Clio 200 buying options (and hello!)

[SarGara]

If I was to have a 200 now I'd only Want grey green or yellow , they stand out superb!

For £1200 it bloody should be! How about dont pick these colours and pocket the insane price to help offset what you will loose in depreciation? My 2 cents!

In regards to your questions Rally3, i went through the same thoughts when picking what to spec on my 200 and hope i can help with some insight into my choices:

Recaro seats
Wear & Tear. Theres no denying theres an issue here with the design of the Recaro Sportsters you only have to do alittle research on the RUK forums. Because of all of the negative experiences from customers when trying to get Renault to fix these "wear & tear" problems i decided not to spec as i didnt want to go through the same hassle down the line. (its a question of when, not if)

Bluetooth touch radio
I spec'd this for the USB port alone. The bluetooth connectivity and being able to make handsfree calls are just a bonus for me. Nothing beats being able to plug a USB memory dongle in with your tunes.

Reanultsport monitor
I didnt bother with this after reading that the ability to alter the cars mapping Live like the Meganes can, was removed for the Clios version of the RS Monitor. Its basically a geeky stopwatch for £140!

Cup chassis
Must have IMO. The quicker steering rack is the main difference here, in regards to the harsh'ness of the ride its softer than my 172 was on Eibach Sportline springs.

Hope that helps

 

[luke3]

WOW didnt realise it was 1200quid for those colour options!! How much is it for White?

Defiantly have cup pack and recaros!!! I'm sure they sell better after with recaros!

 

[marshall]

White's £150 i believe

 

[Jasey]

I got a 200 non cup completely standard and I've had no problems getting smiles on my face. You can Spec recaros, Alien Green, Bluetooth, Monitor etc etc - All you're doing is adding on ££££££.

I stay in Aberdeenshire and have had no issues throwing the car around the very $hit roads around here and having an absolute hoot .

6" 3 and 95kg isn't too big for recaros - but save your £1,000 - The standard seats are fine and don't come with the wear issues.

 

[Rally3]

After a bit of thinking I reckon it's going to be more economical to purchase a second hand 200 with less than 10k on. This would reduce my monthly outgoings and leave me with more to "tinker".

I think the cup chassis is absolutely necessary, with the recaros coming in a close second however, I really want to try them out first. I realise there are problems with the seats themselves but hey, they look good and I'm up for a fight with a dealer.

Do standard 200's come with the steering controls or is that the whole point of the "touch" on the upgraded radio?

 

[Adamm]

Standard ones come with audio controlls on the steering column.

Also get registered on renaultsport.co.uk forum as there are a few dealers advertising 200's.

 

[Steve Murr]

Welcome to the forum

Unless you have a wedge of spare cash always go for a used one a year or so old-

I have sold 10 200's- done huge drives in them & the recaros are a great daily drive

http://www.clio197.net/forum/showthread.php?t=11765

Cheers
Steve

 

[Rally3]

Ok, cheers for the advice. I reckon that's got me decided on a few things. The only thing is the colour but I guess I just have to go with the flow and see what comes up in 6 weeks time or so. That means it's not really my decision then (and being such an indecisive person, this is great!).

 

[dangerdaz]

Not worth buying new.
I purchased a 2010 glacier white 200 cup with recaros and satin black speedlines in march this year privately. I paid 11300!
Bargaintastic..
Oh and im 6ft 1, 94kgs and wide of shoulder. Recaros fit nicely.

 

[lukeeddy]

You've now gone and sold me on recaros... although I would still like to check if a big person like me fits well in them. I'll be fine with them, I'll just have to tell the other half that she's dealing with them...QUOTE]

i am 6'3 and weight around 16 an a half stone and the recaros are great for me

 

[Richy_Boy]

I use my car daily for work and the recaros are great, really finish the car off and very comfy even on long journeys. I also have the CUP suspension, which is great around town, but can get annoying on a lon motorway run, especially if you have sensible adults in the car with you!

I opted for the Monitor pack too, which is a complete gimick.. I shouldn't have bothered really, but I guess it'll help with the resale value. The corning lights and leccy mirrors are also worth having! (it goes on...). The USB connectivity is great, my iPod lives in the car now, although it's a bit duff in design as it can only list/play tracks in alphabetical order

Rich

 

[Fernandez]

Go for the recaros and the Cup Chassis, I have just completed 31,000 miles in 11 months of 200 owenership, the seats are still looking as good as they did when I got them and they are very supportive whatever your driving style. I have a little wear on my side bolster but if you ease yourself up and out of the car they are fine and dont really wear that much.

I often do 300-400 mile journeys in a single day and find the Cup chassis is OK. Bit bumpy sometimes on B-roads but nothing to put me off ticking the Cup option again. speed bumps annoy then hell out of me but im sure it wouldnt be much different in a non cup.

