Renault Clio RS Cup

A

AjAx30

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2007
Messages
612
Reaction score
0
So... French cars... I must say that they are starting to look more appealing these days..

I thought i would pop around to a Renault dealer to have a look at the new Clio out of interest because I have seen a fair few of them on the roads lately and wanted to see why they were selling so well... When I walked in they had a silver Clio RS Lux sitting there and it looked very good indeed... Interior quality and layout is much better than the Fiesta ST and also a lot more modern.. Then he took me to see the RS Cup and offered the test drive and I couldn't say no, because now i was genuinely interested in its performance...

All I can say is wow.. This car is very impressive indeed... I was sitting at ""120km/h"" in no time at all and the sound is fantastic.. steering response very good and handling also felt very good.. Brakes are very effective and the car overall impressed me.. A lot..

The Cup is going for R315k. For the spec and performance you get I think it is a very reasonable price indeed.. I had a look at the Fiesta ST after I left the Renault and I have to say it looked very bland in comparison, and as I said the interior looked very dated already. I know the ST is rated as the best hot hatch in SA at the moment, but I think the interior would just start irritating me very quickly. Resale value might be an issue later on, but considering its a performance car I think it should hold pretty well?

I would love to hear the opinions of others about this car because I am seriously considering getting one. I have been looking at 320's/A3's etc for the last few months but nothing made me smile as much as I did with this car, and its cheaper and better specced...
 
I avoid French cars on principle, but man would I love a Clio RS Cup. That chassis is quite something.

Can you handle the stiff suspension as a daily though?
 
I've wanted to look at one too, but only the RS 200 version - not the cup, which is the highest end SKU. The Cup has stiffer suspension I think.

I'm only going to be looking for a new car next year, but my problem is that its too expensive for me. I dont really want to pay more than R250k, and sadly I dont see any of them listed used. Lots of Polo GTIs though.

I do worry about the French car thing though.
 
I drive 110 km to work and back, 90% on freeway, so I am not too concerned with the stiff suspension. The Cup basically seems like it has leather seats, optional R-Link on the touch screen with more functions, 18" inch wheels extra compared to the Lux/Sport model, and of course the lowered suspension and firmer chassis.
 
AjAx30 said:
I drive 110 km to work and back, 90% on freeway, so I am not too concerned with the stiff suspension. The Cup basically seems like it has leather seats, optional R-Link on the touch screen with more functions, 18" inch wheels extra compared to the Lux/Sport model, and of course the lowered suspension and firmer chassis.
Click to expand...

I used to have that exact commute. Don't ruin a new car with that sort of mileage, get yourself a second hand, comfortable barge to cruise to work and back in. Use the moola you've saved on a weekend toy (with a Cup suspension!).
 
Also look at the Peugout 208 Gti....comes with a full maintenance plan

All news cars lose value quickly, if you arent buying a vivo or etios, everything else has sucky resale
 
well, I dont work every day.. At the moment its about 15 days per month or so. My other car is a is a Kia Sportage which is the family car so this car is purely for me to have fun with on the drive to work and would be my work "barge" ;p I would rotate them to work to split the mileage a bit as well

I have been looking at the F30 320's and the A3 sedans for the comfortable work cruiser with a bit of performance if needed for a few months now.. That is until i drove the clio.. It has loads of performance and drives nicely in normal mode as well, with a claimed fuel figure of 6.5l/100km which is pretty achievable on the route i do to work (if I behave..)
 
AjAx30 said:
well, I dont work every day.. At the moment its about 15 days per month or so. My other car is a is a Kia Sportage which is the family car so this car is purely for me to have fun with on the drive to work and would be my work "barge" ;p I would rotate them to work to split the mileage a bit as well

I have been looking at the F30 320's and the A3 sedans for the comfortable work cruiser with a bit of performance if needed for a few months now.. That is until i drove the clio.. It has loads of performance and drives nicely in normal mode as well, with a claimed fuel figure of 6.5l/100km which is pretty achievable on the route i do to work (if I behave..)
Click to expand...

Ah, well if you're rotating the cars and only working 15 days a month, I say go for it! Well dont go for it, drive everything else in it's class first and then go for the winner.
 
If I had to buy a small, speedy car in that segment... I'd take the Fezzie ST right now for manual, or for an auto the Polo GTI. The new frenchies are likely good cars, but on principle I'll be very hard pressed to spend money on one, especially if it's more expensive than the German or American equivalent.

Depending on when you want to buy, I'd say wait a bit since the new Polo is coming July, GTI should be here before the end of the year.
 
The fiesta might be a good car to drive, but i could just not live with that interior and the layout of the controls...

I am still going to have a look at the polo gti, but i dont like the rather boring styling of it, but will have a look anyway.

One major negative thing for me at the moment with the Clio is that the service plan is only 3yr/30000km....
 
3 year/30 000km? Damn. On a French car, for me, that would be a death sentence. How much would an extension cost?

Right now, with the opinion that South Africans have of French cars, they need a 6 year/120 000km service plan.
 
that's exactly what I am trying to get out of them. I told them the market is very competitive at the moment and there are a lot of options out there so I want to see what deal they will come back with. Apparently the service plan extension prices are not on their system yet, so they had to send a query to JHB head office...
 
Not even a service plan. Only way I'd take a French car would be with a full term maintenance plan, 3+ year full warranty, and it would still need to be discounted from base sale price

No, I'm not a big French fan.
 
Debeer165 said:
Not even a service plan. Only way I'd take a French car would be with a full term maintenance plan, 3+ year full warranty, and it would still need to be discounted from base sale price

No, I'm not a big French fan.
Click to expand...

Not many people are, which is why it surprises me that they dont make the service/maintenance plan more attractive.
 
Its a bit sucky that French cars are so expensive to maintain and that service plan is useless.
The Renault's are really awesome cars to drive and the interior is so much better than most of the competitors.
 
The Clio RS has a 5 year 150 000km warranty - compared to 3 year 120 000km for a Polo GTi.

I can't find any mention of service plan on the Renault website. Polo GTi has no service plan.
 
gifs said:
The Clio RS has a 5 year 150 000km warranty - compared to 3 year 120 000km for a Polo GTi.

I can't find any mention of service plan on the Renault website. Polo GTi has no service plan.
Click to expand...

People always get hung up on the Warranty aspect of a car, rather than the far more important aspect as to whether it has a Service or Maintenance plan.

For example, a car with a 5 year 150 000 warranty and a 60 or 90 000 km service plan is not as good a catch as a car with a 100 000 warranty and a 60 or 90 000 Maintenance plan.

A Warranty very seldom "costs"the company anything, and is used as a very clever marketing tool as a hook for people who don't know the difference.

Looking at the Polo and Renault you talked about, you can only compare the deal once you have costed in a service or maintenance plan for both cars. Then you can compare apples with apples.
 
i have the brouchure. It states on there 3yr/30000km with 10000km service intervals and that is also what the salesman said.

3Year/ 45000km service plan is offered on the normal clio's with 15000km intervals (also off brochure)
 
AjAx30 said:
i have the brouchure. It states on there 3yr/30000km with 10000km service intervals and that is also what the salesman said.

3Year/ 45000km service plan is offered on the normal clio's with 15000km intervals (also off brochure)
Click to expand...

That sounds like your standard "Service Plan" which will offer you as little as possible. :p

If you are interested in a car and want true peace of mind motoring, then ask for a quote on a full maintenance plan.
 
Yeah, I have done that and am waiting for them to get back to me...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X