Renault Clio 1.5 DCi - Your thoughts

IrishChr1s · 30 Sep 2010 at 15:32

Hi guys,

Im 22 and currently out on my driving lessons, this being the first time looking for a car for when i pass, the Renault Clio has caught my eye.

Im not into speedy, flashy cars, and just want a nice simple car from getting me to work, and to see my gf who lives about 50 mile away.

With myself only working Part time at the moment, the 1.5 DCi clio fits my wage bracket quiet nicely, with cheap insurance and tax.

The main reason for my post is to ask, does anyone have any experience with the diesel engine? How is it to drive.

Is it cheap on running costs? as im going to be doing a lot of miles between my job and the missus. and lastly, is it reliable?

By the time ive passed my test i should have around 2/3 grand to spend on
a nice one, as theres a lot of them for sale in my area.

Cheers guys!

Peerzy · 30 Sep 2010 at 15:38

Horrible car.

Spend £3k on a 1.6 petrol Focus, it'll be a much nicer place to be than a diesel Clio.

IrishChr1s · 30 Sep 2010 at 16:10

Yea i know what you mean, but the problem is the Area code i live in is horrible for car insurance, so if its not a diesel its gonna have to be a 1/1.2 litre petrol of some sort, otherwise ill not be able to afford the monthly payments.

Are they really that bad that i should stay clear of them?

Malt_Vinegar · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:06

What year/model is it you are looking at?

IrishChr1s · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:10

Any model between 2001/2004 id recon.

I have a BWM 525i sitting in my drive thats not being used, needs some slight work, but running well.
but insurance is going to cost me around 3/4k, complete uturn on my original post
Although i might be able to have the car for free if i sweet talk my folks.

Malt_Vinegar · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:20

I have driven before, and have just bought a 1.5 DCi 80 Megane sports touring (05) and its a capable engine in that platform. Its not fast, but I have had 70mpg out of it over regular use. I imagine with a similar motor in the smaller car, similar, if not better MPG might be possible.
They fixed a lot of interior issues in 2001 apparently with the clio. They needed to. I have run a couple of clios pre-2001 and they all have terrible interiors that fall apart, leak and generally reek of French joire de crapness.
Its probably not going to be the best car in the world, but it might well do a job for you economically speaking!

I owned a 1995 525i in my time also. That was a nice car. Much more enjoyable than the clio.. lol

Whats the spec/age/details of the BM?

davy89 · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:32

Peerzy said:
Horrible car.

Spend £3k on a 1.6 petrol Focus, it'll be a much nicer place to be than a diesel Clio.

a 1.6 petrol focus? its a nice car but hardly appropriate as a first car really! im guessing this is coming from a guy who has a fiat bravo in his forum pic?

from what i can gather the 1.5dci isnt a bad engine, have a family friend who had one (has now upgraded to the newer model) it had done 150k he had it since new, used as a driving instructor. never had a single problem.

although saying that i have heard people with horror storys about renaults, some have no problems at all and some have no end of problems! suppose its a 50/50!

iaind · 30 Sep 2010 at 18:18

What the....why is a focus not appropriate as a first car?? :confused:

it's absolutely ideal....

Anyway, the 1.5dci is fine to drive, better than the 1.2 petrol IMO

BigToe · 30 Sep 2010 at 18:25

I ran a 1.5 dci clio van for a few years, the mk2 phase 2.

It is the same as the passenger car and was far from horrible. In fact it was quite good fun to drive and handled very well with a good tight chassis and suspension. Despite a bit of roll it turned in very sharply and did a good job of eating all the bumps and bends I would throw at it. They are pretty chuck-able and easy to drive on the limit. Steering lacks feel but is fairly direct and responsive. The engine was smooth and 'torquey' on the move (idle is rough as can be expected), but frustrating in terms of power; there wasn't much. It pulled well off the line and was fairly nippy up to 50mph as they are pretty light (the van is under a tonne), but is out of its depth at higher speeds. Saying that, I never had to change out of fifth on the motorway and getting up to speed whilst joining was never a problem. I used to average 50mpg with pure town driving, and once got 650 miles to a tank on a trip to London and back. The 80bhp is supposed to be the pick of the diesels as the 100bhp whilst having reasonable performance uses a Laguna gearbox which apparently isn't very good.

Electronics are the biggest problem, I had the hazard switch die after three years (MOT failure), the stereo went a bit funny, I had an earthing problem that would occasionally stop it from starting and later on in its life certain lights would come on the dash if combinations of pedals and switches were pressed! Quite strange having the indicator flash on the dash (with the associated click noise) if I used the brake pedal in reverse gear with headlights on. Luckily it didn't actually activate the indicator on the outside. True French quality. All easy/cheap fixes mind.

The interior is uncluttered and ok styling (IMO), but cheap and plastic as you'd expect.

I wouldn't recommend one though. Not a diesel anyway, there's too much to go wrong and they are not cheap to fix. Petrol would be a better option unless you are doing big miles.

Here's a pic of my van, now sold. Didn't need it any more and moved into the world of old BMWs, which is far more interesting! :-

Peerzy · 30 Sep 2010 at 19:03

davy89 said:
a 1.6 petrol focus? its a nice car but hardly appropriate as a first car really! im guessing this is coming from a guy who has a fiat bravo in his forum pic?

