Have any 172/182 owners drove the 197??

[Rob.H]

Well i test drove one today at from my local dealership, now i sold my 182 in summer and have been using a 1.2 corsa for cheap run around as i do ALOT of miles, so i dont know if its being used to a 1.2 then jumping into the 197 thats playing mind tricks on me, but s**t it felt really quick.....

After 5K you still get the pull like in the 17/182, but due to the different gear ratios of the 6speed box it just felt as though accerleration 3rd gear onwards was far better from what i can remember.....pulls well from 70 in 5th gear, all round i thought it was excellent drive, the driving posistion is alot better, the brakes were amazing, steering feel is better and gets heavier the faster you go so feels really strong.

One big plus was the handling, god i dont think they can actually do any better this time, that rear diffuser really holds the back end and aswell as the wider wheel base it felt far more planted under high speed cornering. Traction was great as you would expect, steering feel was great, pedals are positioned well for heel and toe and left foot breaking etc...all round i was very impressed. I think i shall be going back next week to place an order...

Specs ive decided are:-

Red, with white speedline wheels
Xenon lights, with dedicated cornering lights
auto headlights and windwipers
electric folding and heated mirrors
recaro sports seats
i-pod craddle
and rear spoiler (just introduced this into the option list)

Dont let the looks put you off, my verdict is its one great car.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

^^^ So your saying your going to buy a car that you don't like the looks of ??

Sorry mate , but if it looks gash i wouldn't buy one , and it looks gash imo .

 

[172blue]

Looks are definitely suspect - does'nt really matter how it goes if you are embarassed to get in it in a car park!!

 

[S77CCP]

I owned a 182 Cup and tested a 197, and was not impressed. i now own a 172FF and wouldn't touch a 197 with a fifty foot pole.

 

[Brasseye]

i thought it was more refined,but not a raw or fun

 

[toms_cup]

yes and wasnt impressed.

IMO 3 things really niggled me when I drove it....all small things but they got to me!!


1) View from the rear view mirror was crap. Found it quite hard to see out of the back window. I put this down to two things... a) I have a cup, so no headrests in the rear, whereas this does, and b) it was the garage managers so I was continuously checking my rear view just inase some nutter was goona shunt me up the arse lol


2) The indicator stalk. Its Tiny. Told you it was small things that bugged me didn't I !!:dapprove:

and

3) The speed that the tick tock of the indicator drove me mad, it was so fast!!! lol it got on my nerves and I was only driving it for an hour lol.:nono:

When I got back to the stealers I mentioned this to the salesman to which he replied "oh its probably a fuse gone". This had me puzzled as the car was 2 days old so should it really have gone?!?!?




Like I say, really small things but things I picked up on. However its a great car lol :approve:

 

[toms_cup]

oh and one more thing, it felt like it floated on the road, I didn't feel at all like I knew where the wheels were going...bit concerning in a car of that power imo.

 

[Gaz_]

Well i test drove one today at from my local dealership, now i sold my 182 in summer and have been using a 1.2 corsa for cheap run around as i do ALOT of miles, so i dont know if its being used to a 1.2 then jumping into the 197 thats playing mind tricks on me, but s**t it felt really quick.....

After 5K you still get the pull like in the 17/182, but due to the different gear ratios of the 6speed box it just felt as though accerleration 3rd gear onwards was far better from what i can remember.....pulls well from 70 in 5th gear, all round i thought it was excellent drive, the driving posistion is alot better, the brakes were amazing, steering feel is better and gets heavier the faster you go so feels really strong.

One big plus was the handling, god i dont think they can actually do any better this time, that rear diffuser really holds the back end and aswell as the wider wheel base it felt far more planted under high speed cornering. Traction was great as you would expect, steering feel was great, pedals are positioned well for heel and toe and left foot breaking etc...all round i was very impressed. I think i shall be going back next week to place an order...

