I bought the car completely standard, although I wouldn�t have minded if it had of been slightly modified, as long as it didn�t look naff. As soon as I drove the Clio I realized it had a lot of potential and a fair bit of power. The fuel economy isn't that good compared to the weight of the car, guess it's because i'm comapring a 1.8 to a 1.2!
The car has a very sporty feel, which is shown in the 14� Alloys, spoiler, side skirts, steering wheel, interior, sports seats and quick engine.
The car does have a few extras, which you might not expect including an electric sunroof, electric windows, remote central locking, a volume control on the steering wheel and disc brakes all round.
The car also has a factory fitted immobiliser, however the insurance company wouldn�t accept it (Gits), so I�ve had a Cat 2 one fitted. The volume control on the steering wheel does not work now either because I have fitted a Pioneer head unit.
Driving the Clio is very fun. The car is fast at accelerating, although top end can be a little poor which should be expected on an 8 Valve. The car handles quite well too. I haven�t managed to loose grip yet, even when racing old Beemers around dual carriageways! (Great fun!).
I would say this car is a great town car. I live in the country and don�t get me wrong the car isn�t exactly slow mid range, it�ll overtake most average cars, but it just seems to come alive in town. The car is very quick off the lights and it gives you a good buzz pulling away from a run down nova.
I would say however that the car is ideally suited to males, as the clutch is quite stiff, which seems to be a common feature with these cars.
This car (well mine anyway) does seem to have a major fault, It drinks soo much petrol! There are certain times when you can actually see the fuel