2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup from UK and Ireland - Comments

Non I hope.

OK a few things to think about before purchasing your Clio cup!

I can't comment on the reliability or how it fairs against other cars on the road, but I have a few things to tell about the dealers! I'm having mine delivered in early Jan of 2003 but whilst I was shopping about for it I found that many of the demo cars where being used regularly by the sales people! and when I say being used I mean used! Thrashed is a better term. Out of the 3 dealers non of the demo cars had more than 500 miles on them, but each were being seriously driven. the dealer told me they were bench tested and that there is no need to run them in, I think he was lying! if yours is in for service or a mechanical fault check the mileage before leaving it with them, it seems that everyone wants to drive them hard!

Oh yeah and don't buy a demo!

Do these cars hold there value well? Is it going to be like the Williams?

Bought mine brand new, got it just before Christmas, so far it has been great.

I have run mine in according to Renault recommendations. No higher than 3000 - 3500 revs for first 650 miles then use carefully, but fully for next 650 miles. After 1500 miles it should be run in. It is a very fast car, the one I tested had 2000 miles on it and was seriously quick, but I think it is important to run it in.

As for holding value it depends how many they sell. Initially it was meant to be 1000 only in the UK, but this may have changed. If they sell loads then it will be standard 172 depreciation if not it may hold up a bit. I have yet to see another one on the road...

Have fun!

After their initial limited edition run, I believe that Renault will be continuing to produce the Clio 172 Cup throughout 2003. I ordered mine a couple of weeks ago and should be taking delivery in the next 5-10 days or so.

As to depreciation, a quick search on the Internet reveals seriously cheap deals on brand new cars which is great for new buyers, but unfortunately doesn't help second-hand/nearly-new prices for sellers.

However, my last two Renaults (a Clio 16V and Megane 2.0 16V Coupe) have been rock-solid reliable and great fun all round so I'm hoping that I'll not be thinking about selling the 172 Cup for a very, very long time.

I also have a clio cup, I was one of the first to purchase the car at the beginning of October 2002.

I need some advice, when it was snowing a few weeks ago I was going round a bend and the wheels locked up at 15mph the steering was turned fully to the right, but the car ended going straight and hitting the pavement.

I ended up damaging the subframe and bending the front left wishbone. It has all been fixed now, but the car does not feel the same anymore, I think its me being paranoid. Quite a few people have driven it and think it's a lovely car to drive.

The advice I need from you lot is that, is there a lot of movement from the steering wheel, loads of feedback e. g you sometimes feel it pulling slightly even on motorways and slight vibrations from the steering aswell.

I know that they say that having larger alloys and wheels and stiffer suspension makes the ride even harder. Say I'm driving on the motorway doing around 60mph I let go of the steering for a couple of seconds the road is nice and smooth I get slight vibration from the steering is that normal.

Can you recommend any specialist places that do tracking and to check steering alignment even though the garage say everything is fine.

Even when braking on low speeds the car pulls to either direction. The car feels as it is around 90% do your clio cups do the same thing, please guys this is getting annoying now.

Hi I posted the original comment on this topic and the car is great!! as to it pulling to either side when braking this is normal as the car doesn't have ABS so is scrambles for grip and can pull to the side depending where the grip is!

I've took mine up to 120 on the motorway and had no problems with vibration etc! I suggest you nip to kwick fit or tyre sales to have your balance checked, as you may have lost a balance weight on the impact with the kirb prehaps, they will do the tracking too!

Hope it helps.

A follow-up to my post of 31st. January and a response to the comments thereafter.

I've now had my Clio 172 Cup for about a month and am very pleased with it. I've certainly not had any problems with excessive feedback, movement or vibration through the steering as the earlier poster describes. In fact it barely tramlines at all compared to my Megane 2.0 16V Coupe. I am still running-in though so I can't claim to have taken mine up above 60MPH... Yet :-) As the original poster goes on to point out, perhaps there's some further damage that needs sorting to correct this problem.

Looking at the thread relating to the standard 172 I see various comments about rattles and rear brake binding. My Cup definitely rattles, but, to be fair, at the end of the day it is still a Clio; so despite Renault's improved build quality over the last decade or so rattles are to be expected. Yes, I have found my rear brakes binding when first releasing the handbrake from cold, but both my Megane and previous Clio 16V suffered from this phenomenon so I've learned to live with it.

For me, the fun factor outweighs the minor niggles by far.

I found out what the problem was with my clio cup, the car was pulling all the time, and there were vibrations when driving.

The service manager at the renault garage found out that the steering rack was faulty, and needs replacing under warranty.

All this time I thought it was me going crazy, I have had this problem for six weeks now, I must of gone to the local renault dealer 6 times. I have had the wheels tracked and balanced several times.

I'm glad that they have finally found the fault, the car is due to go in on thursday for the new rack and some other various bits and peices.

The worse thing is that you can't even drive properly, because of the pulling and vibrations, I felt like a formula 1 driver, I always had to correct the steering wheel very quickly.

Looking forward to getting the car back to 100%

Hi guys

I own two 172's. One is a standard car used by my other half and mine is virtually standard other than a prototype janspeed de-cat exhaust system. This exhaust gives me around 10 bhp and makes a fast car a seriously fast car. I wonder what mine would be like in a head to head with one of you fella's cup's? Other than I could have me climate control and 6 cd's on while we played. haha.

