I test drove a 197 yesterday from Renault London West. Me and the mrs turned up at about 11:15 am, the place was empty so I got to drive it for about 30-40 mins! I thought it was fantastic. To sum up (I own a 172 Ph2):
Good points:
* extrior styling looks 200% better in the flesh than the pictures on the web
* Very nice interior which feels much better and solid than my 172. I don't think this one will squeak and rattle!
* dash, dials, switches etc have a much nicer look/feel and the whole things shouts quality. Amazing for a Renault!
* Seats really glue you in. Shame they're not leather but they are nicer IMHO
* Driving position is much better. It couldn't be any worse!
* Love the gear box. The 6 ratios are obviuosly quite close meaninglots of changes but the noise when you change down is sweet and the box is slick
* Loads and loads and loads of grip. The guy told me to have fun on the roudabouts and boy did I!
* As it's a development of the 172/182 engine it's still got that rev happy feel with the 5k kick still there (just!)
* Steering is nicely weighted
* Start Button is a bit of fun!
* Brakes are excellent. It's like an anchor has been thrown out the boot.
* Still gave me a huge grin after I'd driven it!!
* A much more grown up car (this could be a good or bad point depending on your view)
Bad Points:
* Lacks the feel and involvement of the 172/182. A Cup it isn't. after I got back in my 172 I instatly realised why it is such an involving car. You don't have that seat of your pants feeling in the 197. If you want that, I'd wait for a Cup or Trophy version. You feel a bit isolated from the world where as in my 172 I feel like I'm connected to the road by my arms. Does that make sense to anyone except me?
* Though I said the steering is nicely weighted it felt just a tad too light for my liking.
* Doesn't seem that much/any faster though on typically corwded roads I doubt you'd notice. Maybe on a track.
* Gear box is brilliant (see above) but changing up/down a lot could get to me. Maybe.
errrr.... that's about it for bad points.
So would I have one? YES! Overall I thought it was excellent and a real worthy successor to the 182. OK, so I only had 40 mins in the car and if I did buy one I'd want another test drive but my initial impression is that it's a solid car. My only concern is that it misses some of the essence of what made the 172/182 such brilliant cars. However, I think I could live with that.
Hope that helps some people thinking of the 197!
Good points:
* extrior styling looks 200% better in the flesh than the pictures on the web
* Very nice interior which feels much better and solid than my 172. I don't think this one will squeak and rattle!
* dash, dials, switches etc have a much nicer look/feel and the whole things shouts quality. Amazing for a Renault!
* Seats really glue you in. Shame they're not leather but they are nicer IMHO
* Driving position is much better. It couldn't be any worse!
* Love the gear box. The 6 ratios are obviuosly quite close meaninglots of changes but the noise when you change down is sweet and the box is slick
* Loads and loads and loads of grip. The guy told me to have fun on the roudabouts and boy did I!
* As it's a development of the 172/182 engine it's still got that rev happy feel with the 5k kick still there (just!)
* Steering is nicely weighted
* Start Button is a bit of fun!
* Brakes are excellent. It's like an anchor has been thrown out the boot.
* Still gave me a huge grin after I'd driven it!!
* A much more grown up car (this could be a good or bad point depending on your view)
Bad Points:
* Lacks the feel and involvement of the 172/182. A Cup it isn't. after I got back in my 172 I instatly realised why it is such an involving car. You don't have that seat of your pants feeling in the 197. If you want that, I'd wait for a Cup or Trophy version. You feel a bit isolated from the world where as in my 172 I feel like I'm connected to the road by my arms. Does that make sense to anyone except me?
* Though I said the steering is nicely weighted it felt just a tad too light for my liking.
* Doesn't seem that much/any faster though on typically corwded roads I doubt you'd notice. Maybe on a track.
* Gear box is brilliant (see above) but changing up/down a lot could get to me. Maybe.
errrr.... that's about it for bad points.
So would I have one? YES! Overall I thought it was excellent and a real worthy successor to the 182. OK, so I only had 40 mins in the car and if I did buy one I'd want another test drive but my initial impression is that it's a solid car. My only concern is that it misses some of the essence of what made the 172/182 such brilliant cars. However, I think I could live with that.
Hope that helps some people thinking of the 197!
