hey, fella just make sure the insurance is as it says, i bought a 172cup back in may when i was 19 (now 20) and was given a quote of £2000 went to insure it and they wouldnt cover the car for any less than £5500, and only now the insurance is more reasonable, which is £2133, i say go for it, you'll never want to go back if you one, i love my 172 so much fun....... when you live in the countryside and can drive it when you please without insurance..... lol but good luck if u can find a tidy one and cheap insurance
197's are crap , i had one with a few mods and got bored of the power very quickly , not as quick as a 182 and just felt to slow , they are expensive to tune , are very heavy compared to normal clio , spend your money elsewhere , 7k could be better spent IMO , the handling was great though and they feel a lot more solid than the 182's , just so god damn expensive to squeeze power out of
What a load of crap. Is the 182 cheaper to mod?? err no! The 197 seems to be very under rated on here for some reason, ive owned both and while i would happily own another i think the 197 is a much better step up.
This +100
The 197 is better - the end. The 1*2 may feel faster and more chuckable but the fact is it isn't. Driving skills is where it's at and 99% of peeps on here will run out of skills long before the car does.
Fuel economy is worse on the 197 though but meh!!!!
In your opinion it is, lets not overlook that.
You might not want to bring that video up given that plenty of people on here know the truth behind it!
You might not want to bring that video up given that plenty of people on here know the truth behind it!
Tell us more ...
Having re-read the post it's not the clip I thought it was.
That said Fifth Gear had a 182 vs 200 comparison (the 200 is regarded as being considerably better than the 197) and despite the show airing and saying the 200 was faster it was a complete fabrication. The script had been written before they'd even got behind the wheel and they cherry picked two laps from the afternoon of filming rather than the fastest lap each car achieved.
Before people protest saying it can't be true the reason we know is that one of the owners of the two cars posts on the forum.
Get a cheaper slower car that way you'll have more money to spend on drugs!! drugs + uni girls = lots of nasty sex!!
is there much tuning potential with them?
Hell no your looking at the wrong car if your after tuning potential, look for something turbo'd.
My advice is dont buy a fast car when your that young im personally so glad i didnt, thusly i didnt crash any cars and now ive got 10+ years no claims and i can afford to buy and insure what i want without it finacially crippling me, also ive never paid over £900 for insurance i really feel for the youth of today.. oh wait no i dont haaaa
Im 22 and at Uni. Got a ph2 172 full fat with all the toys
Ive also driven a 200 cup along with a couple of mk3 1.2's, and a mk1 1.4. The 200 feels faster and bigger than the 172, and it beeps at you furiously to change gear! (this may be switch-off-able - although not when your lapping the ring)
The mark 3's are more modern, but they dont offer much extra over the 172/182; a 6speed box, cruise control, facelift, updated chassis, more power, audable shift NOISE!
The 197 is the best looking though.
Id go for a much cheaper 172/182 with all the toys, its fast and a nice car, leaves you with loads of money to enjoy uni life, it may even be cheaper to insure.
As others have said the 172/182 does far better mpg, being at uni its important to save money for my other vechicles lol.
Having said about saving money at uni, once you've bought your books, save money for petrol, food, and maybe rent.
Then with a part time job and what was left of my student loan;
In my first year of uni, I bought a litre sports bike
Second year I bought a 172, and traded my bike for a brand new, lighter and faster CBR600rr
Third year... dont know yet... 350z? M3? R32? ST220? Polo GTi?
Given my experience you should be ok getting a 197 in one year then enjoying the following two years partying
Depends on what you like more; fast vechiles or getting drunk...?
Advise against **
I would advise buying a 197- ( a standard one that is) your in no mans land & going to end up with an average early facelift model & not really going to get the benefit of the revised model-
If you have a budget of 6-7k then I would say do one of the following-
1) buy a low mileage trophy for say 6k & keep your change for small mods-
2) save up another 1k & get a decent R27 with all the trimmings....
Dont settle for that middle car- always the top spec of what you can afford
S
How the f**k you afford all that as a student is beyond me (unless you have wealthy parents).
And students moan about rising fee's....