Ricardo's Pearl White 220 Trophy

[Ricardos]

Hi! Now that all the formalities like finance, deposit and insurance are all arranged I think it's time I can finally announce the impending collection of my new car.

Behold the 2017 ID Pearl White Renault Clio 220 Trophy!!

Photos are from the Pistonheads advert but you get the idea of what it's all about. Collection is tomorrow (Saturday 28th April) at Masters Renault in Beckenham who are also a RenaultSport official dealer. With that in mind this means they have to show a representing RenaultSport Clio in the showroom.... And this or was their current car.

I'll spare you the negotiating details and go straight to the spec as it has pretty much everything on board bar say the black pack (black front blade and rear diffuser) option, which to be fair I'm not fussed about.

Optional extra ID Pearl White
Full leather with heated front seats
Akrapovic exhaust
RS Monitor V2
Bose sound system
European maps installed
Rear parking camera (std on 220s)
Front-Rear parking sensors

The best bit of all...... It only has 84 miles showing on the clocks, yes! 84 miles!

Put the photos up FFS! So, here we are, the replacement to the Liquid Yellow 200 EDC. In my opinion its more than filled the previous Clios place. I look forward to blogging our progress to wherever its going to take me from now on.....

 

[Greeny.]

May 28th you sure?

Looks lovely minus the Wheels, but thats not your fault!

 

[Ricardos]

May 28th you sure?

Looks lovely minus the Wheels, but thats not your fault!

Are you sure?

Edited, I need to sack the proof reader!

 

[Greeny.]

Are you sure?

Edited, I need to sack the proof reader!

Haha!

Car looks lovely mate, just cant say ive a massive fan of the wheels, much perfer the older trophy ones

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Looking forward to the for sale thread already

 

[Ricardos]

Looking forward to the for sale thread already

Oh dear

 

[massiveCoRbyn]

I think I actually prefer the silver blade, breaks things up a bit. Just a shame you need to buy the rear spoiler again

 

[Smiffyboy1990]

Looks great does that. These 220 Trophy versions are a lot better than the press make you believe, i would consider one next regardless of no Manual option..

Just wish they would offer the optional Trophy Seats that you could spec on the Preface Trophy!

 

[RMDavis]

As discussed via Facebook, I'm well chuffed for you mate!

Roll on many adventures for this year, and into the future!

 

[Clio_fool]

I like that, pearl white suits it really well. First plan wheels though?

 

[CrippsCorner]

I actually don't mind the wheels. It's the seats that don't do it for me!

Looks great though, the bumper looks so much better with the facelift lights

i do find it slightly amusing they have Renault Sport on the left and RS on the right... was the older car the same!?

 

[leeds_182]

Nice ride.

 

[Daz...]

Looks good in white

 

[Kosy]

Lovely car. Comgrats

 

[Jack-C]

That is a great looking car!

I really like those Silver details with the pearl white paint.

Enjoy!

 

[Mr R.]

Needs a big spoiler.

 

[STEVE.M]

Lovely Capri inspired seating.

 

[182_steve]

That looks great, nice colour and I like the wheels myself - with the added touches of heated leather, bose and sat nav etc, makes a great all rounder imo

 

[4renaults]

Nice car
Got ly coming next month
Big spoiler decat black badges already ordered


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ricardos]

Day 1 of Pearl White 220 ownership!

Early start with a 6:45am train from Southend to West Ham, short Jubilee Line to London Bridge then a 25 minute train ride to Beckenham in South London arriving at the Masters Renault dealership at a prompt 8:55am! A well needed Costa pitstop between the train station though which added to the adrenaline of new car ownership.

Upon arrival

Greeted by the salesman who I've been negotiating the purchase with over the phone, he's also on a coffee but that's due to last nights drinks, but he's on form. I have to say he's been an absolute delight to deal with, over the last 2 weeks I've spoken to quite a few sales people and it's been an interesting experience. Going from pushy, unreliable, polite, but Tarjan has been quite the professional but laid back in his approach. Being an official RenaultSport dealer certainly helps, they know the details.

The car is brought round to the side of the the forecourt for me to have a walk round.... Stunning in real life, the pearl is amazing to look at. The shape of the Clio really sets it off just like the Liquid Yellow did on the curvy corners. Like all the Renault ID colours it really comes into its own in the sunny weather, however today its overcast and drizzly but you can see the pearl in the paintwork anyway.

