So what made me decide on a Clio 182? Well, I had always wanted a 172 but they had stopped being made so decided to opt for the new model. I sorted a test drive (what a headache that was!) and fell in love with the car straight away. I then decided to put a deposit down the same day!
I bought the car new from Renault Kidlington back in May 2005. I remember the day well, I drove my old Citroen Saxo 1.1i over there (as I was part exchanging it against the Clio) and as I drove into the car park I could see my new stripey Clio sat outside the dealership. It looked amazing with the 16in anthracite alloy wheels and twin exit exhausts. I had a quick look around it before I went in and still buzzing with excitement met the sales guy again. All I had to do was pay for it and fill out a few forms and then I was allowed on my way.

It had been a nice day until about 5mins before I left then the heavens opened. I was showed around the car and all the things inside it and then drove it home. On the way home I decided to overtake a couple of cars on the dual carriageway and my instant reaction was ‘Oh my god’! The car felt very fast, especially coming from a 60bhp 1.1 and now I was driving a 182bhp animal!

It’s difficult to sum up how the car drives but if you imagine a Go-Kart with 4 seats and a very revvy engine you can come close to what it feels like. The car flies through the revs in each gear eventually topping out at 140mph (apparently). It will rev to 7200rpm when the engine is up to temperature and because of this you can achieve 60mph easily in 2nd gear. The book 0-60 is around 6.5secs which is fully believable and I am sure I have done that many a time! Infact, it’s difficult to drive the car slow! The car comes into its own on the bends, there is so much grip from the Michelin Exalato tyres (they were actually designed for the car)  and I have full faith in the handling.

What about the other bits and pieces like interior etc? Well, its nothing special really. The CD player was quite rubbish but it had a nice display on the top of the dash and the hand controls by the steering wheel seemed pretty cool. I have since added an aftermarket head unit in the car so I can connect my iPod. This has meant I can no longer use the display on the top of the dash and without a very expensive lead the hand controls won’t work (not that it matters as I have a remote control for the head unit).
The car comes with cruise control (very handy on motorway journeys) and with a flick of a switch can be operated fully with the controls on the steering wheel. There is also a speed limiter (just like th F1 cars have) meaning you can set a speed which you can’t exceed. I have used this many times especially when driving through those average speed cameras on the motorway.
Because its the Cup model it only has air conditioning, although its not that great it does keep you cool in the summer and is pretty effective at de-misting the screen in the winter. The car also has ABS, this is a godsend and has saved me a couple of times when idiot drivers have pulled out infront of me.
One thing worth baring in mind is there is no spare wheel, instead you get a small can of tyre foam which isn’t all that great (I have since got another larger can). Because of the no spare wheel issue (there isn’t actually anywhere to put one because of the twin exhausts) I went and bought an extra wheel which I keep in the garage. The car doesn’t have an engine cover either (the Cup lost anything which would give it extra weight).

What about servicing etc? My first service was done at Renault and was quite expensive, since I have been taking it to a Renault Specialist in Portsmouth called RenTech. They are superb! On the way down last year I had a slight mishap which involved me hitting a curb and wrecking the tyre. It also took a chunk out of the alloy and put my tracking out. They sorted all this out for me and I bought a replacement wheel the next day (Renault delivered it for me).
If you have a RenaultSport Clio I would highly recommend taking it to RenTech, its a trek for me but certainly worth it. There are people on ClioSport who drive a lot further than I do to go see them.

So what now? The warranty is up soon and although it shakes and rattles a lot (typical French car) there is nothing wrong with the car (touches wood). I was thinking of getting a new car in May but I might just stick with the 182 as for the money I don’t think I can find anything as good.

And here is a picture of my Clio on display at the French Car Show 2006:

Exterior

Check for the normal scratches and dents etc. Also check the sills of the car for bending whilst not a huge issue it doesn’t look good and shows poor signs of the car being jacked/possible accident damage.

One thing to check is the presence of a sticker on the drivers door which tells you the oval plate details of the car. If this is missing then it can show that the cars been resprayed and the sticker not replaced etc. The VIN is also available from the passenger side of the car down the bottom of the windscreen, viewable form the outside and also under the bonnet.

If the car isn’t a 182 Cup or 172 Cup check the front xenon washer jet balls are there and work as they are a common failure point and whilst there are a few fixes none are perfect. You have the choice of either:
New washer jet i.e. bumper off and replace – may well fail again
- Just swapping the washer jet ball as its less effort than taking the bumper off- may fail again though.
- Superglue the ball back in place and ake sure you get it in the right position otherwise you’ll need to buy a new one. This can be a good method if you get it right.
- Unplug the jets as it’s easy to do. All you need to do is unplug the lines from behind the jets so there are no leaks. Just remember to bung/block up the pipes. Legally they are supposed to be connected all the time.

Check for accident damage as it’s a hot hatch. More so in the case of the 172 Cup as they do get crashed and sometimes have bodged repairs.
They shouldn’t rust at all really as the protection is very good. The only possible place is the chassis frame under the car if you jack on them it can peal the under seal off over time. Also remember to check in the boot under the carpet for any deformation.