Specs ive decided are:-

Red, with white speedline wheels
Xenon lights, with dedicated cornering lights
auto headlights and windwipers
electric folding and heated mirrors
recaro sports seats
i-pod craddle
and rear spoiler (just introduced this into the option list)

Dont let the looks put you off, my verdict is its one great car.

spoiler??!!

public demand

 

[Rich]

Agree with the drive review in part - Loads of grip, very composed and stable, but you missed one of it's main flaws IMO the silly light steering thats what killed it for me. Could never live with that.

Loved the gearbox, but that didnt make up for the fact it felt slow.

My thoughts after the drive

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=173365

 

[Darren S]

It's still the looks that kill it for me. Just looks so, so bland. Not understated. Just boring.

And is it me, or do the 197 shots in things like Evo magazine look Photoshopped? To me, it looks a hell of a lot lower than they do in the flesh. Most 197s I've seen look like they could immediately set off on the Paris-Dakar....

D.

 

[Rich]

The current advert of the red one in this months EVO is the only picture I have seen that I like of the 197 I like but I did wonder if it had been tweaked slightly.

 

[Rich]

Infact after looking at the advert and a picture I have took I am sure there has been some Photoshop or a very carefully picked angle -

One to compare if you have the current EVO running the ad of the 197

 

[mccabe172]

I sat in one couple of weeks ago and it felt very comfortable.Tried to haggle test drive but Benfield up in Newcastle are tight as and wouldn't move - I also shun the salesman trying to sell me a 172 for, are you ready, get this 8995! two owners 22k!! But in red.

 

[mccabe172]

That pic definately dont look right. I saw black onewhich was nice and sat in silver, which looks like a mini golf!

 

[Rich]

I took it thats how they look!

Various angles

http://www.richtreen.co.uk/events/britishgp2006/

 

[mccabe172]

The two I ve seen look lower and more dunno how to say it but composed!!!

Seen more new TTs on road than Clio197's though. And TT has been released at totally wrong time with no new reg available to coincide with launch of TT.

 

[GarethM]

ive test driven one and liked the interior, handling, and brakes apart from that its gash

mk1 172 is staying for a long time for me!

 

[Fred@BTM]

i've driven a few (including on track) everything about it is perfect, apart from its slow

 

[polarbert]

I don't think that the spoiler is available to order until January.

And :rofl: at Fred.

 

[Stylo]

Mate, good on you. All that matters is that you like it, don't worry bout what the others think.

It looks great to me, and I am so envious because it ain't landed in Australia yet !

But, how slow is slow .... ?

PS. oh give me an ol' MKII V6 anyday

 

[Loki]

personaly i like the look of it and i could see alot done to it aswell

 

[DebV6]

I test drove one, personally I was very disappointed, I don't like the looks of it and I was hoping the drive would make up for that - but I found it boring, slow and the steering too unresponsive. The interior looks a bit better, but thats about it.

 

[Justin]

i drove one, and the 5k 'kick' was non existant, was boring to drive, lacked feedback, and was generally dull.. definately not an upgrade in my opinion

 

[richlawson]

please dont do it it is so ming

get a 182

 

[Frasers Cup]

I've had a shot in a 197 and was impressed with the build and handling but it felt quite a bit slower and less flexable than my cup.

I wouldnt pay £16k for it either!

 

[JBarber]

Agree with above, I wouldn't even consider it at £16K. It's about £3-4K over priced.

 

[richlawson]

its ghey

 

[trailerparktrev]

yep - too bland and too fat, 172/182 much more hardcore. That's what I felt when i got back into my 182 after the testdrive. Overpriced too.

 

[Rob.H]

please dont do it it is so ming

get a 182

Had a 172 mk2, a 182 full phat so i know exactly what there like. Now the good thing for me is that im a director of the company (owned by my brother) which is pretty fortuante so i can claim all the VAT back etc... so costs come down abit.

But i think far too many people have slated the 197 on its looks, the thread was about the drive of the car and i dont see many posts where people have actually driven the cars, ok theres a couple that disagree with me but i dunno what to think it was a real good test drive that i had with them as i bought my last 3 cars from the garage and sent quite abit of business there way was out for almost an hour in the car, after that hour i got to drive it through town, on the local by-pass, country roads the lot so got a real good feel for it.

