Renault Clio 197 Sport - Any good
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someone on here has a mint black one 
forget his name but im sure someone will know
forget his name but im sure someone will know
Soldato
Good cars - but a little on the slow side if you've had a Mk1 in the past. You have to wring the neck out of it to get it to move due to the extra weight, but once you're up to speed you can carry nigh on all of it through the corners. Quite cheap now as well, but not much room inside them considering how big the car is!
Soldato
Username: spaz
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*waves*
It may appear slower behind the wheel because it's more refined than the old models, but in my experience is just as quick in a straight line yet handles a lot better. Some people may prefer the rawness of the older models but I like how the 197 is a bit jekyll and hyde, can give you a huge grin on the B roads and the track yet can be quite comfortable and easy on you for motorway driving etc
I've had some woes with my gearbox but they don't all seem to suffer and seem to be the early gearboxes, the new ones (also with revised 5th and 6th gear ratios) seem to be better...time will tell though!
In my opinion a remap is a must to make it easier and nicer to drive around town and at lower speeds, of course it's not absolutely necessary but it gives you the ability to drive around town at 2500rpm in 4th than 3500rpm in 3rd.
Apart from the gearbox I've not had any trouble with the car and is going in for it's second/24000 mile service tomorrow, the glovebox is on the **** on all of them, think I've got one slight rattle but you have to go out your way to try and notice it.
If you were to buy new there are some good deals to be had and my pick would be the FF 197 with the cup pack, the 197 cup lacks in a lot of equipment for only a slightly lower price and minimal gain in performance (20kg saving to have a nastier dashboard, no keyless entry, no cruise control, no air con etc)
Any other questions just ask
Oh and I've had it for a year now and I still love it to bits (suppose I should shoehorn that in!)
It may appear slower behind the wheel because it's more refined than the old models, but in my experience is just as quick in a straight line yet handles a lot better. Some people may prefer the rawness of the older models but I like how the 197 is a bit jekyll and hyde, can give you a huge grin on the B roads and the track yet can be quite comfortable and easy on you for motorway driving etc
I've had some woes with my gearbox but they don't all seem to suffer and seem to be the early gearboxes, the new ones (also with revised 5th and 6th gear ratios) seem to be better...time will tell though!
In my opinion a remap is a must to make it easier and nicer to drive around town and at lower speeds, of course it's not absolutely necessary but it gives you the ability to drive around town at 2500rpm in 4th than 3500rpm in 3rd.
Apart from the gearbox I've not had any trouble with the car and is going in for it's second/24000 mile service tomorrow, the glovebox is on the **** on all of them, think I've got one slight rattle but you have to go out your way to try and notice it.
If you were to buy new there are some good deals to be had and my pick would be the FF 197 with the cup pack, the 197 cup lacks in a lot of equipment for only a slightly lower price and minimal gain in performance (20kg saving to have a nastier dashboard, no keyless entry, no cruise control, no air con etc)
Any other questions just ask
Oh and I've had it for a year now and I still love it to bits (suppose I should shoehorn that in!)
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Associate
And courtesy of MrSix:
Soldato
Little?!
Compared to an old Clio they are massive.
Do look like nice cars, especially spaz's one. Saw it at the RR, was a nice car from what I saw.
InvG
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Lol it is rather large compared to older 'small' cars but meh
Soldato
They are, but that's one of the reasons I like them. I don't like the older ones as they are so small and girly...the 197 is bigger (due to the mk/ph) and much more manly (due to 197ness). 
InvG
InvG
Associate
The Black 197 F1 edition looks nice but I think they stopped selling them new, may have to look at a second hand 197 f1 model. Only 500 to be made in UK?
The 197 cup has a Cup chasis and stiffer suspenstion depends what you want really.
The 197 cup has a Cup chasis and stiffer suspenstion depends what you want really.
I had a 172 a while back and loved every minute of it. A very quick car for the price.
At the moment I have a Megane F1 230 and while it doesn't feel as quick as some of the other cars i've driven it does shift when you bury the load pedal!!
If i hadn't brought the megane I would have been tempted to buy a Clio 192, I just needed something a bit bigger.
At the moment I have a Megane F1 230 and while it doesn't feel as quick as some of the other cars i've driven it does shift when you bury the load pedal!!
If i hadn't brought the megane I would have been tempted to buy a Clio 192, I just needed something a bit bigger.
Yes they are fantastic.
I have just changed from a Octavia vRS into one.
So far I havn't stopped smiling!
I did look at the 182 cup (you can see the one I looked at in the back of the picture below) / trophy* as well although I simply was not comfy in the 182 at all (this was mainly because I looked at the 197 first, going from a 197 interior back to a 182 is almost like night and day (in terms of quality and comfort).
* I didn't bother with the trophy after realising I wasn't comfy in the 182 cup and I actualy couldn't find one.
