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autocar 197 cup review



  Inferno 182 w/ Recaros ;)
Sorry, but seriously, what the f**k is the point of saving 20kg? Stupid bloody surrender monkeys will never get the picture. Whoever was responsible for the 172 cup needs to be brought back in and sort things out.
 

ForceIndia

ClioSport Club Member
  Gentlemans spec 200
To be fair, it's not far off the 172 cup spec. No air con, no leather, no keyless entry etc. Losing ABS is hardly gonna knock much weight off. I see it more as the starting spec 197. If you let other models in the range have the cup suspension, it's gonna take some shine off the cup model.
 
  Inferno 182 w/ Recaros ;)
It wasn't the abs I primarily meant. Even though the curtain airbags have been ditched they'll still be countless others, and other rubbish safety devices. Overall the damn thing is just too heavy.

I'd get a 197 with all the trimmings. If I was buying a car though I think I'd have to drive the Corsa VXR as well though.
 

ForceIndia

ClioSport Club Member
  Gentlemans spec 200
Agreed, too heavy for a hot hatch. Was looking for a new car recently, but not a single new hot hatch appeals. If I had to buy one, it would be an R27, but it just doesn't excite me enough. When the 182 came out, I had to have one, not a single hot hatch does that for me now.
 
Sorry, but seriously, what the f**k is the point of saving 20kg? Stupid bloody surrender monkeys will never get the picture. Whoever was responsible for the 172 cup needs to be brought back in and sort things out.

The 172 Cup was one of the last cars made before all the major manufacturers signed an agreement that ABS would be standard on all cars (only TVR ignored the memo!), so ditching that simply isn't an option.

They have no spare wheel to ditch so that's a huge chunk of weight that they can't save over the standard 197...and I'm pretty sure Renault wouldn't touch anything remotely involving safety either, as they seem pretty extreme with their 5* policy now.

I guess they could have gone to town on sound-deadening, thinner (but still tough) glass and a few other bits, but I imagine they originally had a battle on their hands to keep the 197 weight down, so I assume there was never too much excessive weight on the original to begin with.
 

MTM

  Volvo V60 R Design
didn't realise the cup doesn't have reach adjustable steering wheel -I wouldn't be able to get comfy without it.
 
  MK1 V6 Lutecia / 197
The Aircon weighs 20kg. Thats it. Thats the cups weight saving....

Buy a white FF 197 with Recaros and xenons, ditch the aircon , add white rims, get all the extras and throw in the cup suspension at £450 all for £14950....and you have a much better car than the cup.

The Cup is pointless now that they are offering the white on the 197 and cup suspension....

Cup should have been called 197 Basic...
 

Lee

  BMW M2C
The Aircon weighs 20kg. Thats it. Thats the cups weight saving....

Buy a white FF 197 with Recaros and xenons, ditch the aircon , add white rims, get all the extras and throw in the cup suspension at £450 all for £14950....and you have a much better car than the cup.

The Cup is pointless now that they are offering the white on the 197 and cup suspension....

Cup should have been called 197 Basic...

Yeah, and you've just spent £2k more than I have on the Cup(white, aircon and recaros). The Cup is a cheaper 197 so how can it be pointless?
 
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  200 cup (van blanc)
my cup is ace I love it!

pointless? mmmmmmmmmmm.....dont think so

gets me from A to B

remember folks its down to personal choice, the cup is the right car for some people not for others

bottom line is its still a 197, and tbh i am loving the driving experience, now done 700m and the engine is a cracker, and it handles like a dream!
 
The Aircon weighs 20kg. Thats it. Thats the cups weight saving....

Buy a white FF 197 with Recaros and xenons, ditch the aircon , add white rims, get all the extras and throw in the cup suspension at £450 all for £14950....and you have a much better car than the cup.

The Cup is pointless now that they are offering the white on the 197 and cup suspension....

Cup should have been called 197 Basic...

But weight saving on it was never going to be much abs weight s abit but they cannot remove it with the EU laws in place.

How is paying extra money for a few other bits and pieces which some people don't even care about make somehting a better car?

The cup is a great idea its a cheap hot hatch.
 

Lee

  BMW M2C
You could actually turn around the criticism of the Cup and say that the FF 197 is pointless when you can get exactly the same experience for considerably less money.

As for the weight saving, everyone likes to go on about how it's not enough etc etc. yet no one can actually come up with way of saving more weight, and that's because to save more weight the car would be severely compromised as a road car. At the very least safety would be reduced, and that's never going to happen.

While I'm going....Renault provides two 197s, and there will be the 3rd Lux model. That's great, it offers choice, you pick what suits what you want from a car and what you want to pay for a car. How many Porsche 911 variants are there? The GT3 RS is widely acknowledged as the best of breed so why bother making the rest of the range? Choice. Different people want different things from their car.
 
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I wouldn't worry Lee, 99% of people here hated the 197 when it first surfaced, so I'm not sure why people are that bothered anyway ;)
 
  Black Gold with cup packs
I am picking up my 197 cup today! :) its is going to be great. In white black speedlines recaros and aircon, love it.
Screw you Cup haters
 
  200 cup (van blanc)
brilliant - u will love it!
get some pics up asap

good luck!

we should start our own forum ' we love 197 cups and screw you if you dont!'
 
  Meg 250/E36 Touring
I agree with the Autocar review.

The Cup chassis is superb, as are the Recaros and the gear ratios are now spot-on....

..After 500 miles the MPG is settling around 28 MPG, which seems to be an improvement over my old R27 @ the same mileage...

Just looking forwards to a fully run in blat when the weather warms up!;)
 

ForceIndia

ClioSport Club Member
  Gentlemans spec 200
You could actually turn around the criticism of the Cup and say that the FF 197 is pointless when you can get exactly the same experience for considerably less money.

As for the weight saving, everyone likes to go on about how it's not enough etc etc. yet no one can actually come up with way of saving more weight, and that's because to save more weight the car would be severely compromised as a road car. At the very least safety would be reduced, and that's never going to happen.

While I'm going....Renault provides two 197s, and there will be the 3rd Lux model. That's great, it offers choice, you pick what suits what you want from a car and what you want to pay for a car. How many Porsche 911 variants are there? The GT3 RS is widely acknowledged as the best of breed so why bother making the rest of the range? Choice. Different people want different things from their car.

Agree on all but the 997 comparison, the difference between Turbo, GT3, GT2 are quite significant, difference between a 197 with cup suspension, R27, and a cup? Mechanically nil, just interior.
 
  megane 285 sport
ive had my 197 a few weeks now, the fuel ecomony isnt that bad, it was bad the first week i had it, but its getting better evry week.
 


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