New car needed ASAP. Jap or French?

[Racy Jace]

Hi, Im after a new car. Somthing with a 0-60 of 7 secs and a MPG of 30+
So far Ive narrowed it down to a MR-2 na or a clio 172/182.

I was set on another jap car and test drove a mr2 but it turned out the clutch was going and i think was slipping. The power of it was crap too?? especially compared to my dads H reg BMW 318i S(140bhp- 0-60 9secs) On paper the clio and mr2 are quite similar so I guess the car wasnt performing right?? Ive been looking for another low millage toyota for a while now just to see if they are really that slow but they`re all over 2hrs away A bit too far for just for a test drive. All local Mr-2s for sale seem a bit rough too which doesnt help


Anyway...... the other day I had a brief drive of my Brothers 172 and Im now cosidering a Clio Im only going to be using it as a daily car and not taking bends at 60mph so the handling isnt an issue, just the performance between the two cars.

Has anyone driven a 1994+ MR-2 na and how did the performance compare against the clio?

Has anyone raced a mr-2? (On a private road of course) Was the clio much quicker?

How much is a clutch and cambelt?

Cheers

Jason

 

[clarkiev6]

we have an 03 172 for 5995 if your interested.
www.carlton-exmouth.com

 

[Big Iain]

106 gti?

 

[Neil G]

I'd have an MR2 if it was the turbo one but if your going to go NA I'd go for the Clio

 

[Cue]

not taking bends at 60mph so the handling isnt an issue, just the performance between the two cars.

isn't cornering ability part of the performance of a car, or are you american and think straight line speed is all that counts?

i'd go for the clio. they're difficult to compare because they are in different sectors, aimed at different people. If you cut hair for a living then the MR2 maybe an option. Other than that you'll out drag an MR2 in a 182 and you can use it to take people for rides and fit your shopping in so if your atfer a second car for everyday use..... the clio is the only option out of the two.

ps, one of my mates has the new(ish) shape MR2 and he's well jelous of the Trophy.... Everytime we get pissed he tries to organise a swap.... should tell you something.

 

[Rage182]

I regualarly drive my misses mr2 roadster (1.8i , 0-60 is 8.0sec) its a completely different drive than the clio, being mid engined rear wheel drive you have to drive it properly (especially this time of year) which leads to a different driving experience, whereas with the clio you can throw it around easily without to many consequences, if you throw the mr2 stupidly around it ends up facing the wrong way going backwards into a tree. I enjoy driving them equally even tho the clio is much quicker. Her brother has a J reg MR2 which i have also driven i thought it wasn't much slower than my 182, but the throw on the gearbox was so long, i felt like i needed a rope attached to it to get it out on 1st and 3rd gear.

Its a tough choice really

 

[cat171]

I'd take a clio tbh, unless it was an mr2 turbo.
A standard mr2 (the mk2 g reg shaped one) Is clio valver (clio 1.8 16v) pace - nothing more.

What's your budget ??

 

[Bluebeard]

Mate had a MR2 1995 n/a. I used to borrow it quite a lot.Very good car, but a lot of money for a 10+ yrold car.
I'd have my 172 over a MR2 anyday. Purely for the fact i can fit more than one friend in it, and you can shag in it

 

[Racy Jace]

Hi, My last car was an Impreza so Im after somthing with more MPG now. Ive had my fast car now I need to grow up a little, but not too much

My girlfriend hates me going fast so Its gonna get driven sensibly. I just need enough power to over take a car or two when I need to. ie on long journies and getting stuck behind a caravan.

The Mr2s Im looking at are the older quicker ones between 96-00 not the roadsters. The roadsters dont have any luggage space what so ever so pretty useless to me.

I need to spend as less as I can, Ideally 5k but I do have 7k cash possibly a bit more if it turns out to be a bargain. The car needs to be within an hour of Dudley too. Devon is just a bit too far:dapprove: . As its winter time the prices for cars have dropped quite a bit on all makes and models so it is a buyers market now so I do need to use that to my advantage as Santas coming and wallets will be a little empty soon.

 

[JuanBoy]

Jap I'd say. Something like a Honda Integra you wont regret. Check out the review at Evo Mag ...

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/22697/honda_integra_type_r.html

 

[Racy Jace]

Id love a new DC5 integra but it would cost me 14k which Im not gonna pay. I am looking out for the older models but low milage, mint ones are hard to find.

Theres that many clios about if one comes up at the right price locally Ill get one of those. Ive got 7k burning a hole in my pocket and Im getting sick of waiting now. I may even go for a 172 s they seem to be a bargain at just over 6k.

 

[Neil G]

Mate had a MR2 1995 n/a. I used to borrow it quite a lot.Very good car, but a lot of money for a 10+ yrold car.
I'd have my 172 over a MR2 anyday. Purely for the fact i can fit more than one friend in it, and you can shag in it

Good point

 

[Cue]

how much have E36 M3's dropped to now? Teggy or 172 I'd say fella, through the MR2 idea out, they look very dated at that age and aren't all that quick.

 

[neil80]

Well i have just sold my Valver and got a Integra DC2 jap import. Its 198 BHP, 0-60 in 6.1 sec and have managed to get 280 miles from a 40 litre tank. So that what.....31 mpg.

And it doesn't rattle!!!!

Pick them up for about £5-6K

Neil

 

[ollie]

chinese, japanise, dirty knees, what are these?

 

[Racy Jace]

I bought this today.

 

[Racy Jace]

It was a toss up between this or an Accord type-R. The clios got better low down power where the Type-r has a bigger top end and needs to be dropped down 2 gears to get any where. Great car but the clio was newer and suit my driving.

Im gonna miss the power of my scoob but not the regular trips to the garage to fill it up.

 

[John D]

chinese, japanise, dirty knees, what are these?

Banned? was it for that?^^^^

Good choice of colour mate. Whats happened to the cup splitter though? (it comes with the cup spoiler IIRC)

 

[John D]

How much power did your Scooby have?

 

[Ad]

Good choice Jace.

I had an ifferno 182 FF, which was stolen, nearly a year ago. Not quite an RB5

 

[Ad]

P.S it needs the cup splitter on the front as its missing.

 

[Racy Jace]

My RB5 had 313bhp and was a wee bit nippier than the clio. I just needed something more mpg friendly otherwise I`d have another scoob. The insurance is £100 more than a clio so they`re a great buy.

Anyone know where I can get a splitter from and how much are they new and second hand? Could I take it back under warnetee and say it fell off??

 

[172.com]

I bought this today.

That photo makes it look like a miniture, don't know why- just does, that's quite a freaky photo, dude.