So yep! I had a passenger ride in the Clio 4 RS yesterday. It was a late night 12:20am drive. We have the perfect flat straight where I live that most of you would kill for and the best thing about it? Nobody uses it.
The Ride
Anyway, moving on! Having blasted my Clio down the strip a fair few times, I asked the owner of the Clio 4 if she could give me a blast in her car; as much as I wanted to ask if I could drive it, I wouldn't let someone else drive mine so I thought there would be no point in pursuing it.
We headed up to the strip and I could already feel that the car drove lovely and smooth (Non-Cup), very similar to mine. She pressed on slightly around a roundabout and you could feel the under steer where as in my Clio 3, there wouldn't have been any, even with shocking tyres. This doesn't mean the car doesn't handle like it's on rails of course, it's still great. As we approached the strip she planted the throttle and oh wow! The first thing I thought was "Those gear changes!" they were like lightning! The sound through the whole exhaust system! All that torque from a 1.6! I can gladly say that it would have overtaken me, not like I was standing still mind you; but she would have been able to do it with some ease. An example of which would be half way down the strip I would have hit 100, yet she hit 115 and it simply just did not stop climbing. The torque curve was absolutely flat, there wasn't a flat spot throughout each gear change, to be frank; it was perfect. The power was there as soon as she touched the throttle. Spooling times? To be honest, I didn't even feel any spool, it just drove N/A like just with a **** ton more torque across the board.
The Gearbox
I was close to jumping on the Clio 4 gearbox hate bandwagon but to be frank, you really need to get in one and try it. Granted, it's not for everyone but you'll soon understand why it's better performance wise, you simply cannot match the speeds of the shifts. Now, I've not actually driven it, but that's what I felt from the passenger seat and to be honest; it was immense. Not a balls-ton more pull than the F4R but you can seriously feel that it has more, just when you think it's going to stop, it keeps pulling harder and harder.
The Looks
The way the car has been designed looks to be coincided with the release of all the latest gen Renault vehicles, they all have the same dull looking front bumper. The back of the car looks exceptional and very mature, it looks like a car you could drive to a job interview without someone thinking your an absolute pleb or a boy racer; not saying that the 197/200 is bad looking by any means and the same stands for the rest of the car. However, in my 20 year old brain, alarm bells are ringing at that front bumper. I do not know whether it's the fact that I'm young and I'm 'in to' the Gordini styling and racing stripes but the front bumper could have seriously used some TLC before they released the vehicle. It needs to look more unique to be frank. On the flip side, they did this with the 197 so I am certainly looking forward to a face lifted version.
My Two Cents
So, my two cents. The Clio 3 Chassis is excellent, the handling is amazing and the brakes can give the new Clio a run for it's money any day, however; there is a problem! Torque. It made me think twice. Why am I driving a 2.0l around that in fairness, drinks fuel, when she was driving a 1.6 around which has a little bit better mpg and more torque when she wants it? (I do prefer the F4R though)
To me, this concludes with the fact that these Clio's should have really been turbocharged from the factory and backs up the fact why so many of you are now slapping Megane engines in them, because the chassis is damn sexy; that's why.
My Rating
I would rate them exactly the same, they both excel in their own areas and you can clearly see the market Renault is aiming the car at. Not disappointed at all.
Anyway, rant over. Thanks for reading
(Psst: I'm looking at Megane engines)
EDIT: The lady that owns the 200T has had it remapped at 'Pembrokshire Remapping'. I've no idea how it performs now, but apparently it kicks out 220bhp. If anything happens to the engine I'll let you all know but for now she mentioned she's really enjoying the extra boost.
The Ride
Anyway, moving on! Having blasted my Clio down the strip a fair few times, I asked the owner of the Clio 4 if she could give me a blast in her car; as much as I wanted to ask if I could drive it, I wouldn't let someone else drive mine so I thought there would be no point in pursuing it.
We headed up to the strip and I could already feel that the car drove lovely and smooth (Non-Cup), very similar to mine. She pressed on slightly around a roundabout and you could feel the under steer where as in my Clio 3, there wouldn't have been any, even with shocking tyres. This doesn't mean the car doesn't handle like it's on rails of course, it's still great. As we approached the strip she planted the throttle and oh wow! The first thing I thought was "Those gear changes!" they were like lightning! The sound through the whole exhaust system! All that torque from a 1.6! I can gladly say that it would have overtaken me, not like I was standing still mind you; but she would have been able to do it with some ease. An example of which would be half way down the strip I would have hit 100, yet she hit 115 and it simply just did not stop climbing. The torque curve was absolutely flat, there wasn't a flat spot throughout each gear change, to be frank; it was perfect. The power was there as soon as she touched the throttle. Spooling times? To be honest, I didn't even feel any spool, it just drove N/A like just with a **** ton more torque across the board.
The Gearbox
I was close to jumping on the Clio 4 gearbox hate bandwagon but to be frank, you really need to get in one and try it. Granted, it's not for everyone but you'll soon understand why it's better performance wise, you simply cannot match the speeds of the shifts. Now, I've not actually driven it, but that's what I felt from the passenger seat and to be honest; it was immense. Not a balls-ton more pull than the F4R but you can seriously feel that it has more, just when you think it's going to stop, it keeps pulling harder and harder.
The Looks
The way the car has been designed looks to be coincided with the release of all the latest gen Renault vehicles, they all have the same dull looking front bumper. The back of the car looks exceptional and very mature, it looks like a car you could drive to a job interview without someone thinking your an absolute pleb or a boy racer; not saying that the 197/200 is bad looking by any means and the same stands for the rest of the car. However, in my 20 year old brain, alarm bells are ringing at that front bumper. I do not know whether it's the fact that I'm young and I'm 'in to' the Gordini styling and racing stripes but the front bumper could have seriously used some TLC before they released the vehicle. It needs to look more unique to be frank. On the flip side, they did this with the 197 so I am certainly looking forward to a face lifted version.
My Two Cents
So, my two cents. The Clio 3 Chassis is excellent, the handling is amazing and the brakes can give the new Clio a run for it's money any day, however; there is a problem! Torque. It made me think twice. Why am I driving a 2.0l around that in fairness, drinks fuel, when she was driving a 1.6 around which has a little bit better mpg and more torque when she wants it? (I do prefer the F4R though)
To me, this concludes with the fact that these Clio's should have really been turbocharged from the factory and backs up the fact why so many of you are now slapping Megane engines in them, because the chassis is damn sexy; that's why.
My Rating
I would rate them exactly the same, they both excel in their own areas and you can clearly see the market Renault is aiming the car at. Not disappointed at all.
Anyway, rant over. Thanks for reading
(Psst: I'm looking at Megane engines)
EDIT: The lady that owns the 200T has had it remapped at 'Pembrokshire Remapping'. I've no idea how it performs now, but apparently it kicks out 220bhp. If anything happens to the engine I'll let you all know but for now she mentioned she's really enjoying the extra boost.
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