2001 Renault Clio Sport 172 review from UK and Ireland

Rear discs at 60K. Not in itself that bad for a performance car, only annoying that (probably to save manufacturing cost) the hub bearing is integral so they're much pricier than normal.

Front spring cracked around the same time. Not something you'd expect to fail ever, but I've read elsewhere comments on Renault spring unreliability.

Front drive-shaft replaced at 70K (check for strong vibration when accelerating).

Spat a spark plug out one time which was bizarre. Was on holiday so stuck with the dealer fix, which although efficient included plugs @£17.50 each!

Recently cabin quality issues to the fore. Rubberized lacquer on door inserts comes away like a skin problem (although can be carefully removed to just leave the base paint). 'Leather' steering wheel is only leather on the bottom spoke you never touch, the rest is low grade synthetic which crumbles and falls away to look rancid. Better and much cheaper to re-trim rather than same again from Renault.

Good looking hot hatch, which has the performance, although you need max revs/noise to get it.

Reasonable economy (35-40mpg) on motorway and with medium speed driving.

I've got back issues, which I now partly attribute to the terrible seat (soft and lacking in lumbar support).

Quite tight in the back for passengers/luggage for a car in its class.