Renault

10 February 2012

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Renault Clio Renaultsport 200 Cup road test report

Renaultsport 200 Cup

Renault has always tried to have a little bit of fun with its Clio, first adding a hot hatch model to its line-up in 1992 when it added the Clio Williams. Following in the tradition of the three Williams iterations, the monstrous V6 from 2001 and previous Renaultsport Clios such as the 172 and 197, comes this latest version, the 200 Cup. It has all the ingredients of the perfect hot hatch – front-wheel drive, 200bhp and a sub-seven-second 0-62mph time – and a proven heritage, so it should have every boy racer drooling at its appearance. And rightly so, as it’s on-road performance lives up to its promise.

A front-facing image of the Renault Clio Renaultsport 200 Cup

Image number 2 of the Renault Clio Renaultsport 200 Cup

Image number 3 of the Renault Clio Renaultsport 200 Cup

Performance

The Renaultsport Clio 200 Cup comes with just one engine variant, a sweet 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, 16-valve unit that produces 200bhp at 7,100rpm and 158lb-ft of torque at 5,400rpm. A 3bhp increase over the previous Clio 197 may sound like a minor, even pointless, upgrade but a 20% increase in torque (plus a shortening of the ratios in the three lowest gears) makes it all worthwhile. Because this is a little cracker of an engine that wails away when pushed hard. True, it doesn’t make the heart swell like a V8, but it certainly raises a smile when given its head on an open road or a track – and, let’s face it, this is a spot-on car for anyone who likes to give a car free rein on a track day. Thankfully, the Brembo brakes are up to the task of stopping this little hooligan, working progressively but effectively.

Ride & Handling

The version of the car that we drove was fitted with the firmer Cup suspension, which is 15% stiffer than the previous Clio 197 (the ‘standard’ 200’s suspension is 15% softer, but it can be ‘Cupped’ as a £400 option). However, although pretty firm, it’s still not hugely uncomfortable in low-speed, hump-filled, urban situations. The 200’s handling is also as good as you hope it will be, thanks to a superb chassis that will forgive you if you take a corner too enthusiastically and have to lift off the accelerator halfway through. The steering is initially fairly light, weighting up progressively the more lock you apply, and there’s not a huge amount of feedback, but this very rarely affects your enjoyment. And there will be plenty of that, as there’s bags of grip, with a rear diffuser, boot spoiler and splitter in the front helping to create the downforce that keeps the car feeling as if it’s glued to the road.

Build Quality & Reliability

Renault – along with its fellow French manufacturers – doesn’t do well in reliability surveys and has a pretty poor reputation for build quality. In the most recent JD Power customer satisfaction survey of manufacturers, it came in 25th out of 29. However, a major initiative to improve the quality of its cars has been undertaken by the carmaker in the last few years, so improvements should start to kick in as the most recent new models start to infiltrate the market. Thankfully, this hot hatch is exempt from the usual rules on Renault reliability, as it’s built at Renaultsport’s facility in Dieppe, alongside all the company’s racing cars. This means that it’s produced to exacting standards – and it shows, as the 200 feels well built and expertly engineered, with the kind of attention to detail you’re grateful for when putting it through its paces.

Safety & Security

It might not be the most reliable of brands, but Renault does have a reputation for safety. This car hasn’t been crash-tested by Euro NCAP due to its limited production, but the Clio on which it’s based has achieved a five-star result for adult occupants, four stars for child occupants and one star for pedestrian impact. The Renaultsport version is stripped back, but it still has six airbags (auto-adaptive driver and passenger, lateral airbags and anti-submarining front seat airbags - although these last ones aren’t fitted to the optional Recaro seats), ABS and ESP stability control (which can be switched off). If you decide to go for the less hardcore non-Cup version, you get luxuries such as Isofix fixings for the rear seats and curtain airbags. In terms of security, there’s a Thatcham category 2 alarm system and Renault’s Anti-Intruder Device that automatically locks the doors over 5mph.

Space & Practicality

OK, the one flaw in the Renaultsport 200 Cup’s make-up is in the area of practicality – not surprising, as this is a relatively hardcore driving machine aimed at keen drivers, the kind of people for whom attendance at track days is pretty much compulsory at least a couple of times a year. So there are no fripperies such as electric mirrors, curtain airbags, air conditioning or cruise control, although there is a CD/radio for when you’re tired of listening to the engine revving to the redline. Space is decent, with the optional Recaro seats in the front definitely worth considering, as they hold you in place brilliantly at speed. The rear seat in the 200 Cup is a one-piece folding bench seat, which means that if you require more space than the 288 litres that the boot can cope with, the car can only carry front-seat occupants. That said, you do then have 1,038 litres of room at your disposal.

Ownership & Value

The Clio Renaultsport 200 Cup provides a lot of hot hatch fun for a very reasonable price: £16,459 (rising to £17,481 for the less hardcore, but better-equipped non-Cup version) compares well to the £27,575 of the Ford Focus RS. True, the Focus is faster and more powerful, but in the right hands on a track, there’s not a great deal in it – certainly not ten grand’s worth. The good news pretty much ends there, though: running costs, as you’d expect for a hatch this hot, aren’t going to be cheap. The official fuel consumption of 34.4mpg is low enough, but when you start driving this Clio as a hot hatch is meant to be, that figure will fall quite considerably. Carbon dioxide emissions of 195g/km are also very high, putting it in Band J for road tax, which will mean it costs £215 a year. Insurance also won’t be cheap, as it sits in Group 15.

Submitted: 15/01/2010 10:15:30

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