Monitor wasnt about when I got mine so cant really comment, I do however sometime wish I had opted for the folding mirrors but that is just out of laziness really.

 

[r1chy]

When you shopped around was there any new deals on the 200 cup?

 

[Rally3]

I haven't heard of anything spectacular like the £200/month deals people have talked about... I was offered 10% off a new one without even asking with 10% (approx) APR. Not particularly good I don't think...

Anyone else got a better deal out there?

 

[Liambo-201]

Recaro seats
My family live down in Yorkshire (Wakefield/Barnsley to be precise) and I will be visiting them a 2-3 times a year at 370 miles a trip (yes, one way!!!). Are the recaros comfortable for this length of time? Also, are they easy for day to day in and out of the car? For comfort (and a bit more style) would anyone recommend the standard seats, I've never seen them...?

Cup chassis

Welcome to the site, I'm aware that this thread is 4 pages long now but i can give you a valid opinion on these two..

The Recaro seats are more than comfortable to go from Aberdeen the Barnsley, I'm from just north of Aberdeen (go there daily) and iv taken my R27 down to Barnsley on numerous occasions to see the girlfriends family and i also bought my car from a Leeds Renault dealer. And to be hoenst the Recaros are perfect. They don't get hard or annoying they are quite comfortable that whole journey.

As for the cup chassis, you will have loads of fun on the roads surrounding Aberdeen if your want some fun. You can easily live with the chassis for the amount of fun you will have with it up here.

Anyways, where about in Aberdeen are you moving to and who are you going to be working for?

 

[Rally3]

Cheers for the reply. Yeah, I'm set on getting recaros and the cup chassis now, if I do end up going second hand I'll just have to see what is about at the time to decide which extras I get!

I'll be living in the centre of Aberdeen for the time being, I think. I'll be working for Maersk FPSOs in the centre of town and as they are 'relocating' me, they are searching for a flat for me. However, I worked in Aberdeen for 16 months last year as part of my placement on my sandwich degree so I know Aberdeen pretty well and grew to like it a lot!

Are you in the oil and gas business yourself? When you say north of Aberdeen, are you talking Bridge of Don or further out?

 

[Liambo-201]

Cheers for the reply. Yeah, I'm set on getting recaros and the cup chassis now, if I do end up going second hand I'll just have to see what is about at the time to decide which extras I get!

I'll be living in the centre of Aberdeen for the time being, I think. I'll be working for Maersk FPSOs in the centre of town and as they are 'relocating' me, they are searching for a flat for me. However, I worked in Aberdeen for 16 months last year as part of my placement on my sandwich degree so I know Aberdeen pretty well and grew to like it a lot!

Are you in the oil and gas business yourself? When you say north of Aberdeen, are you talking Bridge of Don or further out?

That's good you have decided to get the Recaro's and Cup pack. But as i said iv done that exact journey many times and its fine.

Cool, So where about will your work be in the centre of town? Yeah Aberdeen is a nice city, good party life, lots of things to do and good community.

No i'm in the fishing industry, i'm an electronic engineer aboard fishing vessels But i also stay 30 miles further out. Stay in a town called Peterhead, but as a said im in Aberdeen near daily. Out there tomorrow night infact!

 

[Rico]

Recaro seats
My family live down in Yorkshire (Wakefield/Barnsley to be precise) and I will be visiting them a 2-3 times a year at 370 miles a trip (yes, one way!!!). Are the recaros comfortable for this length of time? Also, are they easy for day to day in and out of the car? For comfort (and a bit more style) would anyone recommend the standard seats, I've never seen them...?

Can't comment as I decided last minute not to add them to the options list, due to the wear issues.

Bluetooth touch radio
I couldn't exactly find any info on this so... what the heck is the touch radio? Is it just steering wheel access to the stereo and a bluetooth connection?

This is excellent, for such little cost, especially in the Monitor Pack with the RS Monitor, worth getting. I use it all the time and it connects instantly with my iPhone when I get in the car. Don't have to touch a button. Highly recommend it!

Reanultsport monitor
Does the Clio monitor have the throttle mapping similar to the Megane or just the basic g-meter, acceleration features?

For the price, in the Monitor Pack, it's worth getting if you would like to use it regularly, or consider it a good option for resale value later on. However, I rarely use it, and use it 90% of the time just to keep an eye of the oil temp so I know when I can stomp on the loud pedal. If you are driving fast, you can't really sit watching it anyway. I'm 50-50 on this option.

Cup chassis
Do people deal with the cup chassis? It seemed quite 'considerate' when I went for the test drive last weekend.

I have it. I personally think it improves the agility of the car and also improves the looks. This is due to this option lowering the car slightly, adding red painted calipers and anthracite colour wheels (although I spec'd the black speedlines). Drawbacks is it is a little jumpy on rough back lanes and can get annoying round town/motorways that have poor roads.