If I had a £1 for everytime I say this: I'd drive both, come to a conclusion.
Clio for more involving handling. Civic for far better engine and drivetrain, and a more solid build. The Clio rolls a lot, and has a very slow rack. The Civic has equal grip if not more, but is far less inspiring due to a complete (not almost) lack of any steering feel. Performance wise, they're pretty much identical up to legal speeds, but the Civic keeps on accelerating after the Clio runs out of steam. The Clio isn't exactly unreliable, but the quality of materials and engineering is quite poor. Melting steering wheels, creaky suspensions, toffee engine mounts etc. etc.
The Clio will be more fun, but the Civic is the better car.
for the budget i had i found i could never get a well spec'd civic. 182 has xenons, climate control, cruise control....
so i got a 182 in the end
The Civic will also use a lot of oil if you drive around with vtec kicked in a lot y0.
Generaly a more reliable convincing experience then lol
Hi This spring Im planning to sell my 1.2 clio and planning to get a little sport car but I can make my mind up 182 racing blue or the civic type r are they both same in performance
cheers
Chris
The civic will cost less in general maintenance I.e its chain driven and only requires valvle clearance every 25k/24 months. Oil should be changed every 7-9k if your picky.
Has to be worked hard to make it move though thus making for sub 25mpg figures
Provided neither car breaks, would the Civic not cost more to run overall? Insurance, mpg, service, etc...
My review from when i tested them back to back in '05:
Civic Type-R, very comfy, and the gearbox was lovely with good positioning on the dashboard, but didn’t do anything until 10 million revs and the steering was very artificially weighty which I didn’t like. The thing that put me off the most though was that it was like driving a rocket powered Renault Espace, it felt and looked like I was driving a family bus. A good car for a young couple with a newborn child, lots of space and practicality but with decent driving fun for the weekends – great for the guy who refuses to grow old and buy an estate car to please the wife and kids.
Clio 182 with both cup packs. I got in, turned the traction control off and pulled away …. it felt alive, excellent steering, with feedback bombarding you from all angles. Reminded of the first time I drove a 106 gti, just like a go-cart with the potential for much grinning and idiotic driving. Hit 5k rpm and it took off, spinning round to the redline before you realise its time to change gear. Awesome fun and just what I want, im losing the outright speed of my car (a Z3M), but the buzziness and handling ability more than make up for it . . and it’ll cost bugger all to buy & run. Brilliant, im off to find one ...
I think that says it all tbh
The Civic will return about the same MPG as a 182 when not hammering it up the rev range everywhere.
The oil situation isnt that bad, again if revved hard everywhere then possibly but not on a par with the rotary units
Its a group 17 but it wont be that much more expensive than a 182 to insure. Its really down to personal preference i suppose
Wanted a CTR or a CRS (172) at the time.
Went for a 172... Bang for buck!
Still got a soft spot for a Cosmic Grey CTR (>2002) though.
The CTR has to be poked more for driving fast / shifting more.
Whereas the CRS has a wider range.
Just make sure to drive both for a back-to-back comparison.
JDM is where its at