Looking for a new car (£6k budget) Clio 172/172 cup?

Homer-Simpson · 23 Oct 2007 at 10:28

Well the time has come to get rid of my MK3 Golf. I have a budget of £6000 and have been looking at various cars from 200sx's to Integra Type-R's. I have decided I don't trust myself with a rwd car coming up to winter, I just know that lack of experience + wet roads = big repair bill

So, what are peoples experiences with the Clio 172/172 Cup? Over the next few weeks I will be looking at a number of them but is there anything I should look out for? What is the servicing schedule like/rough cost of running?

What owners clubs are there, I presume that would be the first place to look for a decent example (as well as PistonHeads)? I have noticed that there are quite a few examples with after market exhausts, is there a known issue with the standard items?

melchy · 23 Oct 2007 at 10:33

If you are lucky £6K is just about into 182 money, 7K certainly would be.

172 Cup is pretty stripped out. No ABS/Traction control, no climate control/Air con. No half leather seats, and has a bench back seat. No Xenon headlights either. Saves about 80KG in weight though so is a fair bit quicker than the FF 172 which has all those items.

Servicing is every 12K miles, with aux belt at 36K and aux belt and cam belt at 72K or 5 years.

I think the exhausts on the 172's were known to rust pretty badly, so by now most will probably have aftermarket systems.

www.cliosport.net is the only club i can think of off the top of my head.

Expect squeaks and rattles, fuel isnt too bad if you drive normally 35 - 38 MPG, obviously less if you drive a bit quicker. Servicing costs can be quite high for the 36K and 72K major services, front bumper etc basically needs to come off to get into the belts, although i think the 172 Cup is easier to work on due to the loss of Air Con etc.

panthro · 23 Oct 2007 at 10:34

If you like xenons, climate control, leather, ABS, traction control, go for the 172, if you dont want any of those but want a lighter car that handles marginally better in blue (the only colour you get them in) go for the cup.
The only thing about aftermarket exhausts that you will have is the looks. Any SS exhaust is better than the Renault OEM exhaust. I had a powerflow on mine with the hidden tailpipe, cost £100 less than the Renault exhaust and was SS. It sounded quite meaty too.

kefkef · 23 Oct 2007 at 10:44

panthro said:
If you like xenons, climate control, leather, ABS, traction control, go for the 172, if you dont want any of those but want a lighter car that handles marginally better in blue (the only colour you get them in) go for the cup.
The only thing about aftermarket exhausts that you will have is the looks. Any SS exhaust is better than the Renault OEM exhaust. I had a powerflow on mine with the hidden tailpipe, cost £100 less than the Renault exhaust and was SS. It sounded quite meaty too.

You can get the 172cup in silver too i seem to recall, the original cups were in blue but then after about a year they offered them in silver with air-con as an option. i owned an '03 cup for about 10months (i think? Sold it to a mate who also posts on here due to getting a company Vectra), was a great little car, fantastic fun, would say that i did have a fair few scary experiences in it with the lack of ABS until i got used to driving without it. The grip and traction from such a little car was great and always put a smile on your face. Did seem to go through tyres on the front every 6000 miles though.

Homer-Simpson · 23 Oct 2007 at 10:53

I have seen a couple of Cup's being advertised with ABS, is this a mistake or was it an optional extra?

Gilly · 23 Oct 2007 at 10:53

Homer-Simpson said:
I have noticed that there are quite a few examples with after market exhausts, is there a known issue with the standard items?

Yes, they rust pretty quickly. Any Clio without an exhaust replacement after around 40k will probably need one pretty soon. Certainly needs checking when looking at a car.

panthro said:
If you like xenons, climate control, leather, ABS, traction control, go for the 172, if you dont want any of those but want a lighter car that handles marginally better in blue (the only colour you get them in) go for the cup.

As mentioned you can also get them in silver, though the blue is the better colour. The Cup doesn't just handle better its faster too. Noticeably faster

melchy · 23 Oct 2007 at 10:53

Homer-Simpson said:
I have seen a couple of Cup's being advertised with ABS, is this a mistake or was it an optional extra?

It was an optional extra on the later models.

panthro · 23 Oct 2007 at 10:57

Gilly said:
The Cup doesn't just handle better its faster too. Noticeably faster

I meant to say that too, but my skills in reading what I write before and after posting fail.

AmDaMan · 23 Oct 2007 at 11:31

Really enojoing mine so far. It's pretty quick and good on fuel when you are steady. Has a nice amount of torque which is good for the motorway (and exiting roundabouts

). I like all the comforts in the FF, like the seats, climate control and the xenons though which is why I opted out of the cup. It's a little quicker but a few choice mods on the FF will easily see it to cup speeds. A decat and a decent exhaust produce good gains on their own and will be as quick if not quicker than the cup. Chuck in a remap and filter too and some people on cliosport are seeing 185-190Bhp.

The feature that stands out on the 172 though is it's handling, it really is brilliant. It was brilliant as standard but i've just recently put some Eibachs on and it's just got a whole lot better.

panthro · 23 Oct 2007 at 11:40

All you need to do to bring a 172 up to 182 spec is change the manifold from a 4-1 to a 4-2-1 IIRC. Thats the only difference engine wise, maybe a remap too, to compensate for the new manifold.

mad_allan · 23 Oct 2007 at 11:41

Why have you ruled out the DC2?

.Griff. · 23 Oct 2007 at 12:06

melchy said:
It was an optional extra on the later models.

182 Cup's had ABS, 172 Cups didn't and it was never an option.

Lead_Head · 23 Oct 2007 at 12:14

Where is the best place to look for FF 172, besides Pistonheads and ClioSport.net?

panthro · 23 Oct 2007 at 12:19

Both, cliosport would be my first port of call because most of the people on there (like all car clubs) are enthusiasts who are meticulous about their car and see it as their pride and joy.

richyfingers · 23 Oct 2007 at 12:34

You do realize the ITR is not rear wheel drive? A nice example can be had for around the 6k mark http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/272614.htm

I would definitely recommend going for a test drive.

Homer-Simpson · 23 Oct 2007 at 12:39

I am aware the ITR is not rear wheel drive, however all the examples I have seen seem to be a bit "rough". Maybe I am not looking in the right places or I am expecting too much for my money...

The reason I asked about the Clio is because I have no knowledge of them, a few of my friends own ITR's which helps

richyfingers · 23 Oct 2007 at 13:01

Ah cool, sorry reading back at my post it sounds a bit cheeky, wasn’t intended at all. Took me the best part of 3 months to find my ITR, don’t really know much about the clio so cant help you on that front. :cool:

Gilly · 23 Oct 2007 at 14:08

AmDaMan said:
Chuck in a remap and filter too and some people on cliosport are seeing 185-190Bhp.

Take that with a pinch of salt

melchy · 23 Oct 2007 at 14:16

WWS|Griff said:
182 Cup's had ABS, 172 Cups didn't and it was never an option.

Thought it was an option, but perhaps i was thinking about air con.

Homer-Simpson · 23 Oct 2007 at 15:38

In terms of servicing, cambelts etc are their any specialists that you would recommend? I am presuming the prices between specialists and Renault Dealers are noticeable?

If I do go down the route of getting an exhaust, filter, remap, lowering (wouldn't change the looks at all, it would mostly be engine work if I decide to do anything) are there any insurers that specialise in modified Clio's or do you get discounts from them for joining the Cliosport club?