Clio Cup or 172 as company car

[rigone]

Finally got some fun cars on our car list at work. Cant decide between a cup or 172. What worries me is I drive about 100 miles a day all year round the lanes and mways of kent. Is the cup a comfy car to drive over distances? i know thats not what its about but ive tested the 172 and love it but I love the look of the cup even more. Does anyone use either of these as a company car or put loads of miles in on them? Id be realy grateful for any advice. Cheers.

 

[Daz]

172..

Or at least Cup with Climate Control..

 

[Daz]

Just to add, you might be better with a 172 for the comfort.. I know a few people who have said the Cup seats arnt the best!

The 172 ones are really nice.. Hehe.

 

[Lee]

You need to speak to y0z2a. Hes covered 28k miles in his Cup in just 10 months. Hes well qualified to comment on using the Cup for long journeys.

Im happy with the nice seats and toys of the 172.

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by Daz on 23 September 2003


Just to add, you might be better with a 172 for the comfort.. I know a few people who have said the Cup seats arnt the best!

The 172 ones are really nice.. Hehe.

Err...

Theyre the same seats but with different trim!

 

[Rich-D]

My mate has a mk1 172 as a company car and has put on 54k miles in just over 2 years.

He loves it as it does about 40mpg on the motorway, comes fully specced up, its quick & handles well, plus it has been reliable (honestly), so there is no problem running one as a company car.



The Cup is a comfy car for me to drive on long (200+ mile) journeys and Im 6 3" so should be fine for most people. As I said above, the Cup seats are the same as in a 172 but with cloth trim and no lumbar adjustment.

Id probably go for the 172 for what you want, or at least a Cup with climate...

 

[KDF]

Quote: Originally posted by Rich-D on 23 September 2003

Quote: Originally posted by Daz on 23 September 2003


Just to add, you might be better with a 172 for the comfort.. I know a few people who have said the Cup seats arnt the best!

The 172 ones are really nice.. Hehe.

Err...

Theyre the same seats but with different trim!

Nope their not .. sorry.. the 172 drivers seat has lumbar adjustment.

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by _KDF on 23 September 2003



Err...

Theyre the same seats but with different trim!

Nope their not .. sorry.. the 172 drivers seat has lumbar adjustment.

[/QUOTE]
Which (if you read my 2nd post) I already mentioned...

Aside from the lumbar adjustment (had in the past and never used), do we agree that they are the same under the skin?!

 

[rigone]

God, food for thought. Thanks for all that. I had pretty much decided to go with the cup and c/control. Ive always wanted a hardcore hot hatch and I love the whole look of the cup. however the stereos a bit nicer and the seats look smart with the leather trim on the 172. this is getting more difficult. how do i get in touch with the y0z2a man?

 

[GPRIM]

172 i would say for company car, got xenon lights, abs climate etc and the new ones come with cruise control. would be better for traveling long distances. cup may be more fun but when your out working every day the creature comforts may be missed if you go for the cup. never driven the cup but i imagine its very similiar to the 172 on normal everyday driving but defiantly more exciting on the track.

 

[Lee]

You could PM him.

Best thing to do is to try them both though, only way youll decide.

 

[Neil82]

The Cup is really really crap for long journeys, the suspension is a nightmare on long trips when your doing 80 mph it really pisses me off and its also very loud at 80 mph. I would definatly get a red 172 is I was doing 100 miles a day.

 

[pete_pete]

Neil are u secretly wishing u had a 172???

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by pete on 23 September 2003

Neil are u secretly wishing u had a 172???

Dont talk crazy Pete!

 

[D-CUP]

Why is the suspension a nightmare, its not that much stiffer is it?

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by D-CUP on 23 September 2003


Why is the suspension a nightmare, its not that much stiffer is it?

Theres a noticable difference!

I had my mates 172 for 2 weeks before I got my Cup, as Id sold my Rallye and he was going on holiday, so it worked out I could use the 172. Anyway, I jumped out of that and into the Cup and its a harder ride for sure.

 

[Neil82]

Quote: Originally posted by pete on 23 September 2003

Neil are u secretly wishing u had a 172???

No, I couldnt take the drop in performance

 

[172gal]

Go for the 172 and get a nice set of speedline turinis on it, best of both worlds!!

 

[Jim172CUP]

if someone else is paying go for the 172. mmmmmm climate control etc The cup is fun for thrashing and still getting good mpg but the 172 is the full sha-bang. Luxuries and hot hatch, you gotta love it.

