Mk4 Renaultsport Clio as a daily?

[IW365]

Hi folks,

I'm thinking of getting rid of my 2008 Civic FN2 type-R daily and I'm seriously considering a Mk4 Clio EDC as its replacement.

It looks to me like it would be a good daily drive thanks to the auto box and fairly good MPG.

What's peoples experience of these and what sort of things should I be looking at with a view to common problems etc?

I've got my eye on one with a trade seller, its a 63k mile trophy at just under 10 grand which seems fairly reasonable to me.

If anyone's got one coming up for sale anytime soon, let me know!

Cheers

Ian

 

[JamesBryan]

@Sash

 

[leeds2592]

@S-JM

 

[S-JM]

I had mine for 3 years (phase 2 non-trophy), had absolutely zero issues with it and it made a great daily.
Nice to cruise around in, the auto box was really nice, stick it in race/manual and you can have a lot of fun once the roads opened up.

I modded mine a fair bit - exhaust, ITG, discs, pads, tyres, wheels etc. It was only missing a remap but even on standard power it was easily adequate for daily use with the occasional trackday.

Although it was a 'daily' it didn't really get a huge amount of use (10k in 3 years) so fuel economy wasn't a concern, but from what I did see it was always in the mid 30s 👍.

 

[Bluebeard]

@Sunglasses_Ron

 

[Sash]

A daily you say… why haven’t you done it yet?!

Soon to be 7 years as mine, 190k in my ownership (214k in total). ~32-34mpg is easily achievable for me day to day as a driving instructor but it seems some struggle (I’m really not sure how!) on a run I’ll easily see 40+mpg.

 

[VenomUK]

I've been considering one of these as a daily also!!

 

[charltjr]

I think the Mk4 is really underrated because the Fiesta ST came along and was just that bit more fun in the group tests. But then everyone with a Fiesta as a daily wants to change the s**t suspension. I’d like to run a mk4 for a while too.

 

[Starlet_gt]

I had one for around 2 years from 2015-2017. Easy to drive, don't remember it having any issues at all. It was only 2 years old when I bought it though!

 

[Adey.]

Had mine nearly 2 years, awesome daily and track hack. Slapped a big turbo and a load of bolt on nearly straight away. shave over 300bhp no major issues to note. I cover about 35-55 miles a day in it and averages around 34/36mpg, shave over 40mpg on a run though.

 

[Sash]

I think the Mk4 is really underrated because the Fiesta ST came along and was just that bit more fun in the group tests. But then everyone with a Fiesta as a daily wants to change the s**t suspension. I’d like to run a mk4 for a while too.

Everyone with a ST is constantly sh!tting themselves that it's going to get nicked... You'll never have that trouble with a Renault!

 

[Burny16v]

I actually went from a mk7 Fiesta ST into a mk4 Clio 200 (with Cup pack) back in 2016, and found it a far better daily. It had a more comfortable ride and felt more "grown up", I drove it about 80 miles a day for six months and it was fine. I did struggle to get it to do more than around 36 mpg day to day, but on a steady motorway run you could get it up to around 40. They look good value now and I'm considering getting back into one, ideally a 220 Trophy.

 

[IW365]

This all sounds positive, I'm 47 this year so I think something more grown up than the type-r is more suitable. It's also going up to £400 a year VED do that's something to consider. I get about 32mpg with the civic so the Clio is a slight improvement.

I'm favouring the 220 trophy at the moment, perhaps I'll have a look over the weekend at a couple, the problem is there aren't that many for sale anywhere near me.