chris3boro
New member
Just been out in one of these so thought I'd give my opinion after a brief test drive....
*Pics are not of actual car, but identical!*
LOOKS
This one was bright blue, and with it being the Cup version, it had far nicer wheels than a normal 172, so it did stand out as being a bit special. Thats one of the complaints i have about hot clios and the cup version, especially in blue, addresses that issue in my opinion.
INTERIOR
Well, it's still very much recognisable as a clio, but has a few touches hinting at its identity. This one had a blue platic strip across the passenger side of the dash, and a bit of blue on the wheel. The racing pedals look good, and the positioning of them makes heel and toe driving a possibility. The seats....well the one I took out had very basic seats, which, although fairly supportive around your hips, really don't look like they belong in such a car. Neverthless, other seats can be had, including half leather/alcantara versions with the Renaulsport logo on them. The rear seats were like a bench and didn't look classy or sporty at all.
BUILD QUALITY
We've all heard the French jokes and horror stories, so this was something I was wary of when climbing in to the cup. The dash wasn't made of the nicest material I've seen, but looked and felt reasonably solid. The rear seats did have a few small tears however.
GEARBOX
Not the best faeture of the car by a long way, lacking in precision and very loose. This is after jumping straight out of the puma mind, which is a pleasure to swap cogs with. Still, the Cup's gearbox didn't cause any problems, like finding the gears etc, however it did not enhance the enjoyment of the drive, as it probably should have considering the nature of the car.
PERFORMANCE
Big 'wow' here. Being used to my Puma (1.6) I knew this would feel quicker, but I wasn't sure exactly by how much. Well, as it turns out, by a lot!! The 2.0 16v motor doesn't seem to really get going until 5k revs or so, at which point it absolutely took off! I actually laughed to myself when first accelerating hard. In the lower revs, it still pulled strongly, accompanied by a growling engine note all the way up the revs....very sporty!
HANDLING
Appeared to be very good. It responded quickly to steering input and was eager to turn in when exploring the twisties. I was also surprised at the traction when exiting the corner, as the chassis managed to cope when giving it the beans in 2nd whilst straightening the car up. Good feedback through the wheel too, the phrase 'go-kart' comes to mind.
OVERALL
I have to say this test drive made some impression on me, largely because of the out right grunt of the thing! The interior was a bit of a let down, however with better seats (either genuine clio ones or aftermarket buckets) this would be a more attractive place to be. As for reliability, well I don't own one so it is unfair to say. Just buy a well looked after one and hope for the best!
All in all, a real fun car, with character to it. Far from perfect, but on a decent road you'd find it hard to care.
*Pics are not of actual car, but identical!*
LOOKS
This one was bright blue, and with it being the Cup version, it had far nicer wheels than a normal 172, so it did stand out as being a bit special. Thats one of the complaints i have about hot clios and the cup version, especially in blue, addresses that issue in my opinion.
INTERIOR
Well, it's still very much recognisable as a clio, but has a few touches hinting at its identity. This one had a blue platic strip across the passenger side of the dash, and a bit of blue on the wheel. The racing pedals look good, and the positioning of them makes heel and toe driving a possibility. The seats....well the one I took out had very basic seats, which, although fairly supportive around your hips, really don't look like they belong in such a car. Neverthless, other seats can be had, including half leather/alcantara versions with the Renaulsport logo on them. The rear seats were like a bench and didn't look classy or sporty at all.
BUILD QUALITY
We've all heard the French jokes and horror stories, so this was something I was wary of when climbing in to the cup. The dash wasn't made of the nicest material I've seen, but looked and felt reasonably solid. The rear seats did have a few small tears however.
GEARBOX
Not the best faeture of the car by a long way, lacking in precision and very loose. This is after jumping straight out of the puma mind, which is a pleasure to swap cogs with. Still, the Cup's gearbox didn't cause any problems, like finding the gears etc, however it did not enhance the enjoyment of the drive, as it probably should have considering the nature of the car.
PERFORMANCE
Big 'wow' here. Being used to my Puma (1.6) I knew this would feel quicker, but I wasn't sure exactly by how much. Well, as it turns out, by a lot!! The 2.0 16v motor doesn't seem to really get going until 5k revs or so, at which point it absolutely took off! I actually laughed to myself when first accelerating hard. In the lower revs, it still pulled strongly, accompanied by a growling engine note all the way up the revs....very sporty!
HANDLING
Appeared to be very good. It responded quickly to steering input and was eager to turn in when exploring the twisties. I was also surprised at the traction when exiting the corner, as the chassis managed to cope when giving it the beans in 2nd whilst straightening the car up. Good feedback through the wheel too, the phrase 'go-kart' comes to mind.
OVERALL
I have to say this test drive made some impression on me, largely because of the out right grunt of the thing! The interior was a bit of a let down, however with better seats (either genuine clio ones or aftermarket buckets) this would be a more attractive place to be. As for reliability, well I don't own one so it is unfair to say. Just buy a well looked after one and hope for the best!
All in all, a real fun car, with character to it. Far from perfect, but on a decent road you'd find it hard to care.
