Please Don't Be Biased In Your Opinion

[Jono225]

I have had rapid Clio's since passing my test, but since getting married and having 2 children i had to try and purchase cars which fitted the "Family Man" criteria. :evil:
But since Renault released the Megane 225 i saw this as my chance to get back in the groove. I currently own a Ph2 5dr Megane 225 with cup pack which i adore. But i have always had a soft spot for my 1st love (my 172) and any Renaultsport Clio in any variant.The question is
Is the Clio Trophy a car i can really live with day to day or is it to track focussed.
Any comments welcome,Especially from those with families.
Cheers
Sorry for the long thread.

 

[TrophyDan]

Is the Clio Trophy a car i can really live with day to day or is it to track focussed.

Thats exactly what I love about the trophy. It can be either.
Drive it normaly and you can see 35mpg - perfectly reasonable ride quality.
Drive it hard and you see down to 20mpg? and it goes :twisted:
Its quite capable of going either way.

Dont, however expect to put any kids in the back - there is NO leg room.
Plenty of room to put the kids in the boot tho (you may prefer this option).

 

[Johnnytheboy]

I bought it mainly to travel around Dorset on country lanes...with a dog in the back, so yes, it's liveable with!

 

[__CA__]

Is the Clio Trophy a car i can really live with day to day or is it to track focussed.

Thats exactly what I love about the trophy. It can be either.
Drive it normaly and you can see 35mpg - perfectly reasonable ride quality.
Drive it hard and you see down to 20mpg? and it goes :twisted:
Its quite capable of going either way.

Dont, however expect to put any kids in the back - there is NO leg room.
Plenty of room to put the kids in the boot tho (you may prefer this option).

Hmm - not sure I agree with the comment on ride quality. My passengers always complain about it, and when in traffic at lower speeds it annoys me too. But of course it's worth putting up with - see my avatar.

 

[hoolio]

What ARE passengers :?:

But seriously ride is a little on the hard side but Recaro's are nice and comfy, the rear has enough space for two kids and the seat itself is perfectly kid friendly ie crap and quite uncomfortable, the front seats take up a lot of room so getting children out of childseats in the back will be a chore. But hey apart from that what a fantastic car.

 

[oliie]

I would never put anyone in the back. It should be illegal as there are no headrests!!! I would never, ever put anyone I cared about in the back of my car. A sudden stop as a result of hitting something would see their necks go through quite a bit of whiplash....

 

[Guest]

Bit of a thread hijack, but it's relevant, so here goes:

My only worry with the Clio's refinement would be its motorway cruising revs - what kind of rpm do they end up doing in 5th at 70-80mph?

 

[silkman]

Kids in the back?
No problem. My two (11 and 9) love it for the excitement and the difference.
They would like to see a bit more of the road in front though than two holes.
SILKMAN

 

[George K]

Having used mine for commuting for th first time in 6 months: Engine noise up to about 90 is surprisingly tolerable (and I am quite fussy) revs circa 4,300.

Wind noise typical of its kind, road noise very surface related. Ride is hard enough to tell you how bad the state of British roads is - but is not particularly crashy. Seat is supportive but hard in lower back region, but fine for two hours - back to the Volvo for more.

There is room in the back, for our gorwn up daughter, but agree re lack of headrests.

 

[oliie]

Kids in the back?
No problem. My two (11 and 9) love it for the excitement and the difference.
They would like to see a bit more of the road in front though than two holes.
SILKMAN

If they're heads are higher than the back of the seat I would seriously consider swapping the seats out for the FF 182 items or putting your kids into the back of a car with headrests, especially at that age where they are more vulnerable to whiplash.

Just my two cents.

O.

 

[ryanaldo13]

Hi, i've got no family but I'de say the Trophy aint a family car, not enough space inside, bit too hard on ride for the general trip to shops but I can live with it...

And when you get to the shops you cant put much in the back and the boot lid only goes half way and your head is guarenteed to hit it 33% of the time > so the kids can laugh at you!

More of a B road bomber, if you did buy it you wont be late for work very often! And when you sit down at your desk you'll be itching to go and drive it at lunchtime.

If you enjoyed the 172 then you should buy a Trophy no matter what, the smile on your face will be much bigger.

 

[nig63]

I drive mine every day the wife's been in the back (no not for that ) when the mother in law has come out never been on the track and never will .

 

[Steve]

I'd love to tell you it's fine and go buy one but it's not really a family car, the back seats are just for very small kids really, with the driver's seat right back I can take three passengers by one going in the middle but it's hardly ideal. The lack of headrests is OK for little ones.

Ride wise, it's fine on good roads, a bit crashy on poorly surfaced, pot-holed lanes (as many of our roads are) Fine, if a bit jiggly on the motorway, revs at about 3000 at 70, 4000 at 85. Cabin noise OK, not brilliant, but then it's not designed to be at all refined, engine actually sounds quite nasty with the windows up, like a 2 litre hairdryer, windows down and 5000rpm plus...it's great (No car I know wants to be driven hard as much as the Trophy).

Have you looked at the R26? That's got loads of room, as has the 197, but I wouldn't recommend that to anyone who's after the RS Clio experience, it's a different sort of car now.

 

[Matt X2C]

i don't hve kids so its not a worry for me. But the ride isn't too bad and it seats 4 grown ups fine and nig enough boot too.

its a great all rounder, very practucal, but good point regarding the headrests!

 

[quik5i1ver]

Ride is much better in the front than the back. My back seat passengers complain of a very hard ride - guess this could be due to lack of weight in the back causing it to be bounced about to a greater degree... I know my dad said the last time he was in the back he tried to write a text and gave up because he couldn't his phone in focus!!! :shock:

 

[Steve]

Really gutless and horrible turn in with three passengers too - best to leave the ballast behind on a spirited run!

Not as bad as having five blokes in a 205 GTI though, it was like driving a 1.0 with the suspension missing.

 

[7MAT]

I've only had the kids in the back of the Trophy once, wasn't happy as with a booster seat they were sitting far too high up for my liking.

Not a problem anymore as I've not got any rear seats.

 

[strike]

Don't kick me too hard, but you'd be better off with a FF182. The Trophy is very much focused for the track. It is a lovely car, and is more or less unrivalled on a b-road thrash, but for day to day, my old FF182 was better.

 

[Jono225]

Jesus you boys are hardened Trophy owners :shock:
Thanks for your honesty on all aspects of the car :wink:
Really do need the rear leg room etc,Kids are 4&2 and i also play footie at weekends and all the lads love getting lifts to the away games :lol:
Going to see if i can get a good test drive off a local stealer to see if i could live with a Trophy.
Take on board all your opinions and agree the 197 hasn't really made it as a true "RS" model yet,but i'am sure Renault will sort it.
Once again thanks and i will keep you all posted & will continue to keep my eye on the forum.
So long as you boys don't mind a Meg 225 imposter

 

[Steve]

So long as you boys don't mind a Meg 225 imposter

We certainly do not, all car enthusiasts are welcome here, especially Renaultsport ones (as long as they don't bang on about the Williams being better than the Trophy for 600 posts). We have many regulars here that have moved on to bigger and lesser things, sorry better! Despite some of the contrary opinions, the Trophy is not and was never meant to be a track car, it was designed to excel on British roads and it's why it was critically acclaimed by all the Journos, if it was optimised for the track it wouldn't have done so well. That said, it does happen to be one of the best 'off the shelf' FWD track cars available for under £15K. more than capable of whooping more expensive machinery and with adjustable dampers too.