Corsa VXR to Clio 197/200

[kirsty.hopkins21]

VXR = Built to be tuned.

Clio = Built to be driven. Hard.

It's horses for courses really, I can see the appeal of the VXR but its reputation (and that of its owners) proceeds it. Like an Essex Girl.

Hammer - Nail - Head :jase:

I've got a cup pack 200 with recaros.
My brother has a corsa vxr.

I really like the corsa, his vxr has the edge down the straights being 230 bhp, and I have the edge in the twisties. I don't see how people slate the vxr for its handling and saying they're boring cars, it's quite capable in the right hands.
Corsa has the recaro seats as standard, and there's no expensive optional extras to add, it's a good spec from standard. As with the Clio, there's plenty of extras costing £££ each one.

Depends what you want with a car, the Clio is basically at its limit for tuning from standard,
And the corsa you can basically make it your own and no engine conversion is required.

It's all personal preference.

it's funny to see people jumping on the hate wagon and never even driven the vxr.

Another top quote and advice. Its good to see that there are sound advice people out here still and not just forum haters. Just because joe bloggs on the street has a something different to you, theres no need to sit behind your steering wheel hating them for it just because of a brand choice.

Both cars have their good and bad points over each other and when you peel away the skin there not that dissimilar.

Best advice to you is, just go and try both cars and then go try them again. That way your not sat on one side of the fence and you'll see what we mean about the two cars.

 

[Gez]

Exactly this, it's annoying to hear people slate them and chances are they've never even sat in one.

If I wanted a car that I knew I wanted to tune/modify I would have bought a corsa vxr for example. But the Clio is good out of the box and requires nothing doing to its handling/brakes to drive it to the limit, I know the car can lack in the straight line performance, buts that's something I can live with knowing I've got the best fwd hot hatch for handling.

There's no hassle notifying insurance about any modifications, it's brilliant standard.
And this meaning that the insurance is cheap on the 200 for me.
£690 at 21

 

[Ashton]

Ok maybe my opinion is slightly tainted based on the fact i had a Corsa VXR for 3 months and its was the worst car i have ever owned

11 weeks of ownership and this is what i remember:

2 Sets of Wheels Bearings
Squeeky brakes
Failed RCL
Cracked A/C pipes
Cracked Wingmirror Casings
Peeling Lacquer on Wheels
Split Radiator
Failed Fuel Pump
Loose Stiching on Steering Wheel

oh and not to metion losing £3000 in 11 weeks

On top of that, the handling was numb, everyone wanted to race me, i got called a chav on a regular basis (lol)

The only thing i liked about it was when i put the Remus downpipe on it with the rear silencer and then swapped the mid section for the unresonated MPG section with sports cat. its opped and banged so loud it made my Akrapovic sound tame

Hmmm

 

[jimpy9]

so apart from ashton having not much luck with his are they reliable or not,, I have to say some angles the corsa in my opinon does look rather good

 

[Ollie RS]

mine had a few problems aswell but most of the problems Ashton listed are fairly common...

 

[kirsty.hopkins21]

Ok maybe my opinion is slightly tainted based on the fact i had a Corsa VXR for 3 months and its was the worst car i have ever owned

The only thing i liked about it was when i put the Remus downpipe on it with the rear silencer and then swapped the mid section for the unresonated MPG section with sports cat. its opped and banged so loud it made my Akrapovic sound tame

Hmmm

Sorry to hear about that mate, sounds a little unlucky and possibly a Friday afternoon jobby....

Love the comment about the Remus and making the Akrapovic sound tame, the Remus is a good system out right.

so apart from ashton having not much luck with his are they reliable or not,, I have to say some angles the corsa in my opinon does look rather good

This is what I know, Parkers guide says no problems what so ever. From real life and being on VXR Online You get the piston 4 fail where it melts but this has been put down to time and time again where people mod and don't mod correctly. With the added turbo the temps are allot higher and playing with boost and not mapping in the fuel is going to kill any engine...

There are plenty of tuners out there if you wanted to get more power and Thorny Motorsport being one that offers it own warranty and I think even VXL them selves warrant there work if something goes wrong.

Apart from that there is nothing reliability wise to worry about. I think you get bad apples all the time with Ashton having one of them. My boyfriends mate knew someone who again after 3 months or so sold his Clio RS after having endless problems with seats coming away from the floor resulting in his girlfriend hitting her head on the windscreen and endless engine and suspension issues. Its just the luck of the draw these days and it pays to shop around and bide you time when getting a used car.

HTH in your search mate.

 

[Ashton]

The piston #4 failure was also a bit of a worry for me. i was afraid to drive it hard

The injectors are 'suposidly' maxxed out at 4900RMP and the 4th cylinder is starved of fuel therfore its runs very lean and the crown of the piston fails

Although when i did have it at xxx mph i did manage to get the downpipe glowing white

lol

 

[kirsty.hopkins21]

Again people at thorny or Courtney sport would know their stuff and advise accordingly. When you start venturing to higher bhp you start changing the injectors to a higher cc along with pump and regulator. Pretty simple stuff and solves the starvation issue. Failing that I think stage 4 tune on the VXR is a forged engine. But a bigger injector and regulator should solve the starvation issue to put your mind at rest.

Not sure what engine difference there is between the std VXR and the burg VXR. Think VXL would have ironed out any engine issues before adding more bhp.

 

[ian coles]

You can spot right away who the haters and fan boys/girls are and who not to listen to. You have the 'know it all's' and the people who have actually had some experience of them...

