After driving the new Fabia vRS it made me think about changing to a fast petrol hot hatch. My cousin who used to own a 172 Clio said I'd have to consider a Clio Sport if I wanted a good hot hatch. Never looked at Renault's. Always seen them as being carp. So I went to my local Renault dealer and was told they didn't have any to test as the majority of their customers didn't want them. Great I thought. Way to sell hot hatches Renault!

I then tried another dealer not too far away but away from big towns. I walked into the showroom and what a difference between dealerships. The three RenaultSport models were on display. The Twingo 133, Clio 200 and the Megane 250. I started looking round the Clio and liked the looks. Build quality wasn't up to VAG standard but seemed 100% better than Renault's of old.

I got talking with the salesman who said there were 2 versions of the car. The standard Full Fat car that has aircon and other things or a cup version which has a better chassis and is totally stripped out of the essentials. Most customers go for the full fat model but add the Cup chassis. It was priced at £18k which I think is a little much as I've seen them go for £15k new. My main concern was that it would need a turbo to give it a bit more kick. The salesman assured me it didn't need one. I asked could I test drive one and it wasn't a problem. He put ten quids worth of fuel in and gave me the keys. He said come back whenever your ready. It also had Recaro bucket seats, keyless entry and start and the optional cup suspension. I was really surprised that he didn't come with me on the test drive but I'm glad he didn't as I could really push the car as see what it could do.

I blasted it up and down a bypass a dozen times or so. It's a very eager car and almost eggs you on to drive it harder and faster. Revs very willingly and beeps to tell you to change gear when it gets to the limiter but will bounce off it. It accelerated very well even though there's no turbo. Got up to naughty speeds quickly. Overtaking was easy. Drop a cog and flooring it worked for me. I then took it down a B road I knew well and knew how fast I was happy doing in my vRS. Handling wise it beats everything I've driven. Easily beats the vRS and I covered ground far more quickly. It had buckets of grip. The Brembo brakes also stop very well too. I almost didn't want to go back.

Would I buy one? Yes but I think as a second car. The vRS is too good on juice for commuting and has roof racks for my kayak. Somehow a Clio RS with a roof rack would look odd. I'd also try and get a good used example as they do lose a lot in depreciation. My only worry is that these cars are meant to be screwed so there's a good chance there will be a good few out there not looked after. Still not sure about reliablity with Renault but there's common faults on all cars these days.

The Cup is an awesome car, an all time classic imo. If youre looking at a 2nd car then you should try the Twingo 133 Cup, that is supposed to be a riot.

The Cup is an awesome car, an all time classic imo. If youre looking at a 2nd car then you should try the Twingo 133 Cup, that is supposed to be a riot.

Nice review but I think the lack of torque would put me off. i must get a drive in one sometime.

I'll admit it doesn't have much low down torque compared to my vRS and other Turbo cars but this car seemed to love being thrashed so dropping a few more cogs than normal is needed but feels "right" in that car.

I was all against Renault and have slagged them off for years. At first I thought it needed a turbo but for blasting down B roads I didn't really miss it. Top end speed "should" be good too. The 1st thing I said to the salesman was that it didn't need a turbo. It was a real eye opener to me that it could cover ground so quickly. There are other cars that are faster on the straights but when it's twisty I don't think there's much that can touch it. Used ones are already down to £12k on 09 plates.

I've had two 197's and as a drivers car there is nothing to match it at the price for a new or nearly new car. The only issue is the Renault build quality which is still lacking but that's the price you pay for the overall cost.

I had a few niggles, drivers seat wearing out after less than 10'000 miles, lights steaming up, drivers door drops, cold start problems, brake calliper paint corroding very early, wheel bolts rusting up, paint chips easily and xenon headlight levelling stopped working. These were all common problems and it took a number of letters and eventually a lengthy post on the official forum before anything was resolved and even then they would only sort out the xenon lights.

A fantastic car let down by a host of niggles and poor dealer service. Would I have another one? No, step into a 6 year old Octavia vRS and it feels a world apart in terms of build quality, although its not as exciting to drive it is a far better long term partner.

I like what renault do with there sporty models, they seem to of made a proper effort with them as drivers tools.

and the all the aero gubbins on the new clio is actually functional, not just for show like all the other hot hatches

J

i had a renaultsport clio 197 and a megane 230 f1, the clio handled bloody ace but lack of torque spoilt it

the turbocharged magane was much better for power but it was like living with a track day car,

best renault i ever had was a cliosport 182 bloody brilliant little cars , ran out of puff a little the otherside of 100mph but a great car