197: Clio...a little too hardcore for everyday????

[litchy]

my tax is due end of this month which as made me realise that I've had the car 6 months on the road.

God, I love this little car. Better IMO than any other small hatch and the LY F1 gets looks from all kinds of drivers. Its a grown-up man's hot hatch....a toy or new puppy but there lies the problem. Toys are for playing with and then putting back in their box and puppys grow up into lazy dogs.
Its a car that when you fancy a sprited drive...you go and play. Whats now starting to drain me is I don't always feel like 'playing' but the clio does. The older I get the more uncomfortable the clio feels. I occasionally drive the wifes family BMW and it feels like having a day off.
I still love the car but it may be the time to revert to why I bought it 'a toy' and not a daily driver.

Also if you not careful, you can end up spending money on the clio to keep your interest. Now its a toy and a expensive hobby. Ten grand later, you end up with a car you can't sell cause no one wants to buy modded cars, parts you paid a fortune for that you sell for a fraction of the price and the complete ballache of putting it back to standard.

The problem is this is not the climate either to have a car parked up and insured for when you fancy driving it....

Wifes says I might have some growing up to do and she might on this rare occasion be right!!!!!

Audi S3 sportsback?

Just the kind of coments you get on forums....rationale thought and objective thinking lol. Just an opinion
Oh, because someone wife drives it doesn't make it comfortable. My wife watches football but that doesn't make her Alex Ferguson!!! Like most opinions, experiences can be subjective. Just an interesting debate.

Not questioning the size of anyones penis (or whether they are man enough) because they don't find it comfortable just doesn't always suit my circumstance. Is the clio that great to pay insurance to just drive it weekends. Nah...not for me but maybe for others. Is the clio one of the best cars i've owned definately. Not just about 18's and H&R's. Only tells some of the story and after all its me that change them so I'm hardly be blaming that on the Renny.
Its about living with the clio daily when some of the small stuff gets to me....to be honest most of the time its ok but I do miss the comfort of going fast without the drama. Might be an age thing......?

I know forums you have worship the marque and death to anyones first child if you think differently. Not ready to sell just yet still fun to be had and because the clio doesn't owe me anything may keep the experiment going a little longer BUT there is life after a clio you know.....

 

[dangerdaz]

Interesting...i had the same sorta response when i informed my megane brethren that i had more fun driving my modded clio 200 cup than i did my modded r26 meg!
Go figure....
My clio is a daily driver..and despite sounding horrible at mo (waiting on an akpro exhaust to remedy)
I love it and recently took it on a pistonheads run where it was great..

 

[roystinho]

Ok, no Clio bias, if I were to just choose a family car and a fun car, the Clio 197/200 wouldn't be in there, I'd have a S3 sportback in White with black roof, and a 172 cup

But

The 200 is a pretty good balance between the 2 for the moment though

 

[Paul]

You need your comfort when you get older lol

Speaking form experience aren't we, grandma.....

 

[Keiran197]

ive had mine the same amount of time,but im modding mine to make me keep it.as next on the list is H&R

 

[minimaxs1]

my tax is due end of this month which as made me realise that I've had the car 6 months on the road.

God, I love this little car. Better IMO than any other small hatch and the LY F1 gets looks from all kinds of drivers. Its a grown-up man's hot hatch....
Audi S3 sportsback?

agree with both these points,
i'm in a similar predicament but for slightly different reasons after 40 thousand miles and 3 years i'm nonchelaunt about owning it, to the point of taking my wifes diesel mondeo to work for the peace and quiet and only now the gap between my milage allowance and what i shell out in fuel has become enough to make me thing twice . and taking it to the odd track day is not a good enough excuse to warrant shelling out every month.......
i disagree it's hardcore i found it very easy to live with on a daily basis and even took it to newquay with all 5 of us and a roof rack.
my problem is i've two mini's and a camper van that take up my time and what with the rising cost in everthing and having to insure all cars even if SORNED later this year it's becoming an expensive luxury, so loose the clio and sell one mini and have an A3 TDi and cash in my arse pocket seems very tempting indeed.

 

[Not a Diesel!!!]

My wife bought a Clio 197 Cup after we had our first child as we needed something more spacious & comfy.........

We waved goodby to the Clio Trophy.

It all depends of what you are comparing it to.

 

[Maz]

Speaking form experience aren't we, grandma.....

Hell yeah !!

 

[RalphyBMW]

Much as I like my Clio, I think if I was going to have something for purely recreational use I would probably want something a bit more interesting than a Clio, possibly something 7 esque, Elise, VX220, etc. or even a 993 or 968 Porsche.

 

[Rishi]

My cup suspension is annoying in slow traffic as then you feel every bump & pothole really slowly, but going 30+mph its completely fine.