Back indoors to deal with all the paperwork formalities, the only hitch is the finance IT not working so the paperwork couldn't be printed off. The system was down for 2 hours which delayed me finishing the deal. I wasn't fussed, nothing was going to ruin today, I popped outside every now and then to look at the Clio.

Half 11 and we're all done, he's paid £50 into my account as well to fill up the tank which I thought was a decent touch. He gives me the keys, takes an obligatiory pic for the dealer and on my phone too because new car, and I'm on my way.

Obligatory dash photo showing mileage

Using the trusty Shell App I head 1.6 miles to brim up with V Power then decide to head north and pop into Central London for a drive about, then onto another location where I'd been to last year for a few more snaps.

 

[Ricardos]

So that's it for day 1, back home late afternoon and just a case of familiarising myself with the differences between the 200 and the 220.

 

[Owen]

Nice pics! Love the colour, think it really suits the shape like you said. I also actually like the wheels too.

 

[20vKarlos]

I’m glad this weekend has been good for somebody! My Aux belt snapped last night on the Skoda Superb work horse!

Although, it does mean I get to spend the night on the forum

What are your plans for this car?

 

[182_steve]

Brilliant write up, enjoyed reading that......... always a nice touch when you get a 'decent' salesman and that £50 was a nice touch I must say. Great photos too... that café.... isn't that where they filmed the scene in layer cake!?

 

[Ricardos]

Brilliant write up, enjoyed reading that......... always a nice touch when you get a 'decent' salesman and that £50 was a nice touch I must say. Great photos too... that café.... isn't that where they filmed the scene in layer cake!?

It is that very cafe indeed! @Dr Jekyll and I had breakfast there last year as part of our day out in London taking photos in various location.

Regards the salesman, I couldn't fault him. In one of our conversations i mentioned that my 200 had the red piped RenaultSport mats which were a nice addition "Leave it with me Rich, I'll order a set in on the side and have them fitted. Whatever you do just don't mention it when you arrive"

Unfortunately the mats ordered were blue, I politely declined but again appreciated the fact he went out of his way to as part of the deal. I spoke to a saleswoman last week trying to negotiate a deal on a other pearl, I said to her I'd put a deposit down there and then if she'd order the same mats and a tank of V...... "I'll have to speak to my sales manager, I already know the answer but I'll ask anyway. I'll call you back in an hour"

She didn't call back, well you've lost yourself a deal. She called back 3 times the next day, sorry too late. Obviously a silver lining as the Clio I have now was the next one I enquired about and bought.

 

[Jekyll]

Excellent stuff mate. Looks great.

Can't wait to see it in the flesh in the nearby future. Awesome write up too. I do enjoy reading threads that are more like stories.

 

[Ricardos]

Excellent stuff mate. Looks great.

Can't wait to see it in the flesh in the nearby future. Awesome write up too. I do enjoy reading threads that are more like stories.

Thanks Mark, I intend to add to the thread this way as and when I remotely do anything Clio related. It's more a documented ownership blog than a project, my days of full blown bare shell, engine swapping projects are long gone (not that I'm afraid to muck in with other friends cars)

Thats one thing I didn't do with the Liquid Yellow Clio, I tended to post updates on the media thread instead of posting up a dedicated thread. I should have done as I did quite a few road trips both here and in Europe along with all the small additions I made to it. I'm hoping to be just as active in the pearl white and be interactive on this thread with anyone who replies along the way.

Appreciate everyone's comments so far.

 

[Matt W]

Noticing much difference between the 200 and 220?

 

[Brigsy]

Looks great, all the right options

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Noticing much difference between the 200 and 220?

Approximately 20, I would imagine.

 

[Smiffyboy1990]

Yeah, really enjoyed reading a story like that. Can’t wait to see more.

 

[Ricardos]

Noticing much difference between the 200 and 220?

Basically, yes! There's potentially a lot to say between them, we're talking about 2 cars with 4 years between them. The 200 that I had was one of the first, the introduction to the Mk4. In my opinion now I have the facelift 220 is that the 200 was just a base for the facelift. They came out in 2013, by 2016 they'd introduced the revised facelift model which to me (again my own personal opinion) rendered the 200 EDC dated.

