As of Friday gone I became a Mudblood. A phrase stolen from Harry Potter which I now use to decribe a Briskodian who no longer owns a Skoda:rofl:

Anyway I took the old girl (the Octy not swmbo) in for the part ex feeling quite sick. I normally feel this way if i'm getting rid of a car I have enjoyed owning. I start thinking have I done the wrong thing, this is a mistake, Renaults break down, Renaults have bad build quality, Renault have bad customer service etc etc.

The deal was done, keys were swaped (rude salesman by the way). Ive gone outside and drove away in my 07 plate ex demo Clio 197.

Holly ****e it's brilliant. I am seriously loving this little car. I am no racing driver but my god, pushing on over some twisty A and B roads over the weekend was just a joy to behold, I was actually looking forward to bends and roundabouts:D me and this little car are going to have some fun.

It took some getting used to after driving diesels for the last three years but getting this car right up in the power band is fantastic and the noise from the exhaust is great:D Im glad i'm back in a petrol car. Shame it's not an Octy vRS but I just coundn't stretch to it:O

Trip computer is showing 32MPG after using half a tank and that was with me ragging it a fair bit so i'm quite pleased with that.

Interior build quality is good for Renault, it looks like they have improved things a little, but not as nice as an Octy for fit and finish. A small price to pay for the fun i'm having though.

It does suffer from a stutter or Kangeroo as it's known in the Renault world where the car will refuse to drive smooth for the first 5min in the morning, no fix at the mo:thumbdwn: Still I can live with that. Main thing is I haven't broke down yet and all bits a pieces are still attached to the car:D I won't hold my breath but it seems the pros outweigh the cons and it might be worth a gamble owning a Clio 197.

I forgot to take pics of the outside but I did manage to get one of the interior (see below).

i road tested a 197 in 2006 , was a bit disappointed , but going from a torquey diesel to a screaming petrol was never a good idea , did go well though when revved , enjoy your new car

Does is have the Recaros?

I took one out on test, was pleasantly surprised with

Have fun with it!

i road tested a 197 in 2006 , was a bit disappointed , but going from a torquey diesel to a screaming petrol was never a good idea , did go well though when revved , enjoy your new car

I had the same problem when I went from mapped Furby to Octy vRS mk1. I was left wanting, I needed that diesel shove which made me feel like I was flying with just the slightest press of the loud pedal. I couldn't live with that Octy, I felt hard done by with the high running costs and the lack of shove in the back thrills. I got rid after not many months.

The renault on the other hand seems a lot quicker (maybe it's just me) after all there is only 20bhp between the two, I don't know how much difference in weight, it could also be the noise which adds to the sensation of speed. The handling and grip however are in a different league.

The Clio does need to be reved. Take it up to the 7500 rev limit and it just flys, not much happens lower down in the rev range. It can be annoying because it needs plenty of road to do it. IIRC Max revs in second gear is 70mph

Another thing I forgot to mention is the noise at motorway speed. 70 mph in sixth gear is pretty loud, it doen't bother me much and came in handy for drowning out swmbo's moaning:rofl: I guess thats why they have done the longer gears on the new model.

Another supprise was the boot, it's not a bad size for what is meant to be a supermini.

Does is have the Recaros?

I took one out on test, was pleasantly surprised with

Have fun with it!

Thanks mate. No it is a bog standard car. Those Recaros do look the nuts but ive read they can be uncomfortable on long journeys. The standard seats are very nice, plenty of support and they do a good job of holding you in place when you start chucking the car around.

Sounds like a hoot - good luck with it!

Have fun :drivesaf:

And look forward to some proper pictures

Steve

I'll get some pics up tomorrow.

Shame it's not an Octy vRS but I just coundn't stretch to it:O

I'm suprised at that statement, as the Clio's faster, better at handling and carries roughly the same MPG consumption although it's not as big.

There's loads of parts available to modify them already.

I test drove one at Renault a week ago, and absolutely loved it.

Shame as in I would have liked to keep it in the family and stayed with a Skoda. It would have been my fifth Skoda in a row if I had bought another one. I love the brand. However I did experience some problems with the last Octy such as vibrations at 70mph, brake problems, gearbox/clutch problems and the front tyre wear problem. That's not a bad little list (which doesn't include minnor niggles) for a car with 29000 miles on it.

My last Octy was well speced. There was no way I could afford to spec a vRS to the same standard as my last one. Look at it this way, if you owned an L&K and come new car time you could only afford to swap it in for an Ambiente your going to feel a little hard done by every time you drive it.

Anyway all of the above is no longer relevant, I have a car ive wanted for a long time and i'm sure it will have its fair share of problems during my ownership.

Prove me wrong Renault:)

I had a Clio 172 sport before I got my Skoda Octavia, & boy do I miss it. My daughter was born & the Clio became impractical so I had to sell it with great reluctance..

I had no issues with build quality or reliability as it never let me down & my local renault dealer was really good.

Don't get me wrong, I like my Octavia, more so now I have had it remapped, but I miss the handling & fun I got with the Clio.

You won't be disapointed:D

Thats why we went from Fabia to Octavia..........kids and their kit:mad:

Don't have to worry about that no more:D they are a little more grown up.

Still enjoying it at the mo but waiting for the weekend to give it a good blast.

i took one out on a test drive before the official release date (mate worked at Renault Dealership) and I loved it...and said if I had the spare £17/18k to get one, then I would....was a superb car, and hitting 7250rpm and the gear change light coming on is great

Basic 197 is only 15k new mate or 13.5K from an online broker or even less for a used one. They will drop like a stone in value though, handy if you are looking for a second hand one:D

I don't think you can go quicker for less, with a new car anyway.

Hope you really enjoy it as i think they look really nice

Basic 197 is only 15k new mate or 13.5K from an online broker or even less for a used one. They will drop like a stone in value though, handy if you are looking for a second hand one:D

I don't think you can go quicker for less, with a new car anyway.

true, but with the options I wanted ticked, it was around 18k i believe.

true, but with the options I wanted ticked, it was around 18k i believe.

Yeah, I had a play on the Renault web site (build your own 197) and my one came out to that as well. That included the bluetooth phone kit, Xenons, cornering headlights, climate control etc etc. With all the above kit it would be a very nice car.

Once you start driving it you forget about all of the above though:D plus it just adds unnecessary weight:rofl:

Very nice car I wouldn't mind one myself but do a fair bit of motorway runs and the sprint gearing makes it a bit busy at 70-80. Apparently the handling is sublime though. I have heard a lot of critism about the need to rev the engine but I think that misses the point. A high revving engine in a car like this or the Civic Type R is very exciting. For this reason I would probably have one of these over the turbocharged Megane R26

It's not that bad actually. I use third gear to roll over speed bumps and it pulls away again quite nicely. It's only when you need to go proper fast you need to rev the nuts off it. All part of the fun though.