So what do you drive ?

[garcon]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

I too would be dissapointed if it was only a standard clio, the 172 cup version however is a very different animal. Not much can touch it in the corners or brakes or accleration, sure top end it tops out at 138mph but it isnt slow getting there trust me. Apart from cars like Evo's and top spec Imprezas there isnt much quicker than it for "normal" every day road cars.

I know from experience that a well driven Clio 172 Cup is at least as quick as an array of interesting semi-exotica from Legacy Spec B to RS4 on challenging Scottish roads.

[dj choc ice]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Here is my 2nd Toyota supra turbo, which I traded in a few months ago. To the right is my newer Clio 172 cup, suprisingly on balance I would say the Clio is actually quicker than the supra. Its probably a touch quicker 0-60, but loses out on accleration there after but is by no means slow, but unlike the supra as it only weights 1025kg as opposed to 1600kg it handles like its on rails and you can brake stupidly late. My only real regret is I didnt get the Clio sooner, will keep it for a while yet but have allready got my next car in mind, im thinking of a Alfa 147 GTA.

mmmmmmmm absolutely lovely clio there saleen, my brother has a 172 the shape before that clio, cracking car, drove it ages age, phenomenal handling and brakes on it and its a rocket in a straight line as well, wouldnt mind getting hold of a clio 197 or a Focus ST once ive finished uni, getting jealous of everyone having to put up with a 1.1 Peugeot 106 for atleast another 2 and a half years

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by dj choc ice

wouldnt mind getting hold of a clio 197 or a Focus ST once ive finished uni, getting jealous of everyone having to put up with a 1.1 Peugeot 106 for atleast another 2 and a half years

Im not too sure what im going for next myself, theres a choice of 4 that I like at the moment within my price range but all have very different charachteristics. Vauxhall vectra VXR (250bhp model not 280), the basic Vauxhall VX220 2.2, the Renault Megane 225 cup or the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA. Woudnt go for another spec clio apart from the V6 versions but they are out of my price range, and the other Clio's like the 182 and 197 are probably slower than the 172, I know the 182 cup is slower than the 172 cup from what I have read thanks to a better power to weight ratio on the 172, not sure about the 197 though, the 0-60 times are the same though if you beleive the official specs. Still, need to pay off the loan I have for this Clio first before I think seriously about another car.

[Dani Filth]

although i have a driving license for over 4 years now .. I finally drive my own car .. an 1986 Peugeot 505 GTI and i love it

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Dani Filth

although i have a driving license for over 4 years now .. I finally drive my own car .. an 1986 Peugeot 505 GTI and i love it

Good choice, and difficult to find a good one.

[kjw]

Mini Cooper so much fun but hard on front tyres

[dj choc ice]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Im not too sure what im going for next myself, theres a choice of 4 that I like at the moment within my price range but all have very different charachteristics. Vauxhall vectra VXR (250bhp model not 280), the basic Vauxhall VX220 2.2, the Renault Megane 225 cup or the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA. Woudnt go for another spec clio apart from the V6 versions but they are out of my price range, and the other Clio's like the 182 and 197 are probably slower than the 172, I know the 182 cup is slower than the 172 cup from what I have read thanks to a better power to weight ratio on the 172, not sure about the 197 though, the 0-60 times are the same though if you beleive the official specs. Still, need to pay off the loan I have for this Clio first before I think seriously about another car.

drove a clio 197 and a single seater round oulton park as part of their racemaster programme a few weeks ago, single seater was phenomenal to drive but the clio 197 is a superb car, fantastic handling beast and my god it has a phenomenal 4 pot engine, it just revs revs and revs like a V tec but feels punchier, definetely buying one if a win a large sum of money or lotto win, or when i get a good job.
Started looking into buying a 106 GTI recently as well or something equally as fun.

