Astra Vxr Or Clio 197. FAO 197 owners

[aterro]

hello
im new

Ive recently decided to upgrade my car

Ive narrowed my decision to a

Astra Vxr
Or
Clio 197

Im here to ask your opinions, on whats a better car?

I can imagine some being biased on her but always good to hear other owners opinions/thoughts.

How do they compare to the VXR?
What sort of miles do you lot get to a tank?

whats the servicing like? cheap? easy?

anything to look for when testing a 197?


Thanks lads/ladies of clio200net.

regards

 

[DanT]

Id imagine the Clio will be cheaper to run by a way tbh. Not to mention alot better looking

Things i would be considering would be things like the vxrs 19 inch wheels - putting tyre prices up

The even more thirsty engine - putting fuel costs up

Lack of RS chassis - lowering enjoyment levels

Lack of individuality compared to the 197 - because you see vxrs all the time

Possible higher tax bracket (not sure) - higher running costs

Possibility of being harder to insure - higher running costs

Having said all that i guess the vxr might be more comfortable?

Ever so slightly biased i guess but meh.

 

[Ashton]

erm

clio all the way.

everything that this ^^^ guy has just said x2 really

he knows his onions

Ashton

 

[DanT]

he knows his onions

Ashton

I do like onions........inky:

 

[aterro]

Id imagine the Clio will be cheaper to run by a way tbh. Not to mention alot better looking

Things i would be considering would be things like the vxrs 19 inch wheels - putting tyre prices up

The even more thirsty engine - putting fuel costs up

Lack of RS chassis - lowering enjoyment levels

Lack of individuality compared to the 197 - because you see vxrs all the time

Possible higher tax bracket (not sure) - higher running costs

Possibility of being harder to insure - higher running costs

Having said all that i guess the vxr might be more comfortable?

Ever so slightly biased i guess but meh.

what size are the wheels on the 197?
whats the tax on the c197? year?

i see more 197s with milfs driving them than Vxrs.

Need to test drive both to be honest!

 

[N0ddie]

You have to test drive both tbh to see which you prefer. Turbo power over n/a nimbleness.

They are both hot hatches but totally different cars.

 

[Robo_#1]

It depends what your in to really and what you want it for.

The astra i would say will be the better cruiser (clio revs a little high on motorways TBH) and has more torque. The fact its turbo means its easy to mod and get quicker if that's what your in to.

But if the the astra is a 'straight line hero' that makes the clio a 'handling hero'. If your looking for something fun and cheaper to run and doesn't need any mods then for me the clio is the more balanced (better) package.

But horses for courses and all that you should probs just go drive em both and make your mind up

 

[DanT]

what size are the wheels on the 197?
whats the tax on the c197? year?

i see more 197s with milfs driving them than Vxrs.

Need to test drive both to be honest!

Tax is like £230

Wheels are 17 vs 19 on vxr.

Yes we love our milfs!

 

[Ashton]

I do like onions........inky:

i hope you dont like faggotts with your onions. lol

 

[strell]

Having owned both I feel I should comment.
I had the Clio for just over a year sold it for an astra VXR. 4 months later swapped the VXR for my Clio back.
Think that says enough.
In my time I put a full exhaust and remapped the astra. Was running just shy of 300bhp and same torques. Was silly fast in a straight line but just understeered everywhere lol.
Was in desperate need of an LSD.
In terms of running cost I would say they were almost identical. Got 33-35 mpg in the Clio, 31-33 mpg in the astra. Tyres are more as mentioned for the astra. Servicing will actually be cheaper for the astra. Insurance was only slightly more for astra. With mods declared.
But as mentioned. You need to test drive them both for yourself.

Edit - I currently own a civic type r fn2 and think it's the best car I have owned. Also had a mini cooper s R56 turbo.

 

[Brown bear]

Took a Vxr out at Bedford when they were new, an autocar track day sponsored by vauxhall. The instructors were there to try and make the cars look good, halfway round my 1st lap I said I'd be pulling in, the instructor chirped up with "yeah, bit underwhelming isn't it?".

Dull chassis, crap steering, crap throttle response, and the most unpleasant gearknob ever fitted to a car. One of the worst 'performance' cars I've ever driven. 197, meg 225, leon cupra, focus st, all far better (and I could go on).

I'd rather walk. Barefoot. In Bradford.

 

[PB.200]

Neither.

Get a Megane R26

 

[Fernandez]

I read somewhere that if you drive a fiesta st, you live with yer mum. If you drive a vxr you are a chav and if you drive a renaultsport clio you are a purist. Lol

 

[Robo_#1]

I'd rather walk. Barefoot. In Bradford.

Lol! Take it you won't be joining VXRonline anytime soon...

 

[Paul]

I'd rather walk. Barefoot. In Bradford.

^^^ This, made my night!!! :bounce:

I have had too much fun in the Clio to consider much else. It isn't about the power it is about handling and the Clio delivers. I don't think you will be disappointed with either, but to be honest the Clio and Astra are in different classes so the Clio is always going to be cheaper in general.

If you want tunability and straight line speed get the Vauxhall, they can't be bad - they sell plenty. But I think the Clio is better, more understated and very enjoyable.

All depends what you want really, I voted with my feet - so did everyone else on here

 

[Arran]

From what I have heard the Astra needs money spending on it to get it to where the Clio is from standard. But as other have said, depends on what you want. The Astra IMO looks very dated now. I have never really liked the design tbh. The Astra is a bit bigger too. The Clio is very fun to drive, but can be a bit tiresome on long drives.

 

[chaz cup 200]

Just soLd my Clio 200 for an astra vxr so heres my opinion a will start with the Clio the handling amazing no car like it in this department fun little car the 200 was a luvly car and a think this is down to it being alien green with black wheel which made it stand out so your best going for either alien green or liquid yellow to be diffrent that's the only good things a can say about the built quality was shocking on it was my first French car and would never go back to one had over £3000 of warrenty work done on it within 8 months don't get me wrong was an ex press car only had 16000miles on it so don't take offense to this guys might have just been my luck with the car. Now the astra vxr is fast in a straight line can tune it easy reason I wanted it because i was getting bored with the power in the clio having to work it hard also sounds so much better than the clio with an exhaust system on it.But the astra doesn't have the handling like the Clio the build quality is also better and is more comfortable and I am also getting better mpg in the astra in long journeys but short journeys it isn't any better hope this helps you decide.

 

[pez1356]

Clio
+corners
+NA
+fun
+cheap
+looks (constantly getting people staring at mine and asking what it is and it's just a bog standard 56 plate 197 lol)
-mpg
-tunability

Astra
+straight line speed
+tunability
-turbo
-cannot corner out the box
-looks (imo)

I know it's very easy to be biased. So I've tried not to be. If you prefer turbo cars may I suggest the Megane 230? Have driven one and they are fantastic.

 

[197-F1]

Had a tuned vxr with some tweaks to suspension such as whiteline rarb And DAPr springs. Was fun in a straight line, but my r27 with cup setup is far superior out of the box! The recaro seats are much better in the Clio too IMO.

I wouldn't be sad with either at the end of the day (my astra was stolen and written off!)

 

[racer2011]

what size are the wheels on the 197?
whats the tax on the c197? year?

i see more 197s with milfs driving them than Vxrs.

Need to test drive both to be honest!

The clio 197 has 17" wheels mate.

The tax bracket is around £235 if not £245. One of them two anyway mate.