2000 Renault Clio Sport 172 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing really. Oh, everyone is afraid to travel with me 'cos it's so fast...

What a stormer. Excellent performer. Faster than hot snot on greased lightning, okay, slight exaggeration there. Slight! Great handling (takes a bit of getting used to) and great feedback through the steering. Beats the VTi I had previously hands down. In short, no problems / complaints to date. And I've clocked up over 3200 miles over the last 5 weeks. Loved every mile of it.

Only bad point - the torque steer is something to watch for - especially in the wet. Fun enough in the dry, but can lead to a skidmark or two in your undies in the wet...

If you're thinking about one, GO ON - TREAT YOURSELF!!! Performance wise this car won't disappoint.

You compare the Renault to a Honda VTI? - which is a 1.6 compared to the Renaults 2.0 litre and is also a larger car... no wonder the Renault is quicker, but wait for the new Civic Type-R to come out (2 litre also) and perhaps it will be a level playing field?

The comment I believe is not a comparison against a 1.6 Honda but rather a comparison against the last car the person owned.

Honda owners should not take this reviewers words as criticism. Mugen who?

Whoa... Didn't mean to start an anti-honda vibe... Don't get me wrong, I loved the VTi (160 bph @ 7200rpm, 8500rpm redline, 0-62 in 8.0). That VTEC warble is music to the ears. The Clio, while a 2.0 delivers 172 bhp (heaps more torque mind you), that's 86 bhp per litre - the VTi was a 1.6 litre delivering 160 bhp = 100 bhp per litre. For sheer bhp / litre, the Honda has it - the Type-R is to come out with (I think) 220 bhp from a detuned S2000 engine. Looking forward to seeing it when it comes out.

The VTEC engine has something special - and you either love its characteristics or you hate it. I quite liked it (you'd never guess!). And yes, I'd go back to Honda as soon as they replace their design team (what's with that gear stick up on the dashboard then? nightmares of those old Renault 4's come to mind...).

Glad to see the review (albeit a biased one!) generated some comments!

:)

I don't know why these people are getting so upset with you comparing the 172 to a VTi - that are direct competitors in the same class, i.e. hot hatches. They were saying that the VTi is a bigger car - it is only slightly bigger and has not got much more room in it than the Clio. The Clio is a cheaper, faster, better handling car with similar running costs. It also looks far better and is without a doubt a far superior car. I am not an anti Honda person - I have owned Honda's CRX Vtecs & Civic VTi's before and am a great fan of their engines et al, but I had a good long test drive in a 172 and immediately I realized it was a far better car to drive.

Haven't driven any Clio but I'm not expecting better handling than Honda with its double wishbones + low gravity center and excellent steering..

Honda should have better cornering and comfort...

I'm going to buy a Renault, after I'm sure about handling issues...

And: Anybody studied the Renault Clio Sport 172 's undercarriage? Is the camber adjustable?

--->>> Basar