Ok it may not be slightly as fast in a straight line (or not feel it) but when i got my 172 i still had a 106gti at the time and that felt quicker as it was not built aswell, more road noise, not as comfortable, lower etc... etc... obviously it was just and illusion.

As regards to the steering being light its only very light at low speeds the faster you go the steering adapts, for me it was all about the handling where it counts in the real world it felt more planted, and seemed i was carrying more speed both into and out of the corners, being able to brake later due to the brembo's

But ive already looked on K-tec, theres some H&R Lowering springs avalible to make it sit abit better, i think in red with the wheels white, and tinted windows it would look rather nice. And not forgetting im sure they will bring out some mod's for it aswell....

For me its either red, white wheels and tints to start things off....

Or Racing Blue (like my 182) With black megane f1 cup wheels and lowered aswell....

P.S IM DONT WANT TO LOWER FOR HANDLING JUST THE LOOKS!!

But im waiting untill the new CTR arrives aswell i wanna test that too. :approve:

 

[fUbAr]

i did several laps around Brands Hatch in one, and i though it handled very well, better than my 172. Straight line speed was no different though, it may well be quicker round a track, but thats only due to the chassis and handling.

 

[Fred@BTM]

brakes, handling, steering, driving position etc is awesome

engine just feels flat as hell, and i think it has too many gears, round Oulton Park i was changing gear non stop, coming out of shell hairpin, it was 2nd/3rd on exit all the way upto 5th, brake, down to 2nd then your hitting 5th again before kinckersdown, up the hill under the yoko bridge and your approaching druids in 5th again

in a 172/182 you only use 2nd (rarely) 3rd and 4th round the majority of uk circuits

 

[Steve2004]

I quite liked the one I drove. Everything was a step up from my clio.

However I didn't like the stupid feather-light steering or the noise it made! Sounded so bad, urgh. Plus it feels slow until you get above 7k rpm, that's not good :S

Can't understand why people hate the looks so much... looks better than any 172/182 imo.

 

[lambo7]

Test drove a 197 last night, I was very disappointed, I like the looks and the inside was nice too.....it just feels too slow.

 

[Rutger]

I've driven a 197 once. But it was a RHD car and I'm only used to driving LHD cars, so I was really fiddling with the gear shift, so I can't really give them a good comparison until I've driven a LHD version.

 

[RobHardyUK]

i have owned both rs1 172 and 182, and brought a 197 last weekend. I think its improved in every department. braking, more responsive steering (infact dare i say it - it seemed much more responsive), better gearbox, just as fast as either clio ive had after the 5k mark (tho slightely off pace before - lets face it its actually higher on bhp per tonne than a mk2 172, and as speed increases weight becomes less beneficial). much better looking car aswell in my mind, it looks wider and more beefy. I jacked the 172 in there and then, and only paid 13.5k.

when the prices start dropping more and more, peoples opinions will start to change. just watch. renaultsport.co.uk forum has a much less biased opinion even from the 17/182 owners.

 

[RobHardyUK]

I quite liked the one I drove. Everything was a step up from my clio.

However I didn't like the stupid feather-light steering or the noise it made! Sounded so bad, urgh. Plus it feels slow until you get above 7k rpm, that's not good :S

Can't understand why people hate the looks so much... looks better than any 172/182 imo.

steve from ukfn??

 

[Steve2004]

I quite liked the one I drove. Everything was a step up from my clio.

However I didn't like the stupid feather-light steering or the noise it made! Sounded so bad, urgh. Plus it feels slow until you get above 7k rpm, that's not good :S

Can't understand why people hate the looks so much... looks better than any 172/182 imo.

steve from ukfn??

Yes, that be me

 

[ado]

I've driven a 197 once. But it was a RHD car and I'm only used to driving LHD cars, so I was really fiddling with the gear shift, so I can't really give them a good comparison until I've driven a LHD version.

So was the 197 that you drove nice then?

 

[S77CCP]

Engine sounds like its got a pillow over it.

 

[ja.jack]

The people on renaultsport.co.uk are mostly cocoa and cardigan types.
Thats why they like the 197.