Clio 172 - opinions


Dunsy

Dunsy

Active Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
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2,593
talk to me.

I don't want the usual "French pish" reply.

Who has owned one etc, reliability, common faults etc etc :) cheers
 
You'll hate it. lol. Not very constructive i know!

Me and my mate went to test drive one last month after parting with his integra and it just wasnt much if you know what i mean.

But my uncle has owned 172's and 182's for the past 5 years and i dont actually think one has gone wrong yet which is a good thing. But make sure you get one either way before the cam belt is due or one with the cam belt already done as its a costly job.

Danny
 
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Yeah i know what you mean, im not expecting it to live upto my EK9 either, i wouldnt expect anything for £3000 to live upto it, but for that money there isnt much better out there in the way of Fun/trackability/Power and cheapness.

Going to look at one today, cambelt was done 2000 miles ago i think so thats all good.

Cheers for the input
 
Yeah i know what you mean, im not expecting it to live upto my EK9 either, i wouldnt expect anything for £3000 to live upto it, but for that money there isnt much better out there in the way of Fun/trackability/Power and cheapness.

Going to look at one today, cambelt was done 2000 miles ago i think so thats all good.

Cheers for the input
 
I think they can be expensive to maintain
when I say my mates uncle working on one he said you couldn't just by break discs and that the discs and wheel hubs where one part or something like that
ad they were like £300
that's just one thing tho mate couldn't tell you about the rest of them
and I'm not sure how old that one was :S so yeah
lol
 
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3 grand. y dont u just buy a vti or mb6. both are below 3 for good examples or are you trying to get away from the honda scene altogether?
 
Im not trying to get away from the honda scene, i just fancy a change.

A VTi would disappoint me immensely after having my EK9 to the level it was, at least if i change marque or car completely i wont be comparing all the time. Ya know?

Cr1s, so what your saying is everytime the brake discs need change you need to change the hubs at a cost of £300 a corner? that surely can be true :lol: cheers for your input though
 
mate had a 182 for few months with no issues, you thought about a pug 106 gti ? quick tidy wee motors you'll get a clean one of them for 3k, just dont like renault at all sorry :((
 
Im 6ft 2 with size 10 feet, Pug 106 does not compute :lol:

I drove a 172 today, was really nice! quick, Felt much torquier than the EK9 (probably coz it is), didnt properly chuck it about but it felt pretty planted

Only trouble with this one was it needed new tyres, and there was no proof of the cambelt being done and it was already £300 above budget, was clean enough though.

Hmmm, keep looking i think
 
Ok that may have been with labour I can't remember lol
I was only trying to help :,(,,,,
 
i think your somewhat right! :O i apologise!

The rear discs have an incorporated bearing, I Think £300 is for both sides though with pads and labour, judging by what i was told today :)
 
I accept your apology and hope we can move on from this and become better people lol
aparently they have gearbox troubles to :s
 
I know two people that have them a 172 and a 182. As far as I know they have never had any problems, personally Im not a fan of them, and think they are a bit under engineered, but they seem pretty well built, with their plastic panels etc. They are solid cars though and have nice interiors, but Im not a french/italian car fan. I would do what was mentioned and get a cheaper civic, but if you dont want another Honda then get one. Would you get a tidy one for that money though?
 
you would get a decent one for £3k yeah :)

I hear a bad story one minute then a good story the next minute about these wee cars haha!
 
I Work for Renault, and tbh they are pretty solid French Car's Easy enough to work on especially the Cup without Air-con so Changing the Belt on one of them is no hassle at all.

Ive owned a ph1 172 exclusive (posh version) i couldnt take to it at all but the newer ph2 172's + 182's are a blast to drive.

Above 5k rpm it pulls really hard.

The above statement about discs being £300 a corner is not true at all do not know where that came from.

Responds well to bolt on Mods + being French everything is cheap (cheaper than Honda)

Again the above statement of a 106 for 3k? you'd have to be out of your mind to pay that for a GTI especially in todays climate, i wouldnt pay over £1500 for a GTI VTS


After having an EK9 though im sure once the excitement of a new car wears off you will be back on the Hunt for an Ek9 / DC2 guarantee'd
Hope This helps :)
 
Right...

I used to own a 182 so I might be able to help a bit!

The deal with the rear brakes is that the wheel bearing is built into the disk, you can replace the whole lot or have your bearings pressed into the disk, they aren't that expensive.

Cambelt is the main thing to check, should be done every 72k or 5 years. Preferably they will have the aux belt and tensioners done as well, I had mine done when the cambelt was changed and they where about to go!

There are 2 different options, you have the full fat and the cup. The cup is the lightweight model, no leather/alcantara seats, no xenons, no aircon and no ABS are the main things. Saving about 90kg or so... probably a better buy if you are coming from a ek9. They also come with the Cup spoiler and speedline turini wheels.

Servicing is yearly, they are not too temperamental, I had no problems with mine which I kept for 12 months. Make sure you check as some are european imports, check for etched windows, locking wheels nuts and also a red alarm led to the left on the gearstick!

The main expense is tyres as they are 205/45/16 which for decent tread is about £90pc but that isn't too excessive. Some people use 195's as they are cheaper but I prefered to stick with factory spec and have as much tread on the road as possible!

Other than that just check for no whines in the gearbox etc.

Any other q's just ask..
 
Id go with Jaws. Speak to him if you need info, seems to know the score with them.
 
Had a mk2 172 for 4 years from new, no problems, only thing I changed was a wiper blade, apart from the upgrades (headwork/cams/smt6/brakes/suspension). Handling was very good, fun on track.
Seating position is high, and there is no room in the engine bay, trying to sort a decent cold air feed was a pain and the majority of aftermarket exhausts I found were boomy. There were a couple of reports of cambelts failing early on cliosport.net at the time.

The noticeable downside is they have zero road presence, nobody wants to move over for a Clio, the EK9 does not suffer from this. Good value for money now, but DC2 or EK9 are the better cars.
 
Thanks very much for your input chaps! Really helpful! Trust me, if I could afford another 9 or a dc2 I would get one. I just feel for the cash I would have more fun in a wee Clio rather than an equivalent vti for example.

Thanks again guys
 
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