The clutch is fine for traffic as long as you bring it up slow, not jerky at all, i'd imagine a standard 197 without stiffer springs would be perfect for a day to day runabout...

Of course its not gonna be comfortable like a BMW but there's a world of difference really, two completely different styles so totally incomparable IMO

 

[Robo_#1]

If you don't like it then sell it... simple

If your looking for advice on another car, then by all means ask a car forum. But if your looking for a group of people to talk you out of owning a Clio and then you post it on a Clio forum it ain't gonna work out too well mate.

 

[RichW]

Wifes says I might have some growing up to do and she might on this rare occasion be right!!!!!?

I'm under the same pressure, i havent used mine for 2 weeks, going to my Mothers today otherwise i wouldnt be using it for another two weeks, to be fair its a nice day and i could get the bike out too..... she's wanting to sell it to fund.....








































.... a bathroom! :zomg:


Thing is, she's bloody right! It never gets used, just sits there there doing nothing whilst the money could go a long way elsewhere. Things is, i just like having it there - even if i dont use it :hug1:

 

[Maz]

Mine went yesterday and i was sad to see her go but I won't miss the cost of fuel that's for sure!!

 

[skny]

feeling the same about mine, love it for the car that it is, but kind of hate it for the ride it offers, perfectly understandable in a sports car but still... thinking about getting a test drive in a megane 250... not as much fun, but hopefully not as tiring as the clio in everyday use

 

[stuzaa]

Everytime i have had a clio i get rid and get something else. end up back at clios cause i get bored. lol

Plenty of nice cars to choose from though

 

[litchy]

My cup suspension is annoying in slow traffic as then you feel every bump & pothole really slowly, but going 30+mph its completely fine.

The clutch is fine for traffic as long as you bring it up slow, not jerky at all, i'd imagine a standard 197 without stiffer springs would be perfect for a day to day runabout...

Of course its not gonna be comfortable like a BMW but there's a world of difference really, two completely different styles so totally incomparable IMO

Nah, wasn't comparing them....the clio is a great car but there are elements that doesn't align itself as a daily driver.
-Can be very 'jerky' at times
-Fuel consumption
-stiff'ish suspension
-crap turning circle
-Quite expense to service and maintains (parts aren't cheap)
-Recaro don't sit low enough so feet can feel 'perched' on the pedals. Very uncomfortable in traffic.
-communting on motorway, that gear ratio's are laughable 6th feels like 4th.

However, for a fun drivers car.....its as good as it gets for the money!!!

 

[Brown bear]

You can't have your cake and eat it. Part of what makes the Clio's fun is the sporty character, which obviously detracts from it's day to day civility. Modifying it will inevitably make it more fun on the right road/track, but make it less day to day.

If you want something more grown up, at least look at options that give some possibility of fun. An S3 is dull. At least by going RWD (BMW 130/135 etc), you have the option of fun. As opposed to the VAG snoozefest.

 

[R32pete]

S3 is ok on fuel but hardly more economical, they drive crap of boost so fuel is no better than the clio.

The S3 is alot more comfortable etc and sounds like what your after really, also the 4wd is a massive bonus in the winter. RWD is more drver focused but its still 100% fail in this country IMO.

Just based on your list above the audi will generally cost more than the clio due to the VAG premium on the parts.

whats your mileage like? id be tempted to go derv.

 

[Brown bear]

The S3 is alot more comfortable etc and sounds like what your after really, also the 4wd is a massive bonus in the winter. RWD is more drver focused but its still 100% fail in this country IMO.

How so? We still have a lot less snow/ice than many european nations? That's a ludicrous comment!

 

[Onthemotorway]

Nah, wasn't comparing them....the clio is a great car but there are elements that doesn't align itself as a daily driver.
-Can be very 'jerky' at times
-Fuel consumption
-stiff'ish suspension
-crap turning circle
-Quite expense to service and maintains (parts aren't cheap)
-Recaro don't sit low enough so feet can feel 'perched' on the pedals. Very uncomfortable in traffic.
-communting on motorway, that gear ratio's are laughable 6th feels like 4th.

However, for a fun drivers car.....its as good as it gets for the money!!!

Interesting points, I'd probably agree with them. Although I didn't think the service/maintenance costs were too bad.

But, as others have said, the Clio wouldn't be what it is if it didn't have these faults.

I suppose the main problem with the Clio for me at least is that it wouldn't be special enough to keep as a weekend toy thus the only option is to use it everyday and endure the awful MPG.

I think it depends largely on mileage, atm I do circa 5k pa so the poor MPG isn't that much of an issue. But if I was doing in excess of 10k pa I'd probably chop the Clio in for a cheap to run daily and a 'toy' for weekends.

Tim