well done Vamos!
i did 56,000miles in my C172 (from new) and, dreadful driving position aside, i loved it. Few things to think about:
When pootling, the engine is a bit droney and tuneless. It's not 'musical' like an Alfa. But when ambling, try burying the throttle; the deep induction roar and barrel chested bellow makes the car sound like it has suddenly doubled its displacement. It's a very grunty engine when you tickle it. The induction noise is cool.
Be careful if you have to brake hard/crash brake at speed - it goes very light at the rear (disconcertingly so) and squirms a lot at the rear until the brake distribution control system finally gets things back together. It's alarming at first, but the BDC will sort it out. You might want to try this in a controlled environment, just so you know what to expect.
On cold morning starts, for the first minute or two, the car will feel like it is being 'choked'; it'll literally stutter along starved of power until suddenly, smooth power delivery is restored. All 172/182/197s are like this, and it's just the ECU spending a few minutes checking the outside temp etc and regulating the fuel (I guess). But it'll feel like the car's choking/being restrained, and then it'll clear. Allow it this time to sort itself out. As I said, it takes maybe no more than two minutes.
Around town, the steering is slow-witted and clumsy (although your trick dampers might have eradicated this); but don't worry on an open A/B-road, its sharp steering comes alive, combined with astonishing brakes and its sheer vim, will ensure you scalp pretty much anything that mistakenly thinks it's 'just' a Clio.
My clutch was as fine at 56k, as it was from new. I never had any uneven tyre wear, although tyre wear was anything between 9~12k. Pads were pretty cheap, the gearbox was fine (no crunching; but then I never force a cold gear box).
The engine mounts are a weak spot; if at 30k, you heard a 'knock' when pulling away, it's the mounts. Mine were changed under warranty.
As the front tyres wear down, the steering becomes a right pain. It'll follow every rut, tramline and torque steer. It can make for an exhausting drive on a long winter journey.
It's a noisy little motor on the m-way, so just the turn the tunes up
. However, it's a brilliant m-way weapon. Utterly stable at speed (but it gets the wobbles very badly at max speed), it has ample power and excellent gearing to fend for itself at speed. Throw in arrow-straight stability, excellent mirrors and wipers, and you have a car that will take you safely and at great speed to your destination.
But you have bought an astonishingly capable driver's car; with a bit of mechanical sensitivity, it shouldn't cause you any problems at all, and a huge amount of smiles per mile.
Oh, and I think it's pretty easy to remove the rear seat altogether
I really hope that you enjoy your C182, Vamos. I loved Pups to bits; its gruff bark, grip, tactile steering, inherent balance and strong brakes characterised many drives so as to make them etched in my memory bank. And that's the mark of a cool car.
if you have any questions feel free to ask. Happy to answer any queries.
cheers dude,
g