I had a meeting last night with the new Clio RenaultSport 200. It was a real pleasure and I feel like sharing.
First things first, the driving position is perfect. Although I would have loved to test the recaros, which I found amazing in the Clio 197, the standard seats were absolutely superb. You get a deep driving position and very very good lateral support. The steering wheel is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the car. The gear shift ... top of the class with short and extremely precise travel. So, it seems we have all we need for a perfect drive, so let's take off.
I don't like hammering down a car the first time I get on board. I like taking the time so that we get to know each other before proceeding to a more intense relationship. So, I had the opportunity to get to see this in action as a normal every day drive car. It's such a lovable car at low speeds. It's not harsh, and it feels very comfortable. The seats are very comfy and it really is an easy car to drive. But enough is enough, and here we ... GO. Downshift, hammer down, and wheeeeee, the car MOVES, and it's a real pleasure to hit the GREEN shift indicator telling you GREAT JOB, keep it up! It's definitely not a breath taking acceleration, but if you get a good launch off the line, the car will keep you planted in your seat and give you a mild kick in the back on each gear change all the way up to 4th, where we kinda ran out of road. And then another one of the major highlights of the car came into play. The brakes ... which have absolutely amazing stopping power. They work so effortless. 90Ks/h and it just ... stops.
But, mind you, it's not all flowers and sunshine. The car I drove didn't come with the cup chassis and I really feel like it needs that. It felt a tiny little too woobly and understeery. I was expecting it to be like the lightweight planted lightning boxer, but you can feel the weight of the car, and it's not featherweight, for sure. The engine is great, but you really got to work together if you wanna make the relationship flourish . Below 5k RMP, it's flat, and even afterward you have to really push to make something happen. As I said, though, a good launch will keep you in your seat, so it's all just a matter of putting that revo where it should be and keeping it there.
As some may have noticed, I didn't blabber too much about how the car looks. The car looks great in person, but I still prefer the old 197 look although the differences are not that noticeable.
Probably a long term relationship where we would know each other much better would prove to be much more rewarding. I loved our brief affair and hope that maybe we will meet again ... but this time I hope it brings it's cup chassis along for the ride.
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