i had a 172 for about 6 months (got written off thou - thank you bus driver!) and ive now bought a type r and have had it for almost 2 months....... here are my thoughts.
pound for pound the clio is much better value. i mean where can u get a 172bhp car for so little money. i bought my 172 (2002, monaco blue) for £7k!! thats as much as i paid for my focus when i bought that a few years b4.
anyway, my clio got written off and my insurance company paid me out 8k (dont asky me how or why!i assume the market value had gone up) so i had 8k in my hand and was consdiering buying another clio. i really did enjoy my time with it but i decided to go out and test drive a few cars (focus st170,corolla t sport,ctr,182)
anyway, after my leghthy test drive (thank u epping honda - top ppl!) in a ctr that was it really. Im the sort of person who likes a change, so I guess i saw this as my ideal opportunity and tbh i havent looked back since. i always wanted a ctr, but could never afford one.
Agreed the clio has better feel when steering. feels more direct with better weight, but i never really got on too well with the rather large steering wheel. I always liked the clios seats and never found the driving position to be that bad either (althou im not that tall so maybe thats why)
If you jump in a civic after sitting in a clio, the driving position is better, the steering wheel is a nice size and the seats are slightly more "bolstered" (is that the right word?) at the sides so hold u in a bit better.
Inside, you get more toys with the clio - climate control, 6 stack cd, xeons etc etc. I bought my ctr second hand for 9.3k, and it had a/c an uprated mp3 headunit with 6stack in the boot, so i didnt really feel like i was missing much bar the climate control.
now the most imporant bit. driving.......
off the line there really is nothing in it. both cars have stupid amounts of power going through the front wheels and it is hard to get it all down without spinnnig the wheels. The clio is easier to drive fast, the CTR is more demanding if u want it to go quickly as you have to keep it in the vtec if u want max performance. It really is very addictive the shve u get when the needle reaches about 5500 rpm. Clio had a little kick in it at about 5k. it feels simlar to that but much more pronounced and the engine note really is fantastic! i know you hear a lot of ppl slating the ctr saying it is slow when its not in the vtec (5500 - 8200 rpm) i really dont know wot they r talking about, its still very quick and you can see off most cars without ragging it quite easily, just like u can in the clio.
Everyone who I have taken out in both cars has said the CTR feels faster than the clio. i dont know, cos to me that both feel very fast. i will say that vtec in the ctr in 2nd and 3rd really can be quite scary if ur blasting down a country lane, but its a real hoot!
at the end of the day, the car is only going to be as good as the driver is. 0-60 there would be nought in it really, but after this the ctr does feel quicker. im pretty sure that in gear acceleration is quicker in the ctr (providing ur in vtec of course!)
personally im glad i had a change and bought the ctr. the modding potential is huge (if ur into that sort of thing). a supercharger (about 2.5/3k) will see u close to 300bhp. ive already added an exhaust to mine, and it pops and bangs like a proper jap car! i hardly listen to my radio these days. i had a magnex on the clio and it sounded good too, but the custom one i have on the ctr now really is one of the best things i have ever heard!
the ctr is more to buy, run and insure
im 23 now, 2years NCD (pending!)
clio cost me £840 inc my mods
ctr cost me clost to £1k inc mods.
fuel consumption is a little worse. (My run to work is 20 miles. bit of town/dual carriage way and country lanes).....both have 50 litre tanks. i would see about 360 miles out of a tank on the clio (about 35mpg), and about 320/330 (about 32mpg) out of the ctr, so its not that much worse. on the motorway i managed 42mpg out of both the ctr and the clio!
if i was really that worried about fuel consumption i would have bought a diesel.
One other thing that I really love about the CTR is the gearbox..... it really is a proper bit of kit. the gears are stacked nice a close together (althou this does mean a fair bit of stick stering sometimes) and the actual throw of the gearstick is perfect! I havent driven anything that comes close imho.
I havent really had the ctr long enuff to gauge its relability, but so far no problems bar a fuel cap realse problem which was easy to fix. I had a few probs on the clio. gearbox clocking when selecting 1st, weird high pitched noise coming from under the bonnet and also from the climate control. Only had the squeak and rattle which never really bothered me. Only thing i wasnt really that happy with was the fact i could quite easily rip out the whole plastic centre console with my hands!
The ctr does feel more solid in terms of build quality, but then you would expect that seeing as the car is more to start with!
looks wise, its all down to personal preference! I like both cars and had a REALLY hard time choosing between them. my ctr is black and althou it is a pain in the ass to keep clean ppl do look a lot more. i have even had ppl come up to me and start talking to me about my car while filling up at petrol stations. i never got that with the clio. I personally really like the look of the CTR, but then ive always wanted one and am bound to say that! I have always felt tho u that the clio styling is a little understated for a hot hatch. I have to look twice to see if a clio really is a 172/182.
last and by no means least...... dealers. Never got on with the clio dealers. My most local one was Ilford (total sh*te. dont think they know the meaning of the word customer service) Renault Romford didnt seem so bad thou althou always had lengthy waiting times if i ever wanted my car looked at
Hondas customer service is on another level. I had a problem with my fuel cap (the relase wasnt working properly) Anyway, they told me to just pop it into them the next day at 11 and a technican would fix it. no hassle, no waiting no problem. In the end I managed to fix it myself (was something silly! just had to push the metal bit on the fuel cap a cm or so and now it works perfectly)
so to sum up........... depends which u prefer lol. helpful i know. My best advice to you if you are considering a change is go and drive one, thats the only real way to tell as everyones perception of cars is different.
Sorry ive rambled on for so long! hope it is of some help
cheers
Mike