Clio Renaultsport 182 Video Review

So here it is, the video that could set me on a course to stardom. Well, probably not, but still. Here's my incredibly cringe, slightly funny video review. My first video review in fact, so please excuse the occasional fumbling and poor editing skills.

Things can only get better. I'm on the phone to McLaren about doing a P1 next. You never know..

CarThrottle

So my little 182, as annoying as she is with her leaks and squeaks, is becoming some what of a celebrity.

First she appeared in Evo Magazine of summer 2013, and now she's a world hit online too.

CarThrottle, the exciting online website that provides the internet with car related humour and online trends, featured my car as part of its 'Readers' Rides' section.

Check it out here: Sam's Leg-Cocking Renaultsport Clio 182

Hopefully the leak is fixed now (still waiting for rain to test it), so I think I'm back to loving my car again..

Test Driven: The 2013 Renaultsport 200 Turbo

The latest RS Clio brings comfort to hot motoring with a dual-clutch automatic gearbox and two extra doors. But does this mean the new Renaultsport 200 Turbo lacks its predecessor’s ‘Va Va Voom’?

Climbing into the surprisingly well-finished cabin of the 200 Turbo, as you become surrounded by RS logos, red stitching and orange details, that sports-car style start button urges you to press it. You’re in the latest generation of hot Clio you see, a car that is part of a family widely regarded as reaching hot hatch perfection with its outgoing 200 Cup model. But this is the latest member and it approaches the market at a completely different angle, so the only way to find out if it can live up to its family’s name is to take it for a spin.

Sliding into the leather seats, you notice that Renaultsport finally have a car that offers a low and purposeful driving position. Thanks to a reach and rake adjustment, it’s easy to place the steering wheel exactly where you want it. But without a conventional gearstick to the left, you’re faced with two silver paddles behind the wheel, connecting fingertips to Renaultsport’s latest EDC semi-automatic transmission. It’s time to see if this semi-auto can really live up to the job.

Orange details and RS badges hint at sporting pedigree

Unfortunately, it can’t. Not at low speed anyway, as gear-changes are delayed and the gearbox unresponsive. Renault's suggestions are to toggle the gearbox back into full auto mode at this point, and this feels like your only choice because at low speed the manual shifts feel cumbersome. But when left to its own devices and allowed to make the decisions, the auto box does a perfectly good job at being an auto box. It feels slightly joltier than old autos, but perfectly fine to comfortably pull you to your destination. Added to the soft touch dash, piano black centre console and roomy interior, there’s little doubt that the 200 Turbo would be a pleasant and practical place to be on the daily commute.

But this being the Renaultsport model, it is more than likely that owners would want to occasionally leave the traffic jams and find an exciting road to sprint along. So when you do manage to venture onto a country road, you can happily click the gear lever into manual and press the RS button located just behind it, switching the car into ‘Sport’ mode. The dash’s Renaultsport changes into yellow, and then, then nothing. Until you touch the accelerator.

RS button engages 'Sport' mode

There’s no doubting it, this thing is fast. With a 0-62 time of just 6.7 seconds, this is the fastest production Clio to leave Dieppe since the 255bhp V6. And boy do you feel it, all 177lb-ft of torque seeming almost instantly available thanks to the 1.6-litre engine’s turbocharger, pushing you back into your seat with its 197bhp, forcing you to speed through the gears faster than you would expect. It’s here that the dual-clutch gearbox feels quick and purposeful, giving you the ability to maintain full focus on the road ahead and maximise steering inputs with both hands planted on the wheel. As you click through the six gears the engine’s momentum is maintained, meaning acceleration feels endless and harsh. Would you miss a gearstick at this point? Probably not.

It’s not until you approach something that requires you to stamp on the left pedal, the EDC gearbox’s ability to frantically rush down the gears still leaves you feeling like your left foot is a little wasted. The exhaust does let out a racing car like snort as it passes each cog, but it’s definitely not as satisfying as knowing your inputs have directly created this dirty orchestra. Nevertheless, when you open up the steering and press hard on the throttle it does become clear that without having to worry about shoving a stick back and forth, you can really commit to driving fast, utilising the cars e-diff to effectively drag you out of the corners.

Longer wheelbase enables greater stability

The Clio’s forced induction woosh is addictive too, whilst this model’s Cup suspension keeps everything planted and its electric steering, although lacking in natural feel, provides just about enough weight to enable precise inputs. Overall grip is phenomenal, with this car’s optional 18-inch alloys being wrapped in performance spec Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres, which bite well on the sun-heated tarmac in all the situations you can ‘legally’ throw at them. Sprint along British B-roads like this and the Clio will barely break sweat, and its lengthy 2,589mm wheelbase helps the chassis absorb the broken surfaces of Britain’s roads without too much upset either.

