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clio trophy
2K views 18 replies 11 participants last post by  Scudetto 
#1 ·
So after much indecision, I have finally gone out and bought a Clio. First impressions are positive, but have not had the opportunity to explore capabilities in full, so will update this thread with time.

This is the special edition Renaultsport 182 with the trick suspension, with a limited series of only 500. I have found a well cared for example at just over two years of age, with a tadge over 15k on the clock, it drives like new.

Initial photos are poor, hope to update those as well. Any Clio fans out there?
 

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#3 ·
Took the Spider out on Sunday and was spanked by a Clio Trophy down a dual carriageway. :rolleyes: I put up a decent fight though and he had to use all of his revs :thumbs:
It went round the corners like it was glued to the road :eek:

Enjoy Vamos :thumbs:

BTW it is a UK car or CZ :confused: Where you taking it :confused:
 
#6 ·
I put money down on a 172cup after my Fiat Coupe, it was alot of fun to drive, bit loud and booming for motorway I thought and probably wouldn't save me much dosh for my commute over the Coupe so cancelled the order and bought a 1.2 Fiat Punto Sporting, biggest of my car mistakes ever!!! nothing wrong with the car itself, probably the best built car I've ever been in/owned but it was a gutless wonder and had to go, how we coped with 40k miles in the thing I'll never know, I would have been much better off in the Clio for the sake of a few mpg, oh well, live and learn.

Always fancied one of the newer ones like yours above its just a shame they couldn't package it in a better body really, something with a lower seating position, a Puma style renault, that would good.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for all the kind words :)

Every day I am loving it a little bit more, it is quite a blast, in an 'old school need to work for the sweet spot' way. Reminds me of my twinspark a lot actually, although it is faster and a better handler.

@ Hunter - I have now relocated to the UK (near Bristol), so the car is UK registered and will be used here.

@ Andrew Lusso - ah the 172 Cup, the most hardcore Renaultsport Clio. The Trophy is quite comfy actually, A/C, the seats are lovely, and the suspension is firm but the ride is good. Noise level is fine, no problem listening to Radio 4 at 80 mph ;) my average is 35mpg so far.

@ Sandys - yeah that was probably a bad decision, but then we have to make bad decisions in order to learn from them.:D What you driving now buddy? You are right about the seating position, its a bit strange, not uncomfortable, just a bit odd, little too high and a little too far right. I can foresee a helmet problem if I ever decide to fit a cage. :rolleyes:

@BCSS147 - I think that's a bad idea, because it will really annoy you that she has the faster car. Unless she let's you drive it, in which case it's a great idea. Get the Trophy though, it's a better drive, has better seats and will hold it's value better. Also they are generally really looked after by their owners so are usually in great nick.
 
#10 ·
Thought I would update this with a couple of photos, as I originally promised.

They are from a track day at Castle Combe, the first of the season, which meant over half the cars there were race cars shaking down for the season.

Anyway the little tomato did well, and claimed a fair few scalps. It certainly punches above its weight class, although the mixed wet then dry, then wet again conditions certainly favoured it. Quite amazing really, considering its unmodified state.

I had originally agonised between the Clio and the 156 GTA, and chose the Clio because I figured it would be cheaper to track. My God is it ever. Average mpg for the track day was 17 mpg, race pads and discs are about half of what the GTA would be, and seem new after the track day, and aside from the brakes the car has not needed any mods to be competitive on track. Which would not be the case for a GTA I am afraid to say.

Am now seriously considering entering a couple of sprint/hillclimbing events.
 

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#11 ·
Hi Vamos,

Nice little track Castle Combe, a couple of minutes down the road from me so I go there a fair bit, how are you finding the Clio day to day, is it easy on the juice, now my Alfa has gone in favor of a family wagon for the missus I'm left in her Stilo and its too dull for words, so was considering chopping it in for a 172/182 figuring that driven sensibly they should be good for over 30mpg and still allow a bit of fun when I want it.
 
#12 ·
I love it on a day to day basis. My wife finds the ride a little too firm, and prefers the family wagon. Which suits me just fine. On sensible driving the 182 delivers between 32 and 35 mpg, on spirited backroad driving it never drops below 28 mpg, on track 17 mpg. Comparing with my scooby that is fantastic. That never went above 25 mpg, and on track was around 5 mpg. And wasnt really that much faster on track either.

I would recommend it, if you can live with the slightly uninspiring interior, and the odd rattle here and there. Of course, if I didnt need the boot and the back seats, I would be driving an Elise :lol: which can achieve 40 mpg quite comfortably :D and has ultra cheap consumables just like the Clio.

Castle Combe was good fun, but I wanted to use my data logger, and their insurance forbids it, so that was a bit disappointing. Also there is only one really challenging corner, so it is not as much fun as say the Ring. Buying a bigger house this year, so no ring trips :(
 
#13 ·
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
 
#14 ·
I somehow missed this thread until now.

Glad to see you are enjoying it!

Nice pics above especially the first - nice positive camber on the outside wheels under heavy load :D

I'm sure it has a fair few more tricks than a GTA up its sleeve dynamically speaking - they really are very well balanced.

Have a double header myself in my little FIAT biscuit box this weekend - cant wait :D

Small light cars can be such fun!

I imagine you have found a madly enthusiastic Clio forum to natter with by now?
 