For instance other manufacturers in 2013 already had the LED headlights and/or DLRs while the Clio 200 RS, flagship model along with the pre facelift 220 still had the yellow looking H7 bulbs fitted. Anyway that's just one example, I get the feeling Renault concentrated more on the RS Monitor, tech, chassis side of things to which they've historically been well known for. With the introduction of the 220 the refinement came in.

It's small items like the interior where they've changed the material from say chrome to brushed aluminium, removed small coloured trim details which to me you had to suffer or wrap them to a better choice of finish to your taste. Gloss to a matt black, it looks more 'grown up' less busy, less is more in my opinion.

Mechanically different between the 2 models, the 220 has a bigger turbo cold size, a less restrictive induction turbo inlet so it has more air intake. Steering rack on the 220 has a better turning circle, add the RS Monitor and you can change the map on the throttle pedal and the steering rack when you're in Sport mode to give you a more direct response and feel.

With the 220 having all the options ticked like the Bose, full leather, Akrapovic, it's naturally a better car than my old 200.

 

[Ricardos]

Approximately 20, I would imagine.

The 200 pre mapping was 189bhp,it would be interesting to see what the 220 would put out on the same rollers.

 

[Daz.]

I really love this but I can't see past the numbers at the moment!

I can't afford a new one at the moment which is why I'm looking for potentially an older one.

Yes I'd love a new one but I can't see past the potential 10k saving by running an older one for a bit.

I'd have to stick some new alloys on it though, love the new rs rims!

 

[Ricardos]

I really love this but I can't see past the numbers at the moment!

I can't afford a new one at the moment which is why I'm looking for potentially an older one.

Yes I'd love a new one but I can't see past the potential 10k saving by running an older one for a bit.

I'd have to stick some new alloys on it though, love the new rs rims!

The price difference is amazing in a Clio that's only 2 years old, I'm pretty sure it's about 23k on the road brand new with no options. When I started looking into buying the facelift I scoured the internet everyday at loads of main dealers, I also had a friend who knows a decent salesman who'd try and source one for me at the price I was prepared to pay in deposit and the monthly outgoing. The cheapest at the time was 15.5k in black with no options, then it depends on mileage and spec.

Mine new with the optional extras retailed at around 27k, 2 weeks ago it was 23k,when I called the middle of last week it was just under 22k. By the end of the negotiations I bought it for 20.5k,so yes 6.5k savings on a year old Clio registered to that dealer with only 87 miles on the clock.

 

[182_steve]

That's an incredible saving for a car that is quite literally, brand new!! When you think of it's rivals, you car with it's spec, for that money, wow!

 

[Daz.]

Actually you've messed with my maths there! I hadn't actually spec'd one up until just now and my man maths make even more sense.

You can a nice 200T for £9000, thats over £15000 saving on a 3 year old car!

Even a PH1 Trophy is 'only' £13000!

 

[Ricardos]

Actually you've messed with my maths there! I hadn't actually spec'd one up until just now and my man maths make even more sense.

You can a nice 200T for £9000, thats over £15000 saving on a 3 year old car!

Even a PH1 Trophy is 'only' £13000!

I know it's ridiculous isn't it! I was offered 9k in standard trim as part exchange on a brand new Trophy 220. Mine was a 2013 200 LUX, FRSH with 24k.

But, what you're saying is on 2 levels, 2 ends of the spectrum in price terms but you're also trying to compare 2 completely different cars. If you just want to get into a Mk4 RenaultSport Clio then yes buy a 200T, I did that a year and a half ago at a cost of 11K. At this point now I was lucky to sell mine privately, with the extra parts on the car, clear the finance and be left with a sizeable chunk of money to put down into the new 220.

 

[Daz.]

I'd be happy with a PH1 Trophy for £13,000

I can't justify £10,000 for the face lift bits when it's the same car underneath - not yet anyway!

 

[Ricardos]

I'd be happy with a PH1 Trophy for £13,000

I can't justify £10,000 for the face lift bits when it's the same car underneath - not yet anyway!

I completely understand where you're coming from, it's all down to circumstances. The liquid yellow at 11.1k back in November 2016 was my absolute limit, i part exchanged the Media Nav Mk4, cleared the finance on that then put in a deposit to give me £200 monthly payments. That, at the time was enough for me, since then circumstances changed again to point I was in range to move up to 220 Trophy territory.