It may not be the quickest, but for me personally, it was the most fun. I got rid of mine mosty due to reliability issues, I did not see the mk2 172 and 182 as a significant step forward in terms of performance, neither the CTR, rather I looked for a car with lower milleage, similar performance and superior quality.
Too bad we never got cups around here, I might consider it as a replacement...but then again, I would buy an RS clio only as a second car for joy riding - and for sure it would be the mk1 172.