Of course with this being Britain the B-road will come to an end and you will arrive back in a queue of traffic. But before the car gets a chance to stumble on changes, you can easily flick the gearbox back into full auto and click the RS button back to select ‘Normal’ mode. Suddenly the car feels less urgent, quiet and fairly smooth again. To be honest it’s like an entirely different car. Renault claim that in this mode the car can achieve an impressive combined 44.8mpg, emitting as low as 144g of CO2/km. This means the 1.6-litre unit is far cheaper to tax than the old, dirtier, naturally aspirated Renaultsport’s, as well as requiring fewer trips to the petrol station; as long as you stay out of the boost zone that is.

Cheaper tax, lower emissions, but a less involving drive

The 200 Turbo is therefore a completely different animal to older generations. At speed it’s a real weapon; something that would be a force to be reckoned with on track. But on the road it is almost too effective, requiring its driver to push beyond what would be sane before offering any of that light movement and pointy front end its predecessors were famous for. In town it becomes comfortable, offering a less hot and more conventional hatchback experience that its siblings were never able to do. It therefore manages to shift away from being purely an enthusiast’s pocket-rocket, to a much wider market position of attracting those seeking affordable thrills without compromising practicality.

That’s not to say that people won’t like the cheaper tax, better fuel efficiency and increased cabin space, there’s no doubt that more people are interested in these things than out and out raw driving characteristics. The 2013 Renaultsport Clio would certainly be a mature choice for a buyer looking for practical thrills under £20,000, but unfortunately it probably can’t quite meet the expectations of more enthusiastic drivers. Even with its aggressive styling and race-style gearbox, the car lacks the overall involvement many drivers would have expected after driving the marque’s older cars. So despite the fact it is the quickest of the bunch, this car could be the first to see Renaultsport lose the hardcore hot hatch crown.

Specs

Engine turbocharged 1618cc, 4cyl, FWD

Gearbox EDC 6-speed, dual-clutch, semi-automatic

Power 197bhp

Torque 177lb-ft

CO2 144g/km

Top speed 143mph

0-62 mph 6.7secs

Combined mpg 44.8

Manufacturer’s OTR price £19,995 (for LUX model as tested here)

Onboard at Rockingham Raceway

Yesterday I attended the Guild of Motoring Writers Big Day Out at Rockingham Raceway. It was a fantastic day out where I was able to meet several very inspirational journalists and car geeks, plus I was able to thrash my little 182 around what is one of the UK's fastest racing circuits.

A great thing about this day though, was that I was also able to sample some other cars, including the 2013 Fiesta ST and even the Reasonably Priced Kia from Top Gear. All videos and write ups for those are soon to follow. 

But for now here's a couple of laps onboard my Clio. Such a shame the Go Pro ran out of battery when I remembered how to drive after these laps...

Renaultsport Clio 182

Tracked...Not waxed! 

18 months on and I still bloody love the thing. I've owned my RenaultSport Clio 182 since the very end of May 2011, and in that time I've barely covered 10,000 miles. But I can honestly say that I've enjoyed every single minute of it, not least because the thing is so fun to drive!

I find myself looking forward to journeys that I know will include open stretches of road or twisty back lanes. The car seems so eager to be driven that even on days I plan on giving it a good wash and wax, I get the feeling it's looking at me in the same way a dog looks up at it's owner when they mention the park - it wants to go for walkies...or in this case it wants to be driven. I'm a sucker for a puppy face, so most times I give in. I have to admit, as a result many of the miles I have covered in this car have included a good thrashing. 

The dirty girl

But at no point does the car make you feel guilty for pushing it. Instead it makes you feel guilty for not pushing it. The engine is so lumpy on tick over, it almost seems as though it's beckoning you to rev it. The steering is heavily weighted, giving the impression Renault didn't intend for this car to be a parallel parking champion. And the Cup pack suspension is crashy at low speed, as it manages to find even the smallest bumps in the road. The car may look like a city run about, but it feels so unnatural cruising through urban streets.

All that changes however, when you are faced with the white circles of unrestricted sign posts, and a tree lined road heading over a crest. The car comes alive when you open up the throttle and reach the 5000 rpm mark. At this point the Variable Valve engine awakens and manages to head sharply towards it's peak power of 170 bhp. The steering suddenly feels reassuringly weighted as the front wheels tug through the column, and the suspension begins to feel planted and predictable over  dips and crests. In the stroke of 2000 revs this car transforms from a crashy city car, to a light and nimble hot hatch.

No better place does the 182 show off it's agile characteristics than a fast flowing, smooth tarmaced race track. I took the car to Snetterton in Norfolk earlier in the month with the expectation that it would suit the fast flowing corners. How wrong I was. Not only did it suit them, it felt like it was built for them.

Despite the damp conditions, the direct steering and quick response made the car incredibly enjoyable to throw into high speed turns and balance on the throttle. The light weight of the rear meant a lot of 'oppo' was applied, with lift off oversteer becoming something of a game. The car felt completely at home balling down Revett Straight at over a ton, and managed to keep off it's door handles through Riches thanks to it's planted Cup suspension.

In some ways it's a shame the car handles so well; it means that the lovely Racing Blue paintwork is rarely shiny and the white wheels are often confused as being a dark anthracite. But when a car is this fun to drive, surely it's more of a shame to not use it properly?