Clio is the better car but I've also driven the VXR. Personally speaking the VXR gets away a little quicker from a standstill but keep your foot in it and you'll reel the VXR in easy. Handling wise the Clio is better. Looks wise the VXR over a 200 but a 197 over a VXR. Also consider what it is you want. Shop about and pay more for a Clio with toys or get a VXR that has them standard. Recaros being one of the options to consider.

The only down side to me about having the Clio is the adaptability, you get 197/200 bhp and that's it. VXR being a turbo gives you more room to play with and adaptability for when you get bored and want more. Also fuel consumption is better on the VXR I found.

My eldest daughter has a 57 blue vxr she love it, this statement is spot on IMO

 

[Weo]

Great cars, i only chose the clio due to looks, would I have a Vxr! Hell yeah! My mate has one and they are a lot nicer inside, the turbos nice and the fact it does pop and bang, some people don't like this but being young... Gotta be a kid and smile

But! I love the Clio as it never stops... It revs and revs and revs and eventually you change gear and it makes me smile as much as popping and banging would.

As said, the Clio is a drivers car, corners like a beast! Can't see the Vxr being rubbish probably just not as good, but it makes up for that in other ways.

Good look in your search

And tbh, all cars have their faults, you can just service and look after them to the best of your affordability ... And pray

 

[stuzaa]

I myself have now got a corsa vxr in silver, did have a 197. Had loads of other clios over the years, only got the corsa for a wee change.

I love the corsa but as been said spent load on fixing things already. Common big fault the radiator.
Love it to drive, good fun for sure but in a straight line. I think it's so light on corners compared to Clio just don't feel safe as I did in the Clio.

I'm looking at a couple of 200s the now.
Coming back to clios as I do prefer them so much more.
But not dissing the corsa, like it a lot but not compared to Clio.

 

[Ashton]

just don't feel safe as I did in the Clio.

I 100% agree with that

 

[Marv]

If you were ever gonna get the Corsa, try stretch the the 'ring edition. That LSD makes a big difference.

I drove the two side by side recently, and the standard VXR feels crap in comparison, IMO.

Agree with Tom here. I drove the same 2 cars, standard VXR and Nurburgring, and there is a world of difference. I haven't driven my 197 on a track and on the road the handlig is sublime but the Nurburgring is no slouch. It is miles better than a standard VXR and to be honest, I would have one. I wouldn't have a standard VXR as it isn't as good as the clio. The worst thing about the Corsa is the seats. They just don't support you at all. Real Shame.

Change of subject, I love the new Astra VXR roud:

 

[randomgary]

im going to have to fo against the grain here (again, im sorry but this is something that gets my goat)

the failure of pistons isnt due to running lean. here is a picture of a normal corsa piston failure. The amount of damage here is excessive but its the same failure

piston by randomgary, on Flickr

im sure you will agree that that is not a piston that is melted or lean. Instead it has failed because of thermoshock (the metal heats too quickly causing failure, like pouring cold water on hot glass).

Now as for the TMS Proof (found here http://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/tuning/Corsa_VXR_Fuelling_News.shtml ). they said once the corsa vxr is running more than 230bhp the injectors max out.

1/ my car ran 240bhp on courtenays conservative rollers and it lasted 100% for over two years. It was data logged every month and even on low quality fuel it never detonated or ran lean.

2/ for a laugh at courts we ran the legs clean off my wee turbo. the turbo ran outta puff long before the injectors did.

If you read Thorneys statement above its obvious it is aimed at another tuner. Its widely accepted that the un named tuner is Regal. Thorney has a trend of releasing statements to damage its competition or anyone hes fallen out with.
The newest to join the line is Tescos momentum hence Thorneys latest press release

http://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/..._longer_endorses_Tesco_Momentum_99_fuel.shtml

he has made statement to others stating that they have witnessed a trend of tescos fuel being used by those who have suffered engine failures. This coincides with Jason Plato taking away the tescos sponsorship.

Many of us believe the failures are because of thermoshock. 1.2 bar of boost being blown through the cylinders when the car has only started. I just hope that TMS are as quick to apologise to Regal as they were to blaim them. I will not hold my breath

 

[Willis]

In other words...

The sterotypical VXR owner coming out of his house in the morning and ragging off to work bouncing off the limiter instead of allowing the engine to warm up?

 

[Jonesy]

regal are crap anyway, so who cares lol, fact is they are both good car's

 

[randomgary]

In other words...

The sterotypical VXR owner coming out of his house in the morning and ragging off to work bouncing off the limiter instead of allowing the engine to warm up?

well some do, as im sure every make of cars has unsympathetic owners.

 

[Willis]

well some do, as im sure every make of cars has unsympathetic owners.

Oh yeah, no doubt every corner of the car community and every model of cars has its fair share of idiot owners.

I'm in no doubt that there are some very decent people in the VXR world and I'm not a badge snob, don't get me wrong.

It's just that for thermoshock to have such an effect, surely it must be because the cars suffering from it were being abused on a regular basis without being given proper time to warm up? It's like the F4R Rod issue, when you look at the numbers of engines sold it's such a tiny minority that have gone bang. It's just that bad press travels further. Nobody cares when somebody makes a thread saying ''drove my car today and it didn't blow up''!!!

On a side note, my opinion of Thorney has taken a sharp drop in the last few minutes after reading their site.

 

[Ashton]

I love lamp

 

[MikeLYR27]

Ashton, are you just saying you love the 1st thing you see in front of you?