2002 Renault Clio 172 Cup review from UK and Ireland

Passenger seat runners were very loose and had to be replaced.

Oil leak from power steering.

The rear brake pads stick to the brake disk when the car is left standing and it rains!

The alarm sometimes doesn't arm when the key-fob is pressed.

The engine sometimes doesn't start after a long journey. The starter motor turns over, but it doesn't seem to have a spark.

The most annoying fault is a knocking from the front right suspension (which gets worse by the day).

Good points first. If you are after a seriously 'fun' car then this is it. Find a decent B road, put your foot down (keeping within the speed limit off course!) and you will have the biggest grin on your face. This is a true track-day car and cheap as well. Performance and handling are exceptional.

This car is only 6 months old and it has had numerous faults so build quality and reliability are poor (see faults!).

Another bad point are the dealers. Avoid if you can, but no doubt you will be visiting them sooner rather than later. I took my car to my local dealer to fix the suspension and brake problem. They couldn't fix the suspension problem because they didn't know how. The dealer phoned up Renault, but they didn't know how to fix it either! Apparently the sticking brake fault is a 'feature' of 172 cup's, although I don't believe that.