Forum Newbie Considering a 172 Cup/197

[madmover]

Morning All, just signed up to the forum and been doing a bit of reading! Certainly plenty of information about so looks like ive got loads to be looking at whilst at work today! Currently im on the market for either a 172 Cup -Ive been told to go with a phase 1? (if i went this route i would be looking to build a track day toy) or a 197 Sport, i really dont know which way to sway. I adore the 197, really impressed with the car as a whole and i like the extras they have but at present im just not convinced enough that the difference is worth the extra hence why ive came on here to seek everyones advice/opinions.
I dont know if ive been looking at it the wrong way but the way i see it is 172 cups are at silly money now, remarkably 'cheap' considering what you get for your money and they arnt going to loose much value, i tend to put a fair amount of miles on my cars - group of us often go around Wales or down south on various different runs! and i never keep my cars long (At present im 18 and ive had 6 cars within the past year and 4 months) but im hoping i wont get as easily bored with the Clio as i have with the others. one thing which is at the back of my mind is if i went with the 197 at £6500-7k then there is still room for the residual value to fall considerably compared to the effect it would have on a 172. Any guidance/advice is more than welcome, at present i just dont know if there is enough gain to warrant the extra cash for a 197 and i can just see myself tuning it for a bit to my tastes then getting bored and changing again.

Thanks in advance

Andy

 

[-J-]

If your a B road Blaster and do the odd track day IMO without a doubt go for the 172 Cup.
If you like your comfort and do a fair bit of distance now and again got for the 197.
Both are very different cars.

I went for the Cup route and have not really looked back

 

[mark smith87]

My car is the Phase1 model non-cup and its superb. Its done 115,000 miles and is still sharp. The standard Renaultsport dampers are firm anyway and really make the car handle well. The Eibach units are very expensive to replace ,a full set would almost cost as much as a phase 1 car! I've recently fitted a set of Toyo R1-R's on the car and they are superb. The car drives like its on rails going into a fast corner now. I did a 400 mile trip yesterday to Northumberland via the M6 and the North Pennines over the Hartside Pass and the car drove superbly. I've not driven a Cup version but I'm very happy with my car.

 

[alanc1000]

go for the 197, ive owned all of them and the 197 was the best one. The handling on the 197 even in standard form is as good as the 172 cup.

 

[Bren Rogers]

Well I'm on my second Ph1 within a year. I originally sold it thinking I wanted something derv, and just missed the handling too much. On the road the Ph1 is massively underated by Joe Bloggs on the street and that is what makes it special. The handling is just superb out of the box, and the more you throw it aroun the more it fills you with confidence.

I do really like the 197, but they are essentially a bigger, heavier car. Although the engineering and handling is fantastic, from what I hear. I personally prefer having something a little older and lighter. If you intend to keep it standard (as you swap cars quite a lot) then make sure you have a decent set of tyres to enjoy the handling to the fullest.

Just as a matter of information, there isn't a Ph1 cup, they only did a Ph2 Cup. All Ph1s are essentially the same, although some come with optional Aluminium bonnet and Shift light.

 

[Munson]

197. It hasn't quite gone full charver yet.