Your right, a Focus is a massive thirsty old mans car that should only be purchased by people over 35.

Yes, your eyes do not lie. That post was from someone who owns a Fiat Bravo.

iaind · 30 Sep 2010 at 19:11

Peerzy said:
Your right, a Focus is a massive thirsty old mans car that should only be purchased by people over 35.

Yes, your eyes do not lie. That post was from someone who owns a Fiat Bravo.

Do you have to rent a lockup to park it in?

davy89 · 30 Sep 2010 at 20:05

Peerzy said:
Your right, a Focus is a massive thirsty old mans car that should only be purchased by people over 35.

Yes, your eyes do not lie. That post was from someone who owns a Fiat Bravo.

i love my focus, but i was thinking more along the lines of insurance, i thought the fact he was looking at a 1.5dci clio, and you suggested a 1.6 focus was a bit inappropriate.

jesus you oldies can be a bit crankie!

and without sounding rude, i dont think you have room to talk regarding the clio which as you put it is a "Horrible car", when you own a fiat bravo, thats all.

iaind · 30 Sep 2010 at 20:08

Still makes no sense, a 1.6 focus is a very cheap car to insure.

My first car was a 1.8 306, insured that for less than my friends with 1.2 corsas. OMGGGGGGGZ big engine!!!!!!!!

Griffo · 30 Sep 2010 at 20:54

iaind said:
Still makes no sense, a 1.6 focus is a very cheap car to insure.

My first car was a 1.8 306, insured that for less than my friends with 1.2 corsas. OMGGGGGGGZ big engine!!!!!!!!

Same here. Depends if this negatory is due to expected insurance costs or MEGA 1.6 PERFORMANCE.

Ninja: Oh except mine was 1.6 rah

Peerzy · 30 Sep 2010 at 22:33

iaind said:
Do you have to rent a lockup to park it in?

No, not really understanding this :confused:

davy89 said:
i love my focus, but i was thinking more along the lines of insurance, i thought the fact he was looking at a 1.5dci clio, and you suggested a 1.6 focus was a bit inappropriate.

jesus you oldies can be a bit crankie!

and without sounding rude, i dont think you have room to talk regarding the clio which as you put it is a "Horrible car", when you own a fiat bravo, thats all.

You are right, adding 0.1 of a litre and going from a small hatchback that lots of chavs crash to a slightly bigger hatchback that not as many people crash is going to send insurance through the roof.

My car has nothing to do with things.

I've spent a lot of time in a Mk2 Clio, I had a Mk3 Clio as a courtesy car. I've driven Focii quite a lot recently. The Mk2 and Mk3 Clio are horrible cars.

IrishChr1s · 30 Sep 2010 at 22:46

Thanks for all the great replies guys, really cleared the DCi subject right up.

Ive been looking at Vauxhall astra's, as my missus as a diesel 1.7 which is lovely to drive, but again my area is horrible for insurance.

I really wanna stay away from anything thats too small, and expensive to run, if im paying for the car and insurance myself.
Though i have been offered the BMW now for free, if i can afford the insurance on my own, but realistically running the 525i, even tho its also been converted to LPG/Petrol, is still gonna strain my pocket in the long run.

Malt_Vinegar said:
Whats the spec/age/details of the BM?

The BM is 1995 525i, it needs a little work done, but its been maintained very well, and running good. It was converted to LPG 2 years back, and was lent to my bro for a peroid, which he said he was getting 22mpg on petrol, and around 35 on LPG.

Im in two minds what to do, fork out for a cheap car and insurance, or take this car off my folks and pay insurance that would have covered the small car and insurance :S i really dont wanna be working just to keep my car on the road, which is what a lot of first timers have to do.

Anyone have any idea regarding traders insurance, and would it be legal for me to use it for insuring a car for personal use?

Malt_Vinegar · 30 Sep 2010 at 23:26

The M50 engine in the 525 is going to be a decent engine. I think I took mine to 190k+ before a cooling problem killed it.
The cooling system is pretty much the only poor thing on these engines. If looked after they go on for years. The E34 is a very well made car.
Is it manual or auto?

Janesy B · 30 Sep 2010 at 23:26

davy89 said:
and without sounding rude, i dont think you have room to talk regarding the clio which as you put it is a "Horrible car", when you own a fiat bravo, thats all.

It's a horrible car regardless, it doesn't matter if peerzy drives a RR Silver Shadow or a Tata Nano, the point still stands.

Chives · 30 Sep 2010 at 23:40

IrishChr1s said:
Ive been looking at Vauxhall astra's, as my missus as a diesel 1.7 which is lovely to drive

Does not commute.

IrishChr1s · 1 Oct 2010 at 00:00

The BM is manual, ive drove it a few times, and i have to agree, its a nice car, and the engine sounds very nice, doesnt have that ticking noise that some of my dads older ones have. hes had quite a few that i hated how they sound.

Chives said:
Does not commute.

Haha i know! hers is a 2003, ive been out in it a few times, ive never had anything i could say bad about the car though. My sister has a 1.6 2007 petrol astra which i hate. Mainly due to the looks. I prefer the 2001/2004 shape.