So are these Clios any good?

[J..]

G'day from Australia everyone!


Might be an odd title to stick on a Clio forum but hopefully it will attract some attention

So I'm in the market for a fun car. My Jeep Cherokee whilst being a great car just isn't fun to drive. I do a lot of K's and want to enjoy my driving experience. I also don't want the fuel guzzling V8 that everyone here in Aus seems obsessed with... but at the same time I want a car that can perform just as good as them. So I did some research and the Clio looks like it might just fit the needs I have.

I took an '02 (172?) for a test drive yesterday and was very impressed (even with the salesman in the back restricting me :dead: ) I pushed it round a 50m wide round-a-bout at twice the speed I ever have and it put a BIG grin on my face!

My question's are... honestly, are these good cars? Do they have reliability problems? Is it possible to boost the power up in them? I would be aiming to equal the power to weight ratio of the performance V8's here of 300kw/1650kg...

Any points or advice would be greatly appreciated :race:

 

[_Kenny_]

Welcome to the forum mate.

Yeh the RenaultSport Clios are great wee cars for the money. Will definitely put a smile on your face. Like most cars, there are a few problems, but these are usually not too major - a lot of people seem to moan about interior rattles!

Engine mods/exhaust can upgrade bhp but I will leave others who are more in the know to talk about these.

 

[jongsr4]

Welcome to the forum mate

If your looking for a fun car, you cant go wrong with the RS clios

 

[Justin182]

Welcome to CS mate,

I had a V8 Grand Cherokee in the family once, nice cars.

The 172 and 182 are great cars if you want something to thrill you while driving. Great handling and can keep up with a lot of the bigger boys.

As standard i think the 182 had around 167 bhp/ tonne. Doesnt 300 kw = 400bhp so that would be around 242 bhp / tonne which would need some serious money spent to achieve that in a 182. Dont think all the usual mods plus throttle bodies etc would get that, so you best looking for a V6 if you want to match the bhp/tonne. Will leave it to the more technical lads on here to fill you in though lol.

The V6 i feel would only be noticably more powerfull once you get to silly speeds, so if you just want some fun then a 172 or 182 should do that no probs.

The Clio sport do 0-60 in around 7 seconds and 0-100 in around 16 i think so should still do well against some of your V8 tanks.

There are various quality issues as with most french cars but nothing major. They can rattle a bit and have a few probs such as strut top mounts and leaking dampers but these are usually sorted early on in its life.

All i can remember just now. Sure more will come lol.

Jus

 

[J..]

Thanks for the input fellas. I thought it may be a bit of an ask to get the power to weight equal to a V8...

Still very interested though. Been looking at them a long time now. Is it major dollars to boost the power in them? The big draw card to the Holden V8's (Opal I believe the name is in the UK) is they are so cheap and easy to extract big power out of the stock engines. Performance chip and a new exhaust and you've got a 300kw car.

 

[J..]

I read a little about the V6 Clio on a website too. Would look to be a pretty crazy car. No news of them in Australia yet though...


Can you turbo the Clios? Thicker head gasket to lower compression and bolt on kit...?

 

[Justin182]

We have the Holden V8s here too, although very rare. There pretty crazy cars. Most of Europe use the Opel brand but were use Vauxhall in the UK.

I think there are 1 or 2 turbo 'd 172's on here but your looking at around £7000 for that, but dont quote be on that lol. Think stevo172-250 has one. Think there is also a clio on here with around 340 or 400 + bhp but would be serious ££££

 

[GordonD]

1. The ideo behind the Clio Sport - a small nimble car with a good engine - is great. But Clio Sports are poorly-engineered and poorly-built crap. Buy one and you'll be running back to your local dealer continuously getting one fault or another fixed. Rattles. Faulty sensors. Rattly dashboards. Wheel bearings. Gearboxes. Etc, etc, etc, etc, endlessly. These Poms are used to the sort of build quality they put into their own cars. Buy something designed and built by people who have the pride in what they do to do it properly. A Toyota. A Subaru. A Honda.

2. Compared to Aussie cars it will cost you a fortune to get even tiny amounts of extra power out of them. And that's doubly so in Australia because there aren't any Renault tuning specialists there doing any work on them. You can send for hot bits from the other side of the world, but then you won't find be able to find anyone local to you with the expertise to fit them or tune them properly. Not anyone. No-one. And its not just the big things like cams and turbo kits you can't get. Its even the little things like wheels and tyres. There's only a tiny markets for them in Clio Sport sizes, so companies don't bother bringing them in.

3. If you do a lot of kms a Clio Sport is the worst sort of car to get. Its not a touring car. These Poms don't understand what an Australian means when he says "long distances".

 

[J..]

Well that sure throws a spanner in the works GordonD :S


You just about shattered every reason I had for getting one. I read a review by a dide on line recentely and he said his Clio sport was always in getting something repaired... thought he might have just got a lemon though?


