Shiny red R32
Launch Report - Renaultsport 182 Cup
Bargain Sporting Supermini by Ross Finlay (13 Oct 04)
Renault has produced some very hot hatchbacks over the years, and few more so than the <A title=http://dotm1.net/t.asp?l=37430&i=14171242 href= "http://dotm1.net/t.asp?l=37430&i=14171242Clio Renaultsport 182 Cup. Trying out this impressive machine on CARkeys this week, were very much taken with its performance, but if anything we admire how Renault has managed to make such an apparently ferocious device so tractable for everyday road use.
Myself, I think its a case for the Trade Descriptions Act enforcers. Heres what amounts to a road-going version of a Super 1600 competition car, a supermini with a 0-62mph time under seven seconds, lowered and firmed-up suspension, and two mean-looking tail pipes - and what does it feel like? It feels like a car very much at home pottering gently about, while letting you enjoy its super-smooth gear change action.
So what, in the case of the new 182 Cup model, went wrong? Well, somewhere along the line, the Renaultsport people must have reckoned that, while being forced by customer reaction (and the UK is the top market for Renaultsport cars - ahead of France itself) to put back the ABS and air conditioning which were chiselled out of the previous and now discontinued 172 Cup model in an effort to save as much weight as possible, they might as well go the whole hog and turn out an updated car which is much more than a track day machine - indeed, one I could easily imagine using every day in the week.
Stop pottering gently about, though, and the Renaultsport competition heritage comes to the fore. The aluminium pedals and gear lever knob (which is far too chilly to the touch in cold weather) start to make some kind of sense, the road-hugging suspension set-up likewise. Released from having to behave itself, the well balanced engine eats up the revs as it soars towards 180bhp, and a real little thoroughbred begins to enjoy itself.
With its revised steering, it just bullets through the corners, dips and S-bends, needing only a light touch at the wheel, and that lovely precise five-speed manual change shows that the Renaultsport guys English dictionary stops some way before F for Floppy. Some track day types may moan about the fact that Renault has put back ABS, but Im quite happy about that.
The engine revs with a sporting but not tiresome note, and on normal roads that firm suspension doesnt feel as if theres some kind of concrete being used as the damping medium.
Equipment levels? Well, the 182 Cup has manual air conditioning instead of the http://www.carkeys.co.uk/launches/renault/USPAN style=COLOR: #3366cc> climate control/SPAN/U system fitted to the non-Cup version. Weight and cost are also saved by the use of a simpler radio/CD player and a lighter one-piece rear bench seat. You can forget about light-sensitive xenon headlamps with a wash facility, rain sensor wipers and the 182s heat reflecting windscreen glass. Putting back ABS and air conditioning of whatever type has reduced the Cup models weight advantage, but theres still no flab.
Some items of cabin trim have been scrapped, but youd hardly notice, because the interior is neatly laid out and presented, although less expensive upholstery takes the place of the standard 182s leather/Alcantara trim. I was aware once again that, while - to put it mildly - the three-door Clio is no great shakes for rear seat space, anybody sitting there has a much better window area than in many rival cars.
Outside, the 182 Cup does look the business, thanks to its lower front air dam, bigger http://www.carkeys.co.uk/launches/renault/USPAN style=COLOR: #3366cc> rear spoiler/SPAN/U and dark grey-finished Renaultsport alloys. Buyers can opt for Gordini-style white competition stripes with the Racing Blue body colour, or metallic paintwork for the Inferno finish, a shade which isnt nearly as incandescent as its name suggests.
Some manufacturers selling this kind of sporting machine seem to think of a price and then add 30% or so. Renault hasnt gone down that route. The 182 Cup costs £13,800, which is £900 less than the better-equipped standard 182. But when you take into account the fact that the suspension and spoiler modifications which come with the Cup specification are a £395 option on the other car, this one seems an even better buy.
And when you give it its head, out on the open road, you cant help smiling. Factor that into the cost/benefit calculations too.