 

[Tom]

Tax would be terrible

 

[rigone]

Tax is actually about the same as the diesel that Im running as a company car now. Cos the cars are both about £5,000 cheaper and its done as % of value of car it works out nearly exactly the same and I dont pay for petrol. Does anyone know whether the performance difference is that noticeable? I am testing a cup v soon but I cant do a back to back. Thanks for all the advice - its great to hear from owners of the two.

 

[telford_mike]

My 172 is paid for with a company car allowance - I need something reasonably sensible as its no good turning up at a customer site all sweaty etc. Climate Control & comfy seats essential!

You wont notice a performance difference between Cup / 172 on the road, both are utterly stunning, although you would notice on the track.

 

[RobFenn]

If its just on looks and really you want those comforts go for the 172 and get some Turinis and the spoilers from the Cup as 172gal has said, but if youre planning to do some track days take the Cup, its not like its extreme! I see blokes in Elises taking on the M25 all the time..

-Rob

 

[TheRoninV6]

Quote: Originally posted by RobFenn on 24 September 2003


If its just on looks and really you want those comforts go for the 172 and get some Turinis and the spoilers from the Cup as 172gal has said, but if youre planning to do some track days take the Cup, its not like its extreme! I see blokes in Elises taking on the M25 all the time..

-Rob

Isnt the spoiler on the cup the same as the one on the 172????

 

[RobFenn]

Nope!

 

[Pete]

Nope the spoiler on the cup is bigger.

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by Pete_172 on 24 September 2003

Nope the spoiler on the cup is bigger.

and nicer...

 

[tumbleweed]

I run a 172 as a company car and it is superb for long distances...you should really have all of the gadgets and home comforts and I have raced Cups (unmodified) and nothing in it at all...a cup is certainly not worth the comfort hardships for a paper specified .3 quicker to 60.

 

[jon_r]

Ive just done 2600 miles in two weeks in my Cup and its lovely and comfy thanks.... i have c/c, and cd autochanger.

Also i averaged 45 mpg.

Would have no worries about long distances mate. Though i agree the seat covers in the 172 are better.

 

[Eddd]

Get the Cup. Then buy it at the end of the lease term.

 

[Chris n nic]

LMAO @ comfort hardships!

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by Eddd on 24 September 2003

Get the Cup. Then buy it at the end of the lease term.

My mates doing that with his mk1 and gonna keep running it, but take the monthly allowance as cash instead...

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by Chris nnic on 24 September 2003

LMAO @ comfort hardships!

And these "comfort harships" are what exactly?!

(if the Cup had climate...)

 

[Eddd]

The buy-out at the end of the lease should be quite reasonable as they will have depreciated it at a fairly steep rate, I would imagine. I would also be willing to bet that the Cups will be commanding a slight premium in the enthusiast market in a few years time.

 

[nolan ralph]

The 172 has got to be better if your gonna do a lot of miles,mines good anyway

 

[rigone]

Well thanks for all the help everyone. Dont think my company allow any mods to standard cars, other than c/c on the cup, so Turini alloys for the 172 could be a problem. All points taken on board though. By the sound of it I dont think itll take long to tot up the 60k replacement time and hopefully a cheap buyout. Cheers!

 

[simonjones10]

Its all personal mate!

At the end of the day a Cup owners gonna tell you to get a Cup and a 172 owner is gonna tell you to get a (Youve guessed it!) a 172!

P.S. I rarely see fellas driving 172s! So the Cup is deffo the blokes choice!

 

[pennga]

its not only the spoiler and the wheels, the biggest selling point for myself with the cup was the colour. However it is better on motorways than on country roads, i dont mean handling wise but comfort wise as on the twisty non perfect country roads it wants to pull to the left a hell off a lot more, so less "fighting" with it on motorways. Done 170 ish miles in the cup to glasgow and couldnt complain.
Drive em both on a twisty bit of road and see what you think.

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by simonjones10 on 25 September 2003


At the end of the day a Cup owners gonna tell you to get a Cup and a 172 owner is gonna tell you to get a (Youve guessed it!) a 172!

Well, Im a Cup driver and I said get a 172...

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by garyross on 25 September 2003



its not only the spoiler and the wheels, the biggest selling point for myself with the cup was the colour.

Totally agree!

If they did a Clio with 172 trim & spec, but with the rest like a Cup Id have had one...