Youuuu rang m'lord!?!
Well as much as I'm in awe in of the cool story on here, there goes the neighbourhood, I'm also quite amused by it. Neither car is particularly "fast" in a straight line and having just let go of an EP3 Type-R, I'd say that standard vs standard from a standing start one of those would get the better of both the VXR and the Clio. They get a bad rep for only have 3 lbFt of torque but in reality they're pretty sharp, that K20 engine is an absolute peach.
VXR vs Clio, standard on standard, I don't think there'd be much change either way from a standing start. Given the variables in driver and tolerances in engines you could win six and lose half a dozen. From a rolling start the VXR would get the better of the Clio, no doubt about that, throttle response is much better and of course it has Choo-Choo power so no waiting for the engine to wind itself up.
I'm not slating the Clio, I loved mine in standard form as well as modified and in the latter batsh!tcrazy form too. The VXR is a lot better car than I thought, that's why I ended up buying one after a test drive, it's got many things over the Clio just as the Clio has things over the VXR as well. Being in a privileged position to be able to throw an EP3 into the mix for comparison too, I can say that that also betters both the VXR and Clio in some ways.
So really there's no bad car, there's just bad reputations. Like the Clio having a gearbox made out of margarine, the VXR having a piston made out of chocolate and the EP3 having the torque output of tin opener. The one big thing the Clio has over the others is it's much more distinctive than it's shopping-spec model compared to the others, Vauxhall didn't do themselves any favours with the "Limited Edition" and neither really did Honda with the Type-S.
The Clio almost has an air of exclusivity about it, well it did, a few years ago before prices tumbled and this place turned into Race Wars, all we're missing from this thread now is Ja Rule and MONICAAA!!!
It'll be interesting to see how the VXR feels on track compared to my old Clio, on the road the difference between the two cars is negligible. Corsa has a lot more grip than I thought and the brakes are fantastic, it's also a nice place to sit. But the Clio does turn in like a fly on acid and it does have that bloodline that the VXR doesn't. Oh wait hang on, Vauxhall have a pretty good motorsport history too, as do Opel and isn't the current "TOCA" engine based on a twenty year old Vauxhall lump, hmmm...
Anyway, both good, two sides of the same coin.
Neither is as mental as a Meg'd 197 though.