[bella]

i had a 172 and quite frankly i was glad to be rid of it once i got back into a decent well built car with a comfortable driving position. drive for 10 hours in a clio and you'll need to see a chiropractor! the engine's great but personally i prefer to be comfortable when driving and to feel safe. i actually spun the clio on a roundabout - i've never ever done that in a car before and i really don't drive fast.

i've got a turbo diesel now that does 65mpg+, and i rarely do more than 70mph. i love my driving licence too much. i also love my life too much - my car covers anything stupid i could ever do and doesn't lead me to believe i'm a better driver than i am. for top speed addicts, my diesel actually has a higher top speed than the clio and it still does it without batting an eyelid, 100,000 miles and 4 years after i got it

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by bella

i had a 172 and quite frankly i was glad to be rid of it once i got back into a decent well built car with a comfortable driving position. drive for 10 hours in a clio and you'll need to see a chiropractor!

My other half has a Clio. I hate it. She hates it. Buy a Clio if you want continual disappointment, random electrical faults and the usual Renault "spare parts lottery".

A simple but effective rule I apply when buying a car is "Don't get a Renault"

[Mike_Wooshy]

yer my mom has a Clio and is truely shocking I wont be buying another Renault, infact my girlfriend has a 106 gti which is entertaining to drive but I dont feel safe in it at all when driving at any speed. I dislike the fact that pedals are right on top of the wheel arch, makes heel n toe so much harder/impossible! (106 gti here) Ive got a Ford Puma 1.7 now so entertaining Ive got it lowered of adjustable coilover suspension and have just got some bigger brakes to fit to it. it rides a dream infact Id go as far as saying as its better than the 106 gti in everyway!! so my rule now is "dont buy french"

[Daimlerman]

SWMBO decided to go all green amd economical about 12 months ago and bought a Clio.

She hated it from the moment she got it home!!!

After a couple of months she went to the local Jaguar dealer (without my knowledge!) and purchased a second hand 4ltr V8 Jaguar S-type

She just loves it to bits, she even allows me to drive it - sometimes

[Razor]

My personal A to B machine is a 1985 Ford XF Falcon wagon. These days, it's in the back yard getting much needed repairs to the engine and electrics. (Needs a new pollution kit, darn lead fueled carbed engines, air con repairs and new seat belts). It's not a bad car. It's been in the family for a few years (originally my Father's until this year when I got my licence and he handed me the keys). I used to drive a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser and I wasn't too pleased with the reliabilty of the car. After 13 years and around 350,000kms/2177480 miles, it's been through three clutches, three diesel engines, a turbo charger, gear syncros, brake booster and master cylinder and a set of speakers. At least it's better than my grandmother's neighbours car, a 1980 Lada Riva 300, a rarity here in Australia.

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by bella

i had a 172 and quite frankly i was glad to be rid of it once i got back into a decent well built car with a comfortable driving position. drive for 10 hours in a clio and you'll need to see a chiropractor! the engine's great but personally i prefer to be comfortable when driving and to feel safe. i actually spun the clio on a roundabout - i've never ever done that in a car before and i really don't drive fast.

Hmm well going by what you have said and what my experinces are of my Clio 172 cup it doesent even sound like you are talking about the same car. Did you have the Cup version by the way or just the standard 172? My 172 cup for me is a real drivers car, with good tyres such as Goodyear Eagle F1's or Michelin Exaltos (which the car was originally designed to run on) the car has a tremendous ammount of grip, the lack of ABS takes a little getting used to I admit but I tend not to notice it now that I've driven the car for a while, you have to adapt your driving style thats for sure though. The 172 cup is very chuckable into corners though and in my experince gives a lot of grip, you just have to be prepared for a bit of opposite lock sometimes, particularly in the wet. The car is suprisingly economical too for a performance car, ive had 37mpg out of it driving very gently around town, 28-32mpg is more usual though but as I said it is worth remembering it is a performance car and not a normal hatchback.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

... the car has a tremendous ammount of grip, the lack of ABS takes a little getting used to I admit...

A lot of grip, but you're using the ABS! Crikey!
I don't find ABS that difficult to get used to, because unless, say, someone steps out in front of me unexpectedly I never use it! Why would you?

Still, maybe performance cars are meant to be terrible to drive.

