Renaultsport Clio 197

Renaultsport Clio 197

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Discussion

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Original Poster:

1,001 posts

227 months

maxed

Original Poster:

1,001 posts

227 months

Thursday 13th July 2006
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Polarbert

17,928 posts

238 months

Thursday 13th July 2006
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P'ah. 200kg heavier and only another 14bhp.

I test drove and was not overwhelmed. The engine sound was the best bit.

niva441

2,023 posts

238 months

Thursday 13th July 2006
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Front suspension is pretty interesting though

Tripps

5,814 posts

279 months

Thursday 13th July 2006
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Looking forward to the Cup version with some of the less useful toys removed, it does seem to go the way of all cars these days and put on weight, but with some plastic/aluminium body panels (I presume they are sheet metal on the new one) and a few other optimisations I'm sure they could get down towards the weight of the old 172/182.

EVO has reported it as a great drive, just a little subdued and lacking in appeal compared to it's older siblings.

Mr Whippy

29,776 posts

248 months

Thursday 13th July 2006
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Surely a 182 Cup is still by far the better "Clio"...

This is just like a late 90's Megane size now, so hardly even comparable to the older Clio's imho.

Dave

Tripps

5,814 posts

279 months

Thursday 13th July 2006
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Mr Whippy said:
Surely a 182 Cup is still by far the better "Clio"...

This is just like a late 90's Megane size now, so hardly even comparable to the older Clio's imho.
Dunno, depends what you want, the 182 Trophy still reigns as king in many eyes, but that was a very compromised car in other ways.

I think the new 197 is trying to mix it with the Focus ST and Golf GTi, playing at being a comfortable, usable car that still makes you smile when you lift off mid-corner, rather than the ultimate small hot hatch for us petrolheads.

dotdog

457 posts

227 months

Thursday 13th July 2006
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4000 rpm at 70 mph in 6th! It must be a nightmare on the motorway - who is going to spend 16k on a b road car - buy a caterham/elise/80's 911/tvr instead - or a 1 year old vw gti or focus st...

pbirkett

18,434 posts

279 months

Friday 14th July 2006
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It has to have gearing like that to overcome its huge weight!

zoidberg

8,800 posts

289 months

Monday 17th July 2006
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dotdog said:
4000 rpm at 70 mph in 6th! It must be a nightmare on the motorway


Must admit, that's spoiled it a bit for me as well. If you're spending 17k+ (after options), you want something that will at least be *reasonably* civilised when you're not in the mood.

Saw one the other day though (a promotion outside sainsbury's in bristol) and it does look the dogs, especially from the front.

loose cannon

6,038 posts

248 months

Tuesday 18th July 2006
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i work for renault and although the handling is great i dont like the g/box to be honest im not a great fan of 6 speed boxes cant really see the point of them bar another sales gimmick but the 197 box is almost comical and im sure will be changed for a better top ratio before long and me thinks it's to slow also personally i would rather have the older model

artdealer

259 posts

220 months

Sunday 6th August 2006
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I had a conversation earlier amongst Clio 182 Cup & Trophy and 172 Cup owners that we have probably seen the last of the 'hooligan' spec hot hatches. The weight of the new cars seems here to stay due to the race to 5* NCAP and higher. Whether there will be any desire from the manufacturers like Renault (especially with Le Cost Cutter in control) to build a lighter weight car remains to be seen. Basically what they are saying is that if you want a lower weight performance car, don't buy a Megane 225, buy a Clio 197!

Polarbert

17,928 posts

238 months

Sunday 6th August 2006
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loose cannon said:
i work for renault and although the handling is great i dont like the g/box to be honest im not a great fan of 6 speed boxes cant really see the point of them bar another sales gimmick but the 197 box is almost comical and im sure will be changed for a better top ratio before long and me thinks it's to slow also personally i would rather have the older model


Its stupid isn't it? I mean yes it would be useful if the sixth gear dropped the revs at cruising speed to up the MPG, but it doesn't. Unbeilevable.

Tripps

5,814 posts

279 months

Monday 7th August 2006
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artdealer said:
...Basically what they are saying is that if you want a lower weight performance car, don't buy a Megane 225, buy a Clio 197!
I was chatting with some folks on the Reanault stand at the Motor Show and moaning about the weight (they countered by mentioning the the extra power available - missing the point), they did tell me a Cup version is on the way, likely towards the end of next year. They have no idea what it will entail though. I just hope they don't think they just can chuck a turbo (225 bhp like on the Megane) on it and have a slightly faster but just as heavy car...

They didn't seem confident about a Trophy version being released alas.

Beemer-5

7,897 posts

221 months

Tuesday 16th January 2007
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172 Cup best used buy!

Baldylocks

18,467 posts

216 months

Tuesday 16th January 2007
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I'm very happy with my 172 Cup.

As others has said; the 197 has become too bloated, like many cars do over the generations.

The interior is a much nicer than any 172/182. I think they've tried to broaden the appeal of a 'hot' Clio but lost some of what was great about the old model in the process.

ChrisW.

6,758 posts

262 months

Tuesday 16th January 2007
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Polarbert said:
loose cannon said:
i work for renault and although the handling is great i dont like the g/box to be honest im not a great fan of 6 speed boxes cant really see the point of them bar another sales gimmick but the 197 box is almost comical and im sure will be changed for a better top ratio before long and me thinks it's to slow also personally i would rather have the older model


Its stupid isn't it? I mean yes it would be useful if the sixth gear dropped the revs at cruising speed to up the MPG, but it doesn't. Unbeilevable.


But they need this close low ratio box to magnify the torque.

To much mass, too little power.

As for the the Trophy, maybe it really will be the last in the Clio Williams and Peugeot 205GTI genre. I did also have one of the original white Integra's but the red seats, black interior and white everything else were scary !

P.S. The Trophy's very easy to drive but just a little on the firm side in ordinary traffic. Once loaded with lateralG --- it's terriffic !

maz 6448

88 posts

216 months

Sunday 21st January 2007
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Driven one at Brands Hatch and Oulton Park .. didnt think much of it but they had less than 1k on the clock so would still be tight lol

baz7175

3,551 posts

218 months

Thursday 25th January 2007
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I've spent the last week with a 197 for a road test for a magazine I do work for, I've uploaded a few low rez samples I've taken over the past few days, so thought I'd be as well to post them on here too...










Baldylocks

18,467 posts

216 months

Thursday 25th January 2007
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Nice pics. It does look rather good