be as much of a problem as you had, I think i'll probably have a bit of bother.

The performance aspect doesn't worry me, it's a few years since I had my Impreza now and a couple since I had anything that you could call reasonably quick, so it'll probably put a smile on my face :).

I'll be sure to have a good test drive if I go ahead, and i'll definately give you a shout if I end up swapping.

Thanks :thumb:

Agree about the exhausts and CV boots. Our exhaust fell in half at 2 years old and both the CV boots popped off at some point.

There's an issue with the airbag light coming on on some. Think its due to a loose connection under the passenger seat as it would always be when it had been moved.

Wheels seem to corrode really quickly.

Ours never achieved the good fuel consumption that is raved about. Was more like 26 mpg on average, though lots of town driving.

I could never quite get over the fact that it had plastic front wings aswell!

I love the plastic front wings! Keeps the weight down ;)

they all have that, even the big old Grand Espace :freak3:

I so wanted one of these, I love how they look and still get "urges" when I see one, similar situation to you, found one, low miles, French Racing Blue at a dealer and drove it and couldnt see what the fuss was about, I think it depends what you are coming from but had four turboed cars beforehand so the power delivery felt flat, need to rev them and I did on the test drive and it just didnt grab me, the gearstcik was too far away when I had the seats far enough back, I could live with the quality, or lack of it and it did handle ok but again, its fwd and generally most are just degrees of "ok, for fwd", went to buy a BMW 330i coupe, much more like it, a joy to drive but it didnt have three full belts so I bough another Saab, not fantastic but I prefer the turbo power delivery, until I can get a big capacity N/A or supercharged RWD car.

You need to try one, if you are coming from a warm hatch its the next logical step, they are fast and seem to hold their own on track days against much more powerful opposition, decent little car, but not for me I am afraid, not sure how a Golf Diesel compares, they are very grunty and decently fast so its a complete opposite in terms of delivery, try it and see whether you like it, I think it seem frustrating after instant low down grunt, but you may relish the 7000 rpm lunge.

I would humbly suggest an Ibiza or Leon Cupra for some low down grunt turbo hatch delivery, not as renown a handler but not bad.

You're right about the power delivery, mine's a 130 bhp model, so it moves when you need it to, but corners are a whole different matter...think more along the lines of sailing than driving.

I had no intention of changing the car for a few more years TBH. This was my "I'll run it for 5 years" car, while I look to buy my first house, but having just split up with my girlfriend, the offer of having something a bit more fun for next to no cost is really appealing, and this car seems to fit the bill. I had a CTR for a year or so and loved the frantic style of driving, so I'm pretty sure I'd get on with a Clio.

I do fancy trying one just out of interest, but it really depends on what my sister decides to do. The Golf has been an excellent car and I won't be disappointed if I end up keeping it.

I've taken my Mother's 02 172 off her hands back in July. Had to sell my Elise as home ownership got in the way :( Anyways, i have an 80 mile round trip to work so am doing upto 500 miles a week. Of the 80 miles, 60 are motorway, and i get between 33 and 37mpg (yep - i do the figures at every fill up). The computer tends to read 3mpg more than i actually achieve. No problems as yet having done 6k in the last 3 months. Mother had the car since 9k miles and it's now done 47k again nothing major to report........actually, the std fit cd player refuses to read cds but that came out anyway :D
Mine is fitted with a Scorpion Exhaust as it was way, way cheaper than a std fit pipe :confused: and i've just fitted an induction kit for a bit of sound track :D
It's quick but has to be worked for the pleasure - would i buy one as a fun car and i'm only doing 75 miles a week???????????? would i fook. It's a laugh, but i wouldn't put it in the same league as my previous Lotus or Impreza - it's just a runner for me, I'd be having sommat way faster/more planted. There lies the problem for me, everyone says what a fantastic handling car it is - maybe it is, but IMO it's a skittish beast. It could be down to me being used to having some weight over the rear wheels which this ain't got. There you go :thumb:

I still have my Clio and wouldn't consider anything else for the money if you want a cheap to run car that is quick and puts a smile on your face. I'm addicted to Clio's sadly, so this one has had cams, inlets ITB's (twice!) and is now supercharged so it really does go like stink!

Even as standard they are fun if you dont mind working them hard. No power really below 5k, but I like that, which is the reason I charged it instead of turbo charging it. People on here will obviously love the turbo power delivery, but I prefer NA delivery and the charger just exagerates that. If you can find a decent one though, I'd get a Williams instead, more fun, just as quick, look nicer, comfier seats... just more dated, but great great cars.