First drive in a 197!

[cupsportmad]

Whats the mpg like on the 197 as I'm thinking of buying one as a daily driver so needs to be frugal.

 

[ja.jack]

Are you joking ?

 

[GinandGasoline]

well..... we had an unaccompanied test drive of the R27 yesterday afternoon... must have had the car for almost an hour and had some time to give it some stick.

must say i got into the car with some high expectations for it to meet and i got out after the test drive very impressed.

exhaust note is awesome, recaros fitted my slim frame very well and had the added benefit of being height adjustable on the drivers side. The car doesn't have the pronounced 5k kick anymore, power delivery is very smooth and IMO has the grin factor.... the R27 we drove had 1200 miles on so was still quite tight and lacking a bit of low down grunt, however work the gears well and you make good progression and the car zips along well

the amount of pull through the gears was good, the speed the car was travelling at was quite deceptive - i had to look at the speedo a couple of times in disbelief at the speed - yes it isnt as raw or go-kartish as the Trophy but it still is a very capable car. The Cup packed suspension has firmed the car up nicely, and i found i'd got used to the overlight steering very quickly and never noticed it again. brakes again are just awesome too.

i know there is quite a few who dislike the 197, but i am now growing more towards them.... the R27 in particular has now moved the game on in the right direction IMO. As said though, it's not a 182 and if you approach driving it with an open mind you'llbe suprised

 

[Brand86]

Whats the mpg like on the 197 as I'm thinking of buying one as a daily driver so needs to be frugal.

If you have this amount of money and want a fun daily driver I would wait for the new MINI D... 70 mpg but faster than the outgoing R50 version... hold their values too unlike Renaults which bomb!

 

[TELFORDS_LURK]

Whats the mpg like on the 197 as I'm thinking of buying one as a daily driver so needs to be frugal.

At the moment just about town going from home to work, a round trip of about 10 miles I'm getting about 23-24 mpg. On the motorway getting about 27-30ish. Averaging about 250 miles per tank.

In 5 weeks I've filled up 4 times, 3 of V-power and one of Ultimate.

Loving the car though, looks like some people and the 182 owners are coming round to it

Chris

 

[ja.jack]

Not with that mpg.

 

[TomTom]

Not with that mpg.

You bought a 182 for MPG.... Are YOU joking ?

 

[ja.jack]

I can get 40mpg . No chance of that in a 197

 

[SBV116]

According to the trip computer it was doing 23mpg, dont think you would be buying one if you needed to think about that!

 

[TELFORDS_LURK]

According to the trip computer it was doing 23mpg, dont think you would be buying one if you needed to think about that!

Seems about right just pootling around at 23 mpg, on the motorway however it seems it vary quite abit, of course depending on distance and speed but i reckon on average on the motorway you will get from high 20's to mid 30's.

Agree with your second point though, if your looking at mpg figures got to ask yourself if the cars for you. Got to say I never looked at the figures when I ordered.

Bit more information on it over here: http://www.renaultsport.co.uk/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12131&SearchTerms=mpg

 

[Phill1978]

its the gearing that does it.

the clio 138 (140ps) weighs the same, has the 2.0ltr in it but has taller wider spread gearing, it can do 35-38mpg ! just like the 197 should and doesnt boom on motorway.

if they sorted the gearing out the economy would be better and the boom on 60-70mph would be gone.

 

[seb]

there is no boom at 60-70 mph. it is only noisy at 90ish imo.

 

[Munson]

I find my 182 slightly boomy on the motorway. The 197 I drove was more fizzy than boomy.

 

[richy]

i enjoyed driving our works 197, its totally different to the 182's etc

brakes are fantastic, the suspension/handling was very good, it def dont have the kick the 182 does but still goes well enough, it seemed much better built then my 182 too!

and if your concerned about mpg go buy a diesel lol

 

[TELFORDS_LURK]

there is no boom at 60-70 mph. it is only noisy at 90ish imo.

I'll agree with that, doing the same speed in my old 1.4 Dynamique the 197 is only revving about 200 rpm more, not really enough to make enough noise to bother you. Even if it does the exhaust note sounds great anyway

 

[MarkCup]

the amount of pull through the gears was good, the speed the car was travelling at was quite deceptive - i had to look at the speedo a couple of times in disbelief at the speed - yes it isnt as raw or go-kartish as the Trophy but it still is a very capable car. The Cup packed suspension has firmed the car up nicely, and i found i'd got used to the overlight steering very quickly and never noticed it again. brakes again are just awesome too.

i know there is quite a few who dislike the 197, but i am now growing more towards them.... the R27 in particular has now moved the game on in the right direction IMO. As said though, it's not a 182 and if you approach driving it with an open mind you'llbe suprised

I couldn't agree more.

When I drove the standard 197 at Brands last year, I got out unmoved, and a little disappointed.

When I drove the R27 at Brands a few weeks back, I got out and hunted down Jeremy Townsend and talked at him for 10 minutes non-stop about how good I thought it felt.

The suspension changes have really sharpened it up, the steering's good (at pace), and not once was I left behind anything on a run down the straight, 225/230/182 I managed to hang on to them all.

So it doesn't lack speed, it feels good, responds well, sounds great, and the driving position/Recaro seats are fantastic.

Only downsides to me are the price, and having to change gear so often.

 

[Gaz_]

when they are circa 10k i will have one