Check if you are looking at a 172 Cup or a 182 Cup or a 182 with the cup packs. Check at the front of the car under the bumper for a small black plastic splitter. They are not cheap (£130ish) and break a lot. They should be fitted but often they are damaged or not fitted new and owners don’t care or don’t know that they are missing.

Check under the front of the car for the under bonnet cover. It’s a big plastic cover under the engine although only thin plastic it helps keeps the underside of the engine clean and catches any oil drips.

If the Clio had the original factory option of Sat Nav bare in mind that the disks for updating them are not cheap.

Check the rear lights work fully. If they don’t it could be down to a poor earth connection.

Mechanics

If you are looking at a normal 182 (non cup) make sure it has the engine cover.

Have a good look at the exhaust, they have a habit of rusting and then eventually falling off! After market exhausts are a lot better but can be quite expensive.

There are 3 types on 182, the normal 182, 182 Cup or 182 Trophy. The normal 182 is sometimes known as the ‘Full Fat’ as it has the half leather seats, xenon headlights, climate control etc.

Then there’s the 182 Cup this has both suspension and spoiler/splitter packs as standard but doesn’t have the leather seats xenon’s or climate (it has air con instead).

You can get the normal 182 with the Cup Packs (known as Full Fat). You can tell by the ride height:

60mm means you have the cup suspension pack
54mm means you don’t have the cup suspension pack

Check the oil level. Pretty obvious really but remember to use a decent, quality oil.

Interior

Rattles and squeaks are very common. The most common rattle is from above the clocks on the dash and can be a pain to get rid of.

The seats should be in good condition and are usually quite hard wearing.

Steering wheels tend to have a habit of melting or just wearing out. This can be sorted under warranty but if the car is not under warranty anymore can be expensive to change.

Check the seat belts work properly and go back into place. After only 20k miles my drivers seatbelt doesn’t wind back in very well – common problem again.
Check the air conditioning, if its weak and doesn’t get very cold it could simply need re-gassing.

Check under the passenger seat for presence of a CD changer. If the CD changer cable is there then there was one fitted and someone has removed it. Remember some cars didn’t have them as standard though (182 Cup for example).
172 phase 1 had them as standard
172 phase 2 (early models only) had them as standard
182 had then as an option only.

The airbag warning light can sometimes come on. The most common issue is the wiring under the seats going wrong, the fix is detailed here: http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=108607

Driving

The handling should be very good as its one of the things that got it a good reputation so anything untoward should raise suspicion.
Check the car stops and steers straight as the brakes are superb on the car. Tracking can be an issue but it might just need adjusting. The 182 alloy wheels don’t allow much cooing to the brakes so this is something to bare in mind. If you get brake fade after such a short period of time then it might just mean the brakes need to bled.

When driving the car at high revs lift off the throttle and check for engine shake. If its really bad then the engine will knock itself out of gear. Its caused by the engine mounts wearing/moving. It’s usually the dog bone one which is quite cheap and quick to replace. It is worth sticking with the standard engine mounts.

The gearboxes have a bit of a reputation as they tend to feel quite weak compared to one found in a Volkswagen etc. This is quite normal.

The clutch is very heavy and has a high bite point. The clutch release bearing can wear a lot so stick the car into neutral and with your foot down you’ll hear it whine. This can be normal but bare in mind that clutches have been known to go.

PAS (Power Assisted Steering) can be a bit noisy on the Clios. However the 182 is quieter due to the pipes being changed. Pipes can leak so check the fluid level.

When you start the car from cold you’ll notice that the idle isn’t great. This is due to the engine mapping but is quite normal. Obviously if its hugely erratic or on the verge of stalling every time walk away!

Things to check when driving

The temp gauge goes up to the middle and doesn’t move. If it does go up and down then it shows a faulty temp sensor. This can be a common issue and is quite cheap to sort out.
When cold the car has a lower red line about 6k leave it to warm up and it goes up to 7.2k.

Service History

Check the AUX belt has been changed every 36k miles. It is not cheap as its 2.7 hours labour if you have a car with air con or 5 minutes if your lucky and have a normal 172 Cup. The servicing used to allow the belt to stay as with the cam belt to 72k hence why many dealers think its Ok to leave them that long however there were so many failures that the service rules were changed down to 36k at a maximum. When they do fail they make a right mess of the engine. 99.9% of the time it will take out the cam belt so your looking at least £1k at best  since it will have wrecked the valves etc. Price

The best thing to do is check against other prices on Auto Trader, Parkers, Piston Heads etc. This will give you some idea of a value.

Extra things to check

Check that the two keys are present and both work (at £120 or so minimum for a replacement its worth checking)
Check the locking wheel nut keys (there should be two) are present and correct and ideally check they work.
In the case of 182′s and 172 Cups check that the bottles of tyre foam inflator are present (only cheap but worth a few quid discount)
Remember imported 172′s don’t have (as standard) locking wheel nuts (one per wheel), window etching, alarm fitted as standard.

This guide was originally written by edde on ClioSport although I have modified some sections. Remember this is a guide only and when buying a RenaultSport Clio I advise you get someone like the RAC or a fully qualified mechanic to check it out first.