Darren S
ClioSport Club Member
My car is currently in the Reno garage for the usual weeping washer problem.
In exchange, I have a 1.2 Mk3 Clio for the day.
Now, I'm not going to compare the performance of the 1.2 against the 182 as that would be totally unfair, but rarely have I felt such little faith in the car that I'm driving, as I do with this.
The car is truly, woefully and unashamedly underpowered. To a point where I almost think it's dangerous. On the M66, I had a couple of vans easily coast by me and had the constant impression that the engine really was working it's nutts off - simply to move forward. Looks in the rear view mirror are more critical than ever.
I had to laugh out loud when in top gear, I floored it at 65mph and watched the needle crawl clockwise and almost end up in Aberdeen, before it hit 70mph. 5th gear would be pointless other than increasing your mpgs and I think if the car was mine, it would never see 5th.
Then there's the steering. It goes like this. Nothing..........everything............nothing........everything. Where's the grey area? Subtle changes in direction result in a mass fight with the wheel to correct and over-correct the inputs that you've put into it. The Mk2 Clio feels like an infinite variable of degrees of turn-in and control. In comparison, the Mk3 just feels like an on/off switch.
Then I feel that I'm sat almost cab-height alongside the articulated trucks (who at the same time are over-taking me) and anything more than a slight dab of the brakes sends the car into panic mode. Clearly weighing in a three times the weight of the Mk2 Clio, a hard(ish) press on the middle pedal loads up the front waaaaay too much, which in turn causes the already scarey steering to go into a Guess-My-Direction-That-I'm-Heading competition........ with seemingly random results.
I really, really wanted to like the Mk3. Without question, I don't like the looks at all, but I was more than willing to overlook them from what it felt like to drive. But from that point of view, I hate it.
The build quality is much, much improved over the Mk2, but even as a shopping trolley, the 1.2 makes no sense at all to me. I would strongly suggest a dCi instead - simply to get the car to move. Preferably forward and at some point during the same day that you awoke.
The most shocking conclusion comes with the comparison of a Corsa CDTi that I drove the other week. It wasn't flash, had a really cheap interior but would be 50 places up on the list of cars I'd buy over the Mk3 1.2 Clio. It did what it needed to do - get you from A to B in relative comfort, not cost a lot and occassionally show a bit of its fun side.
'Fun' is a word that most definitely wasn't on the designer's mind with this.
Shame on you Renault.
D.
In exchange, I have a 1.2 Mk3 Clio for the day.
Now, I'm not going to compare the performance of the 1.2 against the 182 as that would be totally unfair, but rarely have I felt such little faith in the car that I'm driving, as I do with this.
The car is truly, woefully and unashamedly underpowered. To a point where I almost think it's dangerous. On the M66, I had a couple of vans easily coast by me and had the constant impression that the engine really was working it's nutts off - simply to move forward. Looks in the rear view mirror are more critical than ever.
I had to laugh out loud when in top gear, I floored it at 65mph and watched the needle crawl clockwise and almost end up in Aberdeen, before it hit 70mph. 5th gear would be pointless other than increasing your mpgs and I think if the car was mine, it would never see 5th.
Then there's the steering. It goes like this. Nothing..........everything............nothing........everything. Where's the grey area? Subtle changes in direction result in a mass fight with the wheel to correct and over-correct the inputs that you've put into it. The Mk2 Clio feels like an infinite variable of degrees of turn-in and control. In comparison, the Mk3 just feels like an on/off switch.
Then I feel that I'm sat almost cab-height alongside the articulated trucks (who at the same time are over-taking me) and anything more than a slight dab of the brakes sends the car into panic mode. Clearly weighing in a three times the weight of the Mk2 Clio, a hard(ish) press on the middle pedal loads up the front waaaaay too much, which in turn causes the already scarey steering to go into a Guess-My-Direction-That-I'm-Heading competition........ with seemingly random results.
I really, really wanted to like the Mk3. Without question, I don't like the looks at all, but I was more than willing to overlook them from what it felt like to drive. But from that point of view, I hate it.
The build quality is much, much improved over the Mk2, but even as a shopping trolley, the 1.2 makes no sense at all to me. I would strongly suggest a dCi instead - simply to get the car to move. Preferably forward and at some point during the same day that you awoke.
The most shocking conclusion comes with the comparison of a Corsa CDTi that I drove the other week. It wasn't flash, had a really cheap interior but would be 50 places up on the list of cars I'd buy over the Mk3 1.2 Clio. It did what it needed to do - get you from A to B in relative comfort, not cost a lot and occassionally show a bit of its fun side.
'Fun' is a word that most definitely wasn't on the designer's mind with this.
Shame on you Renault.
D.
