Thinking of buying a clio 172/182

[sargeantpepper]

Hello people!

At the moment I own a mini cooper s, which I love to pieces....but I am thinking of selling to save a portion of the money for a house deposit.

Will I be happy with a clio, I am especially looking at 182's because I love that exhaust arrangement (I know this shouldn't be my deciding factor).

My car history definately supports the light hot hatch, as I have owned a peugeot 106 xsi and 2 gti's, before purchasing the mini.

I just dont want to buy one for it to turn into a money pit (like my second gti )

So am I ready for some renault sport ownership?

 

[DebV6]

I'm sure that you woundn't be dissapointed with a 182, they're so much fun, I love mine! And from your car history, it seems like you are used to french cars, so won't be suprised if it rattles lol!

 

[djdrastic]

A lot of owners , here are upgrading to something quicker / different . You'd be able to find a mint car fairly easy

You'd be so glad you dropped that estate agent car of yours :rasp:

 

[ste hutch]

get a 182 im glad i bought mine love it

 

[sargeantpepper]

You'd be so glad you dropped that estate agent car of yours :rasp:

He he....but will I be glad to buy french again...my gti was made of cheese and kept falling apart!

I'm looking at honda integra type r's now aswell, will have to go for a slightly higher mileage one though for the money.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[FlameR]

182 is a good choice for the money. A couple of mods will obviously make it even better. Which integra you looking for. DC5 is about the same price as a cooper s!

 

[Nebdingo]

the biggest difference between the cars is Build Quality. the MINI is far superior!

whether you would be happy with a 182 after a mini is questionable! but i love mine! best thing, go test drive a couple see what you think fella.

 

[Daniel]

I'd rather have had my 172 over a Mini Cooper S any day.

Mini is so lifeless to drive. I think you'll be happy mate.

 

[Hawkeye]

I'd rather have had my 172 over a Mini Cooper S any day.

Mini is so lifeless to drive. I think you'll be happy mate.

My thoughts as well.Have driven a couple of coopers s's and i think the 172/182's are far more rewarding and fun to drive.You wont be dissapointed mate.

 

[sargeantpepper]

Yeah I will go and test drive, and I'm sure I will like it.

I wish I could keep the mini....once the warranty is spent I was planning (read as dreaming) to chuck 1 grand at it to get 210bhp.

The mini is heavier than I think it should be, the front pushes forward a lot inducing understeer, where I'm sure a clio...hell, even my gf's Lupo gti would be much quicker. But I absolutely love the charger whine, and the crackle and pop from the exhaust.

I would be looking at DC-2's and I must say they are ftw at the moment, but I will give the clio the benefit of any doubt and have a go in one.

 

[MillerLight]

lots of peps who come from turbo / superC cars complain about the lack of tq at low revs. so you will have to drive on the revy side. but thats fun anyway.

 

[FlameR]

iirc Cooper S' are about 140kg heavier than a 182, which is the equivalent of having 2 extra people in your car. I think with you would prob need to chuck 1500 at it to make 210bhp, but it would be worth it.

The most annoying thing I find with my 172 is that is red lines too early in 2nd. Gonna save up to get inlets, cams and a remap which is about £1500

 

[sargeantpepper]

I would opt for the 210 package from GTT, comes to around 900 quid with the VAT added on. I think I'd want to add a better intercooler aswell though!

http://www.gtt.uk.com/packages.asp

The beauty of that lower 210 package is that the ecu can adapt to that much (as for the jcw cars) so no re-map is needed.

 

[sargeantpepper]

Here's the mini in question btw.

 

[FlameR]

Nice. What are the lupo GTis like to drive?

 

[williams-ant]

I might be selling my flame red 51 reg 172, very nice condition 45k miles full ren history, if your interested PM me.

 

[sargeantpepper]

Nice. What are the lupo GTis like to drive?

Properly fun.....reminds me soo much of my 106 gti, but you dont have to rev the engine as hard, this has nice mid range power. Wheras the 106 would have to be wound right up to get going anywhere.

The suspension could definately be harder, there's a tad too much roll for me, but it still grips like a go kart, and my girlie likes the ride a bit softer and comfortable.

And finally, it feels 100 times better built than my old pug (the loop has only done over 20k though)

 

[FlameR]

You can't beat a good sized engine in something that weighs less than a tooth pick.

The lupo's are smart little cars, just too girlie for me.
VW build quality is always going to be better than peugeot

 

[W17GLE]

the cooper s does handle better and feels a lot better built but i'm sure you would love the clio. i'll swap if you want lol

 

[springer]

iirc Cooper S' are about 140kg heavier than a 182, which is the equivalent of having 2 extra people in your car. I think with you would prob need to chuck 1500 at it to make 210bhp, but it would be worth it.
According to EVO magazine a cooper s is 30kg heavier than a 182.

 

[W17GLE]

i want to go the other way just been out in my bros and its far better than my clio but then again its 23k worth mines worth about 4.5k max lol

 

[sargeantpepper]

Hey guys,

Bumping this thread a little!

I've got a 182, picking up tomorrow. Pics will follow.

Its got the dark wheels (signifies cup suspension pack??) but no front splitter (where can I get this from? renault the best place?)

Sad to see the mini go, but its for a good cause.