Here is my one:
In terms of performance well it pulls well despite lacking torque however it really comes alive once you hit 5500rpm and pulls all the way to the redline (or the shift indicator) screaming as it goes.
Handling is spot on and inspires you to just chuck it into every bend you come across.
I did toy with the idea of the 197 cup however after looking in one and seeing how much you lose in terms of interior toys (the main one being air con) coupled with the fact I couldn't actually tell any difference in terms of drivability I decided it wasn't worth it.
My advice if you are thinking about getting one is try out a couple and see if you actually like it or not.
@ Spaz - Do you run your 197 on high octane fuel? (ie Shell v-power) I have noticed with mine that the flat spots I questioned before arn't quite as apparrent and it appears (at least from checking on the trip computer) to be more frugal when using high octane fuel.
So yes its an excellent little car and definately worth a test drive.
Oh and as a personal comparison I have found the 197 to be akin to a Suzuki swift sport (ie bags of fun) only more powerful, better built, more refined (relatively of course) and imo better looking.
I have just changed from a Octavia vRS into one.
So far I havn't stopped smiling!
I did look at the 182 cup (you can see the one I looked at in the back of the picture below) / trophy* as well although I simply was not comfy in the 182 at all (this was mainly because I looked at the 197 first, going from a 197 interior back to a 182 is almost like night and day (in terms of quality and comfort).
* I didn't bother with the trophy after realising I wasn't comfy in the 182 cup and I actualy couldn't find one.
Here is my one:
In terms of performance well it pulls well despite lacking torque however it really comes alive once you hit 5500rpm and pulls all the way to the redline (or the shift indicator) screaming as it goes.
Handling is spot on and inspires you to just chuck it into every bend you come across.
I did toy with the idea of the 197 cup however after looking in one and seeing how much you lose in terms of interior toys (the main one being air con) coupled with the fact I couldn't actually tell any difference in terms of drivability I decided it wasn't worth it.
My advice if you are thinking about getting one is try out a couple and see if you actually like it or not.
@ Spaz - Do you run your 197 on high octane fuel? (ie Shell v-power) I have noticed with mine that the flat spots I questioned before arn't quite as apparrent and it appears (at least from checking on the trip computer) to be more frugal when using high octane fuel.
So yes its an excellent little car and definately worth a test drive.
Oh and as a personal comparison I have found the 197 to be akin to a Suzuki swift sport (ie bags of fun) only more powerful, better built, more refined (relatively of course) and imo better looking.
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Associate
Ah hah you got one then! What toys did it come with?
I run it on normal 95 most of the time, I don't really notice the difference myself although apparently I should, it's going in for an exhaust on Saturday so may start running it exclusively on v-power etc after that, I treat the car pretty well so I guess I should stop being a miser and spend an extra pound or two per tank
I run it on normal 95 most of the time, I don't really notice the difference myself although apparently I should, it's going in for an exhaust on Saturday so may start running it exclusively on v-power etc after that, I treat the car pretty well so I guess I should stop being a miser and spend an extra pound or two per tank
Soldato
Ah hah you got one then! What toys did it come with?
I run it on normal 95 most of the time, I don't really notice the difference myself although apparently I should, it's going in for an exhaust on Saturday so may start running it exclusively on v-power etc after that, I treat the car pretty well so I guess I should stop being a miser and spend an extra pound or two per tank
Chances are the extra miles you get out of the v-power will mean it is no more expensive, I normally get about ~230 miles from a tank of V as opposed to ~210 on 95
Ah hah you got one then! What toys did it come with?
I run it on normal 95 most of the time, I don't really notice the difference myself although apparently I should, it's going in for an exhaust on Saturday so may start running it exclusively on v-power etc after that, I treat the car pretty well so I guess I should stop being a miser and spend an extra pound or two per tank
Yep after trying 4 different ones and toying with the idea of getting a brand new one (they are doing a great deal at the moment although there is a very long wait to get one - I was told earliest I could get one was end of June) I decided on the one above.
Its the standard 197 (non cup) albeit with climate control, rain sensing wipers, auto lights, 6 cd auto changer and extra tints. Like I said though I couldn't tell the difference between the normal 197 and the cup so I didn't think it was worth losing most of the toys for a nominal performance increase.
As for the fuel well I havn't really noticed any difference in the performance when using high octane fuel however like I said I don't notice the flat spots as much which to me makes it worth it. (This was comparing shell v-power with whatever the garage had in it to begin with which I assume is just bogo ron 95 stuff).
So far I simply can't stop smiling whenever I stick it into a corner.
Associate
Ah cool, quite a few gadgets then!
Even as standard it's a great car and will be getting itself a birthday treat of a spanking round the Nurburgring in May
Any more questions about it and I'll do my best to answer them
Even as standard it's a great car and will be getting itself a birthday treat of a spanking round the Nurburgring in May
Any more questions about it and I'll do my best to answer them