#15 ·
i caught an old top gear on dave this tea time. they had the 182 on. made me remember what a good little car the 172 was. i had an itg filter and that was all. mine went the way of the pear when the back end over took the front end and we ended up in a ditch. we all walked away unhurt but the clio died. bangs for bucks, they were the daddy.
 
#18 ·
G, your enthusiasm for the Cliosports is epic :) I love it. So when you gonna get another one?

Thanks for all the tips BTW, I agree with most of your observations, but there are two where the Trophy doesn't seem to give me the same issues. The driving position is a little too far right, and the steering wheel could be a little higher, but it is comfortable, and not a real issue. Could be a function of the Recaros? The second issue is under braking (all out track braking) the car just brakes completely straight without any of the tail squirming you describe (even though I am sure the rears are barely touching the ground at this point :D). Even when trailbraking, the tail is quite hesitant to come around. Clearly Reno have worked hard to dial in some extra safety into the chassis set up.

I took out an instructor at Castle Combe for a couple of sessions, and he commented on how late I was braking and how the brakes just reeled in the speed time and time again, no sign of fade or loss of stability. For the first time in my life, I have a car whose brakes are up to whatever I throw at them :cool: He was very impressed with the car, andcoming from a Formula Ford racer I took that as a high compliment :cool:

You are absolutely right in your characterisation of the Cliosports, they get under your skin in the same way the very best of driver's cars do, by providing suberbly tactile steering, and the ability to involve you in the actual process of driving, of having to work for that sweet spot. Marvellous :D I feel priviledged every time I get a bit of an open road ahead. They are not the fastest cars around, but by golly, they make the most of what they got.

Re forums - ClioSport is very good on covering the information side of things, and outstanding on discounts etc, but in terms of a community it's a little like scooby-net, so I read more than I contribute. There is a natty little forum specifically dedicated to the trophy, which I spend a fair bit of time on, which has a tiny (only 500 trophies made remember) but hugely enthusiastic member base. I don't plan on leaving AO, I sold my Alfa 3 years ago, but I am still here :rolleyes:

@ TB - the positive camber is a bit of an issue, I think to make it less oversteery, Reno have put the front wheels at neutral camber, rears are on -2 degrees, so it is hard to bring the tail into play. Camber bolts giving -2 degrees are my next mod. Cheap and very effective I am told. Solid top mounts are also another cheap way to bring more stability and precision to the front.

What news of your Uno - are there any photos, results, wild crashes anywhere? Good luck this weekend.
 
#19 ·
G, your enthusiasm for the Cliosports is epic :) I love it. So when you gonna get another one?

Lol, you know I chewed over the Clio 197 for ages Vamos, but first, it is massive size-wise, and second I need to move away from hot hatches. I so wish I could have kept my C172, for all the wonderful reasons you're loving yours

Thanks for all the tips BTW, I agree with most of your observations, but there are two where the Trophy doesn't seem to give me the same issues. The driving position is a little too far right, and the steering wheel could be a little higher, but it is comfortable, and not a real issue. Could be a function of the Recaros?

Agree - it's reckoned that the Recaros 'helped' a bit, but I'm six foot, and the (standard, non-Recaro) seat wouldn't go back far enough, had no support for the lower back, and was aligned to and offset steering (to the right) and offset pedals (to the left). After 20mins, my back was screaming at me

The second issue is under braking (all out track braking) the car just brakes completely straight without any of the tail squirming you describe (even though I am sure the rears are barely touching the ground at this point :D). Even when trailbraking, the tail is quite hesitant to come around. Clearly Reno have worked hard to dial in some extra safety into the chassis set up.

You could well be right. The mk2 172s and 172 Cups suffered from this more than the 182s. At that point, I stopped regularly reading the Clio Forum, so it could well be it was resolved for the C182.

I took out an instructor at Castle Combe for a couple of sessions, and he commented on how late I was braking and how the brakes just reeled in the speed time and time again, no sign of fade or loss of stability. For the first time in my life, I have a car whose brakes are up to whatever I throw at them :cool: He was very impressed with the car, andcoming from a Formula Ford racer I took that as a high compliment :cool:

My mate's dad just did a track day with single seaters and 911's. The car that excited him and he loved the most? The C197. I'm not surprised, lol

You are absolutely right in your characterisation of the Cliosports, they get under your skin in the same way the very best of driver's cars do, by providing suberbly tactile steering, and the ability to involve you in the actual process of driving, of having to work for that sweet spot. Marvellous :D I feel priviledged every time I get a bit of an open road ahead. They are not the fastest cars around, but by golly, they make the most of what they got.

Damn right, I second all of that! :)

Re forums - ClioSport is very good on covering the information side of things, and outstanding on discounts etc, but in terms of a community it's a little like scooby-net, so I read more than I contribute.

Yes. Where the ClioSport is concerned, best keep within the technical communities for excellent advice.

There is a natty little forum specifically dedicated to the trophy, which I spend a fair bit of time on, which has a tiny (only 500 trophies made remember) but hugely enthusiastic member base. I don't plan on leaving AO, I sold my Alfa 3 years ago, but I am still here :rolleyes:

Man, I sold my Alfa six years ago, and I'm still here. Says a lot about the excellent AO-vibe, I reckon!
Enjoy that spicy Tomato, Vamos! :thumbs:

g
 
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