 

[Neil G]

Nice one.....get some pics up when you get it

 

[FlameR]

Good lad. You can get a standard cup splitter (plastic) from renault or you can get a carbon splitter from k-tec which looks good. Get some pics up

 

[oneeighttwo]

You wont be dissapointed mate. The Clio is a lot of fun. I've not had any problems during ownership its been far from a money pit, apart from a few rattles its great, I love it!!

 

[sargeantpepper]

Good lad. You can get a standard cup splitter (plastic) from renault or you can get a carbon splitter from k-tec which looks good. Get some pics up

Cool, I'm not into the whole carbon thing, I'll leave that to the jap machines. How does the splitter fit on?

You wont be dissapointed mate. The Clio is a lot of fun. I've not had any problems during ownership its been far from a money pit, apart from a few rattles its great, I love it!!

I hope not, and I've already spotted the rattles (on the test drive!), but I expected this and it can only add character

Give me a couple of days to get it and give it a good wash and some autoglym polish and pics will be posted.

 

[sargeantpepper]

A bump from me on this thread.....some pictures as promised.

Not much you haven't seen before!!

Can anyone identify my exhaust system.....I am finding it way too loud (due to the non-existent middle silencer??) and would like to change it for a janspeed.

 

[springer]

Nice car,probably wrong about the exhaust but it looks like a btb one to me

 

[sargeantpepper]

Yeah, after a bit of search action I thought it was a btb.....I dont know if its meant to be this loud, or if theres something wrong. Will have to get to a meet somewhere at some point.

I'll be going to renault soon to get a splitter.....it used to have one but the previous owner already replaced one and obviously didn't bother the second time :dapprove:

 

[springer]

It might be that your car has a de-cat pipe on it thats why its so loud.

 

[sargeantpepper]

Yeah I thought that....it does have a box there though, I'll investigate further.

The clio is easier to enjoy than the mini for sure, the handling is out of this world! like my old 106gti...but with loads of power

Plus I'm getting near 37mpg...with some mixed driving.
So a big thumbs up from me so far.

 

[Joe@ShedMotorsport]

Thats a btb you have there. I seem to remember with that car that there was a slight problem with the cat which caused it to blow slightly. The olive flange on the cat has been poorly formed which makes it a bugger to seal it properly. With a bit of jiggling round and small bit of sealing paste it can be sorted and that should quieten it down a bit.

Also check that the system isn't making contact with the car anywhere, the rubbers aren't the most durable of things and may need replacing.

The btb is pretty much the quietest system on the market so the only replacement thats going to bring the noise levels down (if the system isn't blowing) is a std system where you'll still have the same problem with the cat. This is all assuming its the car i think it is.

 

[sargeantpepper]

Thats a btb you have there. I seem to remember with that car that there was a slight problem with the cat which caused it to blow slightly. The olive flange on the cat has been poorly formed which makes it a bugger to seal it properly. With a bit of jiggling round and small bit of sealing paste it can be sorted and that should quieten it down a bit.

Also check that the system isn't making contact with the car anywhere, the rubbers aren't the most durable of things and may need replacing.

The btb is pretty much the quietest system on the market so the only replacement thats going to bring the noise levels down (if the system isn't blowing) is a std system where you'll still have the same problem with the cat. This is all assuming its the car i think it is.

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it.

I've sort of decided to put up with it being loud after all....there's no point getting rid of an expensive exhaust system when (if) there's nothing really wrong with it.

So my plan of action would be to get it checked out. If there's nothing they can do would a new cat be my only option?

It's a shame too...because the system fits beautifully, no drooping of either pipe and I can tell its quality. I can only describe the sound as being a bit generic, and not very sporty...just loud.

Thanks for your help.

 

[JuanBoy]

Get yourself an Integra Type R mate, better build quality, more reliable and not one bad review to be found.

These french things are good fun but they break too easily.

 

[Gaz_]

keep up......

My previous 172 cup was fine. Had a hard 40k with me, now on 73k with a mate, strong as an ox!!!!! Nothing but service items.

 

[Justin182]

Thats a btb you have there. I seem to remember with that car that there was a slight problem with the cat which caused it to blow slightly. The olive flange on the cat has been poorly formed which makes it a bugger to seal it properly. With a bit of jiggling round and small bit of sealing paste it can be sorted and that should quieten it down a bit.

Also check that the system isn't making contact with the car anywhere, the rubbers aren't the most durable of things and may need replacing.

The btb is pretty much the quietest system on the market so the only replacement thats going to bring the noise levels down (if the system isn't blowing) is a std system where you'll still have the same problem with the cat. This is all assuming its the car i think it is.

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it.

I've sort of decided to put up with it being loud after all....there's no point getting rid of an expensive exhaust system when (if) there's nothing really wrong with it.

So my plan of action would be to get it checked out. If there's nothing they can do would a new cat be my only option?

It's a shame too...because the system fits beautifully, no drooping of either pipe and I can tell its quality. I can only describe the sound as being a bit generic, and not very sporty...just loud.

Thanks for your help.

Can you take a pic of the cat mate and stick it on here? You may have a sports or decat which would make it alot louder. Even a mild sportscat made a huge difference to my Janspeed i think.... its off now though lol Prefer the more subtle approach lol