I went from a 172 Cup to a VX220 Na (2.2 16V).
They get a lot better with miles, I had one from new and it felt a bit tight, went in a mates one with 20K miles with no chip and it was quick! Mine got much better but added a Miltek exhuast, chip and induction kit.
Had a rolling road done at 162bhp & 161lb/ft, this in a car that weights 850KG gives you 186BHP/ton, same as the clio V6. The sounds is awesome and truely brilliant car that pulled strongly in every gear (it would happily pull away from stop in second!). In fact (on a private road of course) it was one of the few cars that I have owned that even with the roof down you could max out regularly on a flat piece of road with ease. With the hardtop on, it became a rocket. The torque is really noticeable, 0-60 is very impressive but with that much torque overtaking lines of traffic was a sinch.
Dont bother with a turbo, they weigh more, have had more reliability problems etc. Also with Thorney Motorsport you can get the 2.2 to deliver similar power levels to that of a standard turbo. Factor in the reduced weight and performance is pretty similar. The 2.2 is a great engine, all alloy as opposed to the pig iron of the turbo.
Driving experience makes the clio feel fat and frumpy even coming from a 172 Cup (dont get me wrong they are not bad cars!). The VX is also ALOT faster, I had a couple of clios have a go and especially in chipped form they werent in my mirror for long! I will agree however that the Lotus is more focused, Ive driven both on road and track, but its whether you want to pay the insurance and finally VXs get more respect and attention on the road as most people dont know what it is.
They will hold their value now as well, get a good deal as production has finished and there will be no lightweight purists replacement.
Go to
http://www.vx220.org.ukwww.vx220.org.uk its a great site and always loads of people to help out. They do loads of meets and all kinds.
[Edited by Jaakko1 on 25 August 2005 at 11:20am]
[Edited by Jaakko1 on 25 August 2005 at 11:22am]