197 test drive

Ev0 · 23 Jul 2006 at 01:18

Had a test drive in the new Clio 197 today.

Impressions are:

Ride/Handling is very very good
Brakes are very good
Gearbox is nice
Power delivery has been smothed right out

The car felt so flat through some speedy bends, much impressed.

The gearbox was odd, it's a 6 speed but they've not just done a shortening of the ratios and make 6th really long job. According to the sales guy (who I know from previous tests of the megane) the 6th cog was meant as a "track day 6th rather than a cruising 6th. So as a result the car will hit 65ish in second (as we tested, I asked the salesman if it'd hit 60 in second he said why don't we try

) yet if it tops out at 134 the ratios after second are pretty close, I was "cruising" at just under 4krpm in 6th at 80mph, that's pretty much the same as my 5th now!

I drove a blue one but they had a black one in the delaer which looked 10x better.

Would I have one? Yes. If it was a 12/13k car. But with optional Xenons, Climate control and Met Paint at 17k no.

I asked the sales guy which he would have out of the clio 197 and a megane 225 varient. After doing some trackdays with them all he said 197 hands down.

Second hand I think these will be a good buy and on track I think they will be ace. Really didn't notice the extra weight much. You no longer get the "5k kick" but it's because it pulls from much lower down now and due to the stunning gearing (which could get annoying if you do a lot of sitting on the motorway but for enthusaistic driving is quite good) it pulled very well whatever gear I was in.

Ev0 · 23 Jul 2006 at 17:26

I got low 7s on one of those gtech thingies to 60 in my p2 19 16v, they aren't that bad

The 19 was a ncie car and handled well, the 197 is more of a modern 19 imho in the way it drives, plus you get the creature comforts

Standard seats on the 197 whlst being nice to sit in look a bit pants, would have been nice to see alcantara/leather combo again. Recaros are nice option but expensive.

As fo rthe 19 not hitting 140 cos a Clio can't, the 19 has better aerodynamics than the Clio which would help things, has a low drag coeficient iirc.

Jonny69 said:
Is there really that much demand for 6 gears? Surely if it's not another one on top you'll find yourself changing gear all the time?

I've always thought this, the advantage I could feel in this car was it just pulled in every gear. On mine if you stuck it in fifth low end it takes a while to get going (not that you'd normally be doing that but for example). Would need to drive one for longer to know if it was a real benifit or just annoying!

Ev0 · 23 Jul 2006 at 20:14

TripleT said:
Not really a fan of the new clios looks but I'm guessing it'll grow on me. Tempted to go for a test drive but I have no intention of getting a car smaller than mine (unless it's a 2 seater).

The regular 197 doesn't look anything special either. Have pictures of a cup version been realsed?

Not yet, the guy in the stealership said the cup was a eyar off.

I wasn't overly struck on the looks of the red/blue ones in the press pictures but then I saw the black on in the flesh and omg it looked nice

Ev0 · 23 Jul 2006 at 21:38

Demon said:
R19 16V P1, the most over-rated 0-60 times I've ever experienced, there was a time when a few mates all went down the R19 16V route (All P1's as well), and my (and others) GTE 16V ashtrays whooped 'em convincingly (I'm just getting the flame proof suit on now..) and they where only 137MPH top end alledgedly...

I never believe manufacturers figures anyway.. some are easy to improve on, others are seemingly impossible.. see how they perform side by side on the road, the only way you'll ever really know..

The GTE was a faster car, it had more power and around the same weight. Renaults biggest mistake not making it a 2 litre. Although everyone always slates the GTEs handling as standard.

The 19 does hit 60 in low 7s (couldn't tell you exactly what but it's definitely low 7s) but I'd guess the qtr mile time on the GTE is a lot better.

mrk1@1 said:
What bothers me (disapoints me) more than anything on the 197 is that the gearing on the 172/182 ment it was a comfortable motorway cruiser in 5th (80-85) but the 197s shorter gearing will mean higher revs and lower fuel economy on the motorway. This was where I found my 172 was a capeable commuter car without costing £££ when doing 20k per year.

Yup I don't quite do that much milage but 60 miles a day still is enough to worry about it. 6th in the 197 felt the same revs/mph as 5th in mine.