Ok well here goes....
Got to Renault at 4pm and spoke with a sales man regarding the 3 cars mentioned, The LY Meg was sold just an hour before so no test drive there lol, The white 197 was being uses by a manager and is now away untill monday so i was left with a black 197 which was pretty tidy dare i say...
So after 20 mins talking cars blah blah they handed me the key card to the 197 and said we should go out, i said no prob and got in the car, The sales man started giving me all the RS talk about hand built quality and how rapido they were and all that crap so i just let him rant on and prepared to scare the living sh*t out of him....
The car started on the button first time as expected and yep sounded as rough as a 182 on start up, Left it running for a min and then set off casualy down the road allowing the engine to warm up. Luckily the traffic was exceptionally light thanks to school holidays so we made good progress getting to a nice long private runway !. to be honest at this point i knew i was in a very well made car but power wise i was already missing that 5k kick of my 182, I thought to myself give it a chance so i carried on with it and got onto my private runway....
Foot to the floor i let the engine do the talking and tbh i was pretty dissapointed in the lack of uptake towards 80 jelly beans. It didnt have the surge of the 182 it was just a contstant acceleration if that makes sense, the car accelerated well and maybe because its quieter and bigger it felt different to my 182 but i wasn't that impressed going on all the stuff i've read..
Cornering is out standing in the 197 though and breaking is pretty much sexual, tbh i thoroughly enjoyed the sales mans "i've sh*t myself look" hehe
The car is stunning in the flesh and does look so much nicer than a 182 but i wont buy a car on the looks if it dont have the punch to match, Arriving back at the dealer with the sales man looking relieved he said what did i think and tbh i told him the truth that yeah it looks better, handles better, brakes better but it dont accelerate quicker or well it didnt feel to anyway and could i justify the money on something that aint really miles better. I know the 197 owners are gonna say that im talking sh*t and wont agree but i will judge it on my personal view and thats all..
So to sum it up it's defo made better and defo more refined in certain areas but it aint leagues away from a 182 imo.
the car in question was a black 08 plate 197 with cup packs
Trade value on my 182 was £5,300 which aint bad for 5 yrs old - 197 was £10,995 and tbh my 182 thats fully maintained felt as fresh as the 197...
Make your own views and judgements on my mini review good or bad
would i trade my 182 and secure the deal ??? not for 3 yrs more finance and not that much of an improvement in car....
Well there you are went in brimming with confidence and walked out back to my trusty 182 !