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by AdamAshmore

A lot of grip, but you're using the ABS! Crikey!
I don't find ABS that difficult to get used to, because unless, say, someone steps out in front of me unexpectedly I never use it! Why would you?

Still, maybe performance cars are meant to be terrible to drive.

No no, you misunderstand, the 172 cup version doesent have ABS. When your driving in the wet and have to brake suddenly to begin with its a bit strange until you remember you dont have ABS and learn to adapt your driving style. As for it being terrible to drive, well its widely reported to be quicker than the newer 182 cup thanks to it being 79kg lighter and only 10bhp down and look how well the 182 cup did on the top gear test track.

[touringlegend]

So you are driving about locking up the wheels everywhere I take it ?

[SALEEN S7R]

How I drive is up to me, but no im not driving about locking up wheels everywhere. If you drove a FWD car in the wet around country roads with no ABS however you would know that it is extremely easy to lock wheels if you have to brake very suddenly, even if you are going under the speed limit. As I was saying though with refrence to Bella's comment about spinning the car, if you are driving a cup version of the car it is extremely easy to do I would imagine (I dont know as i've not actually spun mine). The standard 172 however should be a much harder propostition to spin thanks to the fact it has ABS brakes and the car as a whole is less track focused than the cup model, therefore in theory at least making it more driver friendly for every day use.

[Suze]

Depends on the driver I think.....I drive FWD around wet country lanes, have reasonable tyres [not cheap not expensive - Firestones] - and have no ABS and no locking up issues - you can "feel" before it locks up so remove pressure on the brake and reapply so you don't lock up....make sense?

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

No no, you misunderstand, the 172 cup version doesent have ABS.When your driving in the wet and have to brake suddenly to begin with its a bit strange until you remember you dont have ABS and learn to adapt your driving style.

For the record I knew what you meant. If you are relying on ABS in any car then you should adapt your driving style, IMHO. Maybe the 172 will get you to do that.

ABS is a good system, but really you should only use it when something catches you by surprise. You can brake just as hard and be in a more control in normal circumstances if you don't make the ABS kick in.

Originally Posted by S7R

As for it being terrible to drive, well its widely reported to be quicker than the newer 182 cup thanks to it being 79kg lighter and only 10bhp down and look how well the 182 cup did on the top gear test track.

Being quick doesn't mean it isn't terrible to drive. However I've never driven one and I was just pulling your leg. Maybe it isn't that bad if you haven't 'managed' to spin it?

Originally Posted by Suze

Depends on the driver I think.....I drive FWD around wet country lanes, have reasonable tyres [not cheap not expensive - Firestones] - and have no ABS and no locking up issues - you can "feel" before it locks up so remove pressure on the brake and reapply so you don't lock up....make sense?

Human ABS.

[garcon]

Saleen, sounds like you need to be a bit more progressive with the brake pedal ... if you just stamp on it in an emergency you're going to end up in a hedge one day.


I've never driven a Clio 172, but I have tried to keep up with one over a Scottish pass... not a chance.

[Tim Falce]

I find the ABS cuts in quite often when I'm driving down country lanes. It's normally when someone is coming the other way and I have to brake with one side of the car on loose stuff at the side of the road. The ABS always frightens the life out of me as I feel I have no control over the stopping distance and tbh I don't like it.

[kjw]

I have driven a few powerful front wheel drive cars and never found that I lock the wheels in the wet. I find it is about feel and anticipation. I can understand locking brakes in an emergency stop in the wet, but not when driving fast on the road or on a circuit.

[garcon]

I can see falcemob's point on single track lanes when you end up into the mud and leaves at the roadside ... thinking about it though, it's probably 12 years or more since I drove a car with no ABS.

[terence]

Considering that ABS only comes in on hard application,,,,,,,,Any clue's?

[mac]

I'm currently in a Peugeot 207 GTi (the RC in Europe).

It's a pretty good thing - could do with a little more steering feel and a slightly better gearchange, but it's quick, handles brilliantly and has oodles of grip, looks good and is quite schmick inside.