Anyone driven/ had any experience with Cliosport 172 Cups? How do they compare to Octy VRS performance? Am looking at possibly changing octy for something smaller/quicker/more involving to drive, cheaper to run/maintain and possibly non-VAG (:eek: ). Have read a bit about the 172/172 cup, many car mags swear by them, saying they are a great driver's car, am hopefully going to see one tomorrow, does anyone have any advice about them/alternatives for same sort of price? Cheers in advance...

you will need your local Renault dealers number on speed dial!!

not sure what you would think of quaity of car going from VAG to French,

If you want a good drivers car I don't think you can get better though.

They'll run rings around a standard Octy and probably give a remapped one a good run for it's money As said above, they're a great driver's car, but if you're looking to minimise running costs, get one with some warranty left

Chris

Get a trophy. If I didn't need Fuel economy I would deffo have a Trophy. The difference is in the suspension BTW (Over the 182 CUP) and it is phenomenal.

Enjoy

Have heard of some dealerships being unable to find/fix problems on faulty 172's, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence! Definitely like the idea of the 172 Cup, pared down version of 172, have heard they do tend to rattle a bit tho, but am hoping the driving experience would make up for it. No ABS/traction control would be 'interesting' in winter/wet I reckon!

clio vs octy vrs......like a yorkshire terrier vs a bullmastiv

If you need to use the rear seats for adults I would advice against the clio as I have one and you simply cannot fit anyone in the back. almost a 2+2.

end of the day the clio is lighter and has a similar output to the octy. the clio was designed to be an out and out hot hatch where as the octy is a hot hatch minus all the disadvantages of a hot hatch. still thirsty tho.

there are only 500 trophy clio's built for the UK. id be suprised if there are any left seen as they came out summer 05

get a clio 182/172 and add the cup pack (stiffer suspension, wider tracking, stronger side walls on tyres cup spoiler). you lose out on alot with the basic clio cup including air con.

My brother has had a Clio 16v and now a 182 and had no problems with either of them so guess you can be lucky / unlucky but would think its advisable getting one either from a private owner you know very well or from a stealer with some warranty to cover any "unexpected side effects". They are very different cars and the Octy will not be close (when standard) handling-wise but given your wish list it sounds like the Clio should suit what you want.

Am looking at an '02 Mk2 172 Cup tomorrow, budget won't stretch to 182 or trophy, plus 172 is apparently quicker than standard 182? Also a mint '00 Mk1 172 near me, but seems pricey for 6 year old car even if it is mint, will probably get a look at it too sometime this week.

Used to own a 172 Mk2 (Not the cup version) from new and this would indeed run rings around an Octy vRS, but the Skoda has better build quality by far.

In terms of the 172 cup compared to a 182 with all the toys I wouldn't of thought there is alot in it speed wish as the 172 cup would be lighter.

If you want to get onto first names terms with your dealer get a Clio but the car is alot of fun to drive.

Great handling little car!

My only gripe is the driving position which you are sitting a little high and the gear lever seems too far away! Maybe I just have short arms!

I would have maybe purchased a 182 myself but after factoring economy, insurance and servicing, the Furby fit the bill better for me.

Off-putting all this talk of first-name terms with dealer etc. am really hoping it turns out to be a great drive...

Off-putting all this talk of first-name terms with dealer etc. am really hoping it turns out to be a great drive...

They are a great drive but the trim quality is the usual cheap french plastics. They tend to rattle and if you get one that doesn't then your on to a gooden

Must say the engine is bullet proof though and can take alot of stick.

my 03 clio had a really bad driving position too. ill put it down to my short legs. although passengers always said they felt very high in the seat.

I used to have a clio 172 cup. ad it 6 months then it was written off which was the best thing to happen to the car. Spent more time driving a 1.2 as it was always going wrong. Did go well with a couple of mods and the Rsport ecu with 8k rev limit.

As for it compared to a octy vrs. I would choose my old octy vrs everytime and even my current fabia vrs due to poor dealer service, lack of reliability and mechanics ability to fix faults but make 3 others

Some pics here of my old cup http://www.cliocup.carnuts.co.uk/My%20Cup.htm

There was a buyers guide in a recent Evo mag.

There was a buyers guide in a recent Evo mag.

Thats kind of what got me thinking about them, the one they looked at was a mk1 '00 model normal 172, but am intrigued by the mk2 Cup version, going to see one at lunchtime today so will see how it goes (no pun intended)...

i hate them with a passion !!!!

but saying that i have been having bad thoughts about getting another lol

they arnt the best car out there but they are damn good.

trophy id avoid as the the shocks are impossible for renault to replace they dont have any spares lol and as they are made by sachs they aint cheap (sachs dont have any spare either) also they still get rings run around them by 172 cups with coilovers

Finally got a drive in one today, interesting to compare to octavia, not as much of a difference in performance as I was expecting, but then I suppose I wasn't pushing hard through corners or anything, definitely the worst gearchange known to man, rubbery and vague, although would get used to it no doubt, had heard the driving position was set too high for some people's tastes, but I found it to be quite good, seats definitely gave plenty of support, car I had a look at was in reasonable condition, 02 Cup, few marks on paintwork here and there, dealer reckoned I'd be paying 2k on top of trading in my 01 Octy Vrs! Thought that was a bit fresh, book price for decent Vrs for trade-in is around 5500-5700 (car is definitely not immaculate externally by any means, but then neither is the clio inside or out), so must get back to them and haggle, see if they will come down a bit in price...

my 02 172 with 40k on went for 6k over a year ago

I've driven a 182 standard and it's an awesome drivers car . . . but the interior is terrible. Reliability . . . only had 3 hours to play with the one I got my hands on. If I had the money and didn't need the mpg, I'd consider one purely for the fun factor.

I've driven a 182 standard and it's an awesome drivers car . . . but the interior is terrible. Reliability . . . only had 3 hours to play with the one I got my hands on. If I had the money and didn't need the mpg, I'd consider one purely for the fun factor.

here here......i hate having to fill up with petrol. only reason i don't have one

MPG wouldn't be much different to Octy, besides don't really see the benefit of diesel with it being so expensive at the minute, and prefer the noise of a petrol engine, major part of the whole driving experience for me...

Hi there

if you are thinking about a renault just make sure you get a good warranty

I`ve had a megane diesel about a year and its been in the garage loads a times.

Brakes warping two weeks after buying the car and I hadn`t done hardly any miles common fault,

seat coming loose of runners felt like a rollercoaster when braking and accelerating they tried to play it off but wife took it to work police mechanic took one look and said seat runners had collapsed,

Service light coming on even though the car had been checked before we got it.

I could go on but list would be huge all were done under warranty.

bought a skoda no major probs yet very happy I will never buy renault again.

hope this helps

critch

The car I was looking at has actually been serviced at the local Skoda garage (seller's dad owns the showroom) so as far as service history goes its in good order, going to ring them at lunchtime and see if he will come down a bit on the price...

have a look on cliosport for more cars for sale