clio 172s

I'm wondering whether all this "it's french so expect it to break" is still a relevant and accurate comment. Or is it just something that people say for the sake of it?

I've driven a 10 year old 1.4 clio for the past year and it's never skipped a beat, no dodgy electrics, nothing.
 
It all stems back from World War 2.

Back then the French tanks all had electrical problems, and broke down. A lot. Hense us stepping in and giving the helping hand.
 
jongeeone said:
It all stems back from World War 2.

Back then the French tanks all had electrical problems, and broke down. A lot. Hense us stepping in and giving the helping hand.
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Don't forget a lot of French cars having dodgy electronics too, a lot of the 80's cars weren't great for electrics. Neither were the UK ones mind. :p
 
^ Speaking from personal opinion...Ive owned 2 Clio's for a total of roughly 3 years, a 1.2 and a 2.0 182. Both have never let me down and been great throughout ownership.

My Focus ST170 however was horrible, spent a lot of time in the garage...but i could have just had a duff one. My gf's 06 plate Astra has also spent a lot of time in Vauxhall.

Having said all that im looking into swapping the 182 for a Z4 soon so....
 
You can't have had the ST long then Russ doesn't seem that long since I was enquiring about buying some headlights off you.
 
I've had mixed experiences with the reliability of French Cars. My 206 :o was a pile of steaming crap which went through 3 gearboxes in 45k. My current 205 which is 20 years old this year has been one of the most reliable cars I've had and rarely needs anything other than the usual service/MOT parts.
 
I wouldn't say French car's are less reliable than the normal Euro box's, merely that they require more work to keep them as reliable, especially in relation to electrical issues. That said if you remove wear and tear related issues (clutch, belts, CV joints, gaiters, head gasket, shoes/pads/disc's, exhaust system, manifold - it always cracked on C1!) from the list of things that we had to do to the ex's car then that only left the dodgy coil packs (well known issue), dodgy earth points (very well known issue), stupid fuse locations under the scuttle tray that corroded (notice a pattern here) and the intermittent issue with the p/s rear light cluster.

That said I ended up buying a French car known for electrical issues and water ingression after a few years of Japanese reliability.
 
digitalwolf said:
They are good cars.

Just bare in mind if it's a 172 you are after the youngest ones are around 5 years old now. For a French car this can be bad news.
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Meh 5 years is nothing, my 1992 19 is still going strong and my 13 year old Megane is fine. I do have a slight squeak from where somone as had the top of the dash off but thats my only niggle. I keep thinking about going for a 172, probably a Phase 1 as I prefer the looks to that of the Phase 2. I cant help but love the F series of engines, they love to rev, can be supprisingly economical when needed and so far both of mine have been incredibly reliable.
 
some very mixed responses which indicate if its good its nice, reliable, fun motoring. if its bad it sounds like you can expect a gearbox to go. :eek:

overall though i like the sound of it. :) besides, i was considering growing up but that can wait. :p
 
I've had a 172 and a 172 Cup. Both brilliant cars for the money. In truth, the Cup blew the other totally out of the water even though it didn't have the climate control and half leather seats.

Bought a 225bhp Audi TT after those two and it was nowhere near as good to drive, so now I'm looking for a 182.
 
triggerthat said:
Ant,

How did the TT compare to your 172 in terms of performance?

Is the 172 Cup much faster than the FF?
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The TT was a fair bit quicker than the FF, marginally quicker than the Cup at anything up to around 60mph but would pull away after that.

Straight line speed isn't the be all and end all, however, and the TT would have been absolutely left for dead by the Cup through the twisties. I found the 4WD system to be completely not to my taste and it was very dull to drive on a B road.

The Cup's acceleration and handling was a step up from the FF, yes. On paper the performances figures might have been close, but it certainly didn't feel that way from behind the wheel.
 
had a '52 plate 172, awesome handling and seriously nippy, but thats where it ends in terms of positves

the thing kept breaking, the aircon motor broke so the flap was stuck on hot, needed anew heater box, cosy £800 to put right, also kept cutting out that turned out to be the fuel pump relay

will never buy another renault, would get a honda civic type r or a seat ibiza turbo instead, the latter being my favored hot hatch for circa £5/6k
 
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