Seriously though go see Janspeed in Salisbury. You wanna hear your car growl through twin pipes, they are the guys. The people who don't look at you as you drive by must be deaf or blind.

All the best.

Gary.

Oh and mine see's off new scoobys from 40 - 110. Don't tell a policeman though.

Hi Guys,

Very interesting posts by all of you. I am considering buying a Clio 172 sport and was wondering what price I should be paying. I would be px my golf gti (worth about 4k) and paying for the rest in cash (no need for a finance deal). Do you think I could get a fair bit off from the 13k ish new price. Read somewhere that a bloke got one for 9k with only 80 miles on the clock.

Plus whats the main the main difference between the standard 172 and the cup? and is the insurance rating and quotes the same for both cars.

Any help in answering these questions would be much appreciated.

The difference between the 172 Sport and the Clio cup, basically all the leather seats, air con, traction control, Zenon lights have all been left out in the clio cup, the car weighs around 90kg's lighter.

Clio 172 sport 0-60 6.9 seconds

Clio Cup 0-60 6.5 seconds.

Clio 172 0-100 18.5

Clio Cup 0-100 17.2.

Both have the same top speed, but because the Cup weighs less it has more Brake horse power per tonne.

Its slightly wider from the front and rear, and all the windows around the car are slightly thinner than standard 172's. The alloys are different aswell.

Most of the sales guys at renault that have driven both cars have told me that the cup feels quite a bit faster and has better control.

I have driven both, you can feel the differece.

I hope this info will help.

Clio cup £12,995 - 172 sport around £15,000 for a new one.

Just to follow on from the previous two posts, a few more differences between the Clio 172 Cup and the standard 172:

The Cup is also slightly lower due to a different spring/damper setup. The steering and chassis have been tweaked, making the car feel more "pointy" if you know what I mean. Apparently the engine management system has also been modified to improve responsiveness. The big difference about the brakes is that there's no ABS so they've been adjusted to make them feel more progressive to help avoid potential lock-ups if braking heavily at speed.

There are also different tyres (supposedly capable of sustaining higher loads) and a few internal and external differences to the trim - deeper front dam, pronounced roof "spoiler" and a few bits of body coloured aluminium dotted around the cabin. Some of the sound-proofing has also been taken out to save a little more weight.

Oh, and you can order your Clio Cup in any colour you like as long as it's blue!

As to purchase price and insurance cost, all I can say is it's definitely worth shopping around. I got £1500 off the price of my 172 Cup by searching for no more than 5 minutes on the Internet.

Whether you choose the standard 172 or the Cup, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Hey Guy's.

I have just ordered a 172 Cup last week and expecting delivery of it on the 19th of this month.

I went on www.beatmydeal.co.uk (or.com cannot remember) and got the car brand new with renault warranty for £11,499.00.

I have been in the car and test driven it and I have to say, my last car was a BMW convertible 2.5l and this clio kills it!!

Don't worry about no air con, common we live in england when is the sun out!!! The car is standard, but also means you can personalise it as much as you like!!!

Have fun will let you know how mine is when I get it!!

Hi Guys.

I pick up my Cup back in Sept 02 and it's a fabulous car...

I have done 7k miles and had to replace the front set of tyres (£59 each) I promised myself that I wouldn't modify my car for 6 months, have any of you guys made any mods to your cars, if so what?????? as I keep hearing about different places that do different things, but I would prefer to know someone who has actually done it.

Hi Guys.

I took delivery of my Cup in late October 02, I think it's a great car (£13000 well spent). However, I have just completed around 5500 miles and have noticed a slight problem. The driver side window clicks as it gets to the bottom and today as I was driving into work it stopped working (A bit embarrassing). But, Renault assures me that it will be fixed as brand new on the 2nd June (Have to see about that!).

Just a quick tip for you Cup enthusiasts out there whenever your car goes to the garage make sure it doesn't get any car-parking dents on the doors. It makes the car look ugly when you have just finished polishing it.

By the way if you want to do a little mod to embarrass those Civic Type R drivers buy yourself a K & N 57i induction kit it make the car sound awesome (Halfords £92).

Guys.

I am shortly about to place my order for a 172 Cup after test driving one at the local dealership.

I will add at this point that both of my previous two cars have been the latest shape Clio's, both of which have had various faults. Indeed in my current car I found 14 pints of water had leaked through the rear window into the spare wheel tray! Needless to say I've been back so many times I'm on first name terms with the entire service department!

To add to a previous comment, both cars have had windows that 'clicked' once they reached the bottom, I think the window hits the seal on the door.

But hey it's a Renault! And I'm afraid I'm hooked on the Clio.

The new car is due in September and I've also specified climate control, which is a new option. As for the insurance its not as bad as you might think, though as I'm under 25 its still a small fortune, even with 5 years no claims.

Roll on September.

Hi.

I need some advice! I'm thinking about buying a 172 CUP, but I'm worried that it hasn't got the ABS braking system. How does it affect the handling of the car especially driving in winter? I'm really debating whether to go for the straight 172 instead, but the CUP looks so good!

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers.