Clio RS - 197 or 200? Cup or non? or Megane 230 R26

[cla5h]

Hi

I'm thinking of looking at these for my daily alternative, either a late 197 or early 200. Anyone with any experience of them?

Doesn't seem to be much between them other than the front bumber and a little more grunt lower down on the later car.

Also, what about Cup Vs standard - I read an article that said Cup was good if the car was to be tracked, but otherwise might be too harsh a ride for day to day stuff.

Does the cup command a premium on the used market? I believe they cost similar new (cup cheper if some of the creature comforts were de-specced.)

Thanks,

[Doc883]

Hi, I had one of the Special Edition 197's, the R27 F1, a few years back as my daily driver. It had the Cup chassis and was fine for everyday use for me but I guess if you have to drive around the pot hole ridden streets of Edinburgh it could get a bit tiring.
On the 197 they changed the gearbox ratios on later cars to drop the rpm in the higher gears as mine sat at circa 4k @ 80mph Fuel economy not great either.
I have not driven the RS 200 but by all accounts they are a big improvement on the 197 with much more torque lower down plus a raft of other improvements (see EVO article below for full details) . If I were in the market for a Clio my money would go on the 200
Edit, in Clio RS talk I'd have the 200 Full Fat with Cup Option so you get the Cup suspension but not at the expense of a poverty spec interior

Edit 2: http://www.evo.co.uk/buying/buyingguide ... 97200.html

[Dominic]

I had an original 172 back when they were new (over 10 years ago now.. eek ).. I would think if you were using is as a daily runner, then the non cup car would be better - IIRC it will have a bit more spec on it too. As with pretty much any car purchase, I would go for the newest model that your budget would allow - will help when it comes to selling. IMHO.

[Kelvin]

I drove a couple the other day as I'm looking for a cheap daily driver now that I've finally got rid of the hateful leased Merc. Unreliable sh*t.

They are too small for my needs but the cup spec seemed fine on roads and much nicer to drive hard. The interiors are as cheap and plastic as they've always been. The cup car had the Recaro seats which were fantastic. A step on from the 172 I put 100,000 miles on in three years!but felt as flimsy as well as my 172 was wrecked when I sold it.

I also had a go on the RS250 Megane both Cup and std. It's a great car to drive. Not as raw as the Clio or even the Focus ST but still a nice car to drive and relatively quick (esp I gear 30-70).

[StiflerMR2]

I ran a 197 for 2 years and adored it, I was forced to sell for a family car

Later gear ratios were better for M/Way cruising but I averages 28-34 mpg (28 in town, 34 driving up and down to Newcastle). Interior was never an issue for me, it was a very nice place to spend time if a little 'jiggly' at times.

I'd go for and early 200 Full Fat (all the toys plus the cup chassis). I think the 197 is the nicer looking car but the 200 is the more sorted. 197 are pretty great on track too, used mine a couple of times whilst the Elise was out of commission

[mrbennybennett]

I ran a full fat 200 cup for about 2 years and just recently sold it to go back on my company car scheme

I never really fell in love with the car, i felt it was a bit underpowered, had issues with the brakes and the cup chassis was too hard for Edinburgh roads but get it out on a B road it was great fun.

Tended to get on average about 25 - 26 MPG so about 300 miles to a £70 tank. Was pretty cheap to service and repair as i used a specialist in Edinburgh rather than the dealers who have a very poor reputation and my one dealing with them confirmed this.

Loved the Recaro seats and would think these are a must!

They seem to be in good demand, probably from all the good write ups from EVO etc. I used a mates garage to sell mine and it went in about 10 days and he has subsquently bought another couple from trade which have went really quickly too.

For the money at the time i thought it was the best option but just needed another 10 to 20% more power as I was used to the power of my Focus ST which overall i felt was a much better car but a thirsty bugger (average about 18 to 20 MPG)

[Doc883]

In reality a better everyday Renaultsport is the Megane R26. More refined, more room and effortless power. Also a hoot to drive on track

[Gibbo78]

Picked up a 200 full fat with cup pack in March, it's a great package, use it to do the trip into Edinburgh each day and its not a problem. Suspension (cup pack) is a personal thing, I have driven both and I prefer the cup. I have standard seats in it and they are very good for daily use. I know someone who had 197 and the 200 has had more changes what you don't see, including the front suspension design.

PM me if you want more info.

[Doc883]

I know someone who had 197 and the 200 has had more changes what you don't see, including the front suspension design.

"Production of the 197 ended in summer 2009, when it was superseded by the Clio Renaultsport 200 -– essentially the same car, but with a number of upgrades that finally allowed the current-generation Clio to reach its potential. The engine got minor changes to the head casting, variable valve timing and ECU map, lifting peak power to 197bhp, adding low- and mid-range muscle and dropping the 0-60 time from 6.9sec to 6.6.
The visible differences included a revised front bumper and headlights, five-split-spoke alloys and a revised rear diffuser, while the interior was given a general spruce-up and there were some tasty new options, including an integrated TomTom satnav and a panoramic sunroof.
Once again, the real interest lay under the skin, with new spring and damper rates on all versions and a quicker steering rack for the Cup variants, which this time were available right from the off. The 200 also adopted the torque-steer-killing ‘independent steering axis’ front suspension geometry first seen on the Mégane R26.R. The combined effect was stunning: more power everywhere, more steering feel and tight suspension control".

[cla5h]

Cheers all - some good info there.

Doc, I was aware of the R26 but didn't consider it as I thought it'd be out of my budget. However, a quick browse revealed they are similarly priced to Clios. Well, this one is anyway: R26 230

Any thoughts on it? I thought it was maybe a bit too cheap compared to others on sale. It was registered 2009 so I guess one of the last 230s as the only others for sale from that year are R26Rs. It's local so just had a quick look at it - body work fine for it's age, a few bits falling apart in the interior(!) Concern was tyres - rears were Gravatar(?) and fronts Zeta. Never heard of 'em.

I didn't speak to anyone so no idea of its history. Reading up on them, they could be more enjoyable for everyday use than the Clio, although tyres and particularly brakes are expensive.

[j2 lot]

Gravatar and Zeta sound like quality gear Might be an early warning there of someone trying to run it on the cheap

[Doc883]

Cheers all - some good info there.
Doc, I was aware of the R26 but didn't consider it as I thought it'd be out of my budget. However, a quick browse revealed they are similarly priced to Clios. Well, this one is anyway: R26 230
Any thoughts on it? I thought it was maybe a bit too cheap compared to others on sale. It was registered 2009 so I guess one of the last 230s as the only others for sale from that year are R26Rs. It's local so just had a quick look at it - body work fine for it's age, a few bits falling apart in the interior(!) Concern was tyres - rears were Gravatar(?) and fronts Zeta. Never heard of 'em.

Only get this now "We're sorry, the vehicle you are looking for is no longer available".
I'm with J2 LOT, if someone is going to run one of the most accomplished fwd hot hatches on Gravatar and Zeta tyres then I'd be tempted to steer clear as undoubtedly it's not been lavished with love and attention
I saw 2 white R26's on autotrader, both 2008 with 40k miles going for between £8400 and £8995.
Here's another white one in West Lothian @ 8k, has Lux pack so leather Recaros: http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 08/1316807
or silver in Cheshire for £7250: http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... es/1234674

[Mike Scib]

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewit ... 1023779669

Sold at Central car Auctions a few weeks back for £5050!

[douglasgdmw]

Sandra also has an RS200 full fat (cup chassis) with standard seats as her company car.

As you have to thrash it to get the best out of it I find it a bit frustrating when you are just tootling around and want to go for an overtake. On a B road very little wil keep up with it however I do miss the Recaro's on these occasions as the standard seats don't offer me enough side support as we are both relatively thin.

However I have been very frustrated with the dealer network as the Renault guys have not managed to diagnose faults with the car. Essentially both dealers inEdinburgh are a bunch of idiots.

Also just upgraded the front pads to DS2500's as the standard pads are a bit pants. Does not help that Renault have not touched the calipers/pads when it's been serviced and the pads were shot on one side

George

As per Mark, give me a PM if you want more info. Often across in Bellshill working in case that's convenient if you want to look at one.

[cla5h]

I know it will be quiet on here today due to the fine weather but if any Renaultsport experts are about I'd appreciate opinions.

Would you go for something like this: http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 08/1407312

2008, 40k mls. Within 3 months will need service including cam belt, MOT, front pads. The rubber, whilst new, is a budget rather than premium brand. However it does sound well looked after in other regards. He's agreed to bring price down to £7400. Might be possible to negotiate more off it.

Or would you go for http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... op/1004941

5 months older than above, with 20k more miles. However 6 months till next service and MOT, and crucially the cam-belt has been done. Don't have any more info on this at the moment, but might not be such a cherished example given the lack of detail in the ad.