Hmmm..... don't know what to think now.

 

[rory182]

GordonD obviously misses the point of the small CHEAP hot hatch, I have never had any reliabilty problem in 2 years of ownership i.e. its never not started. As for people who build things properly, Toyota? what toyota is even slightly quick? Subaru... much more costly to run, parts cost is ridiculous over here, honda, Civic Type Rs are everywhere if you're used to a V8 with lots of grunt you'll hate the Honda VTech experience where you'll be revving to 9k rpm.

Gordon must have had some bad experience with his car, but not everyone is unhappy with there clios. But if you get a burst shock or something and have to take it to the garage, don't moan, its the price you pay for having whats thought of by many as the best hot hatch ever which happens to be French.

problems i've had include burst shock absorber, faulty brake light pressure sensor, oil leak and thats about it in 2 years and 25k miles (40,000km) all resolved quickly under warranty.

 

[rory182]

and u can ram the word POM up your arse lol Scottish and proud

 

[Neil G]

Agree Rory..it's like every car, there are good and bad ones about.

I've seen a brand new VW have more faults and dealer f**k ups than all the Renaults I've owned have combined!

 

[tameracingdriver]

I have had a little "race" with a Monaro, think it was kicking out about 350ish bhp.... let me say, no chance, but it was still possible to keep it in sight as long as the road wasnt too long and straight.

On bendy roads though, the Clio will keep up as its that kind of car, not much really gets away from a Clio Sport on a bendy road.

And the Clio feels quite fast as well, so at least you are still getting some thrills out of it.

But if you want straight line performance in a small car, I hate to say it but the Clio aint the best bet really, its more of a go-kart than a motorway missile.

Best bet for a small car with huge straight line performance would be something like a Seat Ibiza Cupra 1.8 20VT with an IHI turbo conversion to take it up to about 350 bhp, think that costs about £3-£4k to do, and would give it a power to weight ratio of approx 291 bhp / tonne which would give it V8 slaying performance - but you'd have to sort the handling and DEFINITELY the brakes!!!

 

[jongsr4]

I had my 172 for ages and never had a single problem with it, no rattles either believe it or not!

 

[IB172]

Here here! Ive had my 172 for over 2yrs and its never had any problems, its a great wee car!

 

[ANDO73]

G.Day Mate

I have just joined this site today.

I was one of the people who had a V8 around Sydney and just bought a Clio sports yesterday..

These are unreal little cars.

I still have a smile on my face and i am sure i will for a while yet...lol

The power is there when you need it. Its like a go kart on steroids..

Go for it... you wont regret it

 

[Martin_172]

but then you won't find be able to find anyone local to you with the expertise to fit them or tune them properly. Not anyone. No-one. And its not just the big things like cams and turbo kits you can't get. Its even the little things like wheels and tyres. There's only a tiny markets for them in Clio Sport sizes, so companies don't bother bringing them in.

if they can extract mega power from a big V8 im sure they wouldnt find it to hard to fit a set of cams to a wee 4 cylinder clio. and you say you cant get tyres in that size in australia i just searched Dunlop, Bridgestone, Toyo, Michelin, goodyear and hankook and every manufacturers australian website lists the clio sports size of tyre and im sure any of your local tyre garages deals in one of the above tyre manufactuers!!

and as for ur comments on reliability in 4 years, 120,000 miles ive had to replace a coilpack and a bonnet release cable ive seen ur so called well bult toyotas, subarus and hondas that arnt as reliable as that!

 

[NOT! gary l]

every car has its faults, you could sit here all day and argue about the pros and cons of every make/model car on the market, the only thing most other manufacturers have over a renault is the lack of rattling.

renaults are french and as such...they rattle..sometimes a lot, its nothing major, usually only interior trim, if you want to drive in complete comfort with minimum cabin noise buy a BMW if you want a cheap, fast, exhilarating ride that offers good value for money...
buy a clio.

dont be put off by youre aussie mate, he obviously has some hatred towards the french and/or clios, im not in the motor trade but even i know most companys will stock all sizes and makes of tyre, if they dont stock them they will source it from somewhere else in OZ if its not in OZ ...well...do what you have ben doing and get on the internet.

servicing?? well provided you dont go to a part time cowboy mechanic, any skilled mechanic should be able to carry out a service on any vehicle.

my mates have an imported mitsi fto and a mitsi eclipse, none of which were ever available to buy in the uk, they have no trouble finding parts/getting services, another had a jap spec supra before a jap spec impreza and also has no trouble

come to think of it, im the only one without an imported car and they have no more trouble than me finding parts, granted theirs are a little more expensive but then so were the cars

 

[Martin_172]

also who cares if it rattles you cant hear it when your flying up towards 8,000rpm pinned back into your seat! if your driving normal turn the CD player volume up, sorted lol

 

[rory182]

8000rpm?! lol what Clio you been in Martin, sure aint Ally's!