Super TestCar reviews - Renault - Clio - RS200 Cup 3-dr hatch rangeRenault modelsOverviewRacy Renaultsport 200 Cup Clio turns up the heat under the hot-hatch wars26 Mar 2010 RENAULT has presented a compelling reason not to buy a VW Golf GTI with its new Clio Renaultsport 200 Cup series, thanks to a honed chassis, improved low-end performance, quicker steering and more features for the money. Indeed, the price has fallen as well, raising the French hot hatch’s value proposition significantly. We have only driven it on the racetrack, but all the signs are there that Renault may just have the most exciting sub-$40,000 new-car buy on the market. Model release date: 1 March 2010 to 1 August 2013 All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen Previous modelSUPERFICIALLY, the third-generation Clio Renaultsport’s 197 edition may have seemed disappointingly languid and soft to some due to its larger size and weight. But the RS’s 145kW/215Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder variable-valve timing twin-cam engine is a revver, imbuing a Honda VTEC-style rush of performance in the upper ranges of the powerplant’s performance envelope. Aided by a six-speed manual gearbox and taut suspension, the Clio RS 197 turned out to be one of those sleeper models that require time to fully appreciate its eager chassis. Safety and equipment levels were generous too. A small number of honed Cup models with even more honed suspension were imported during 2009. These were known as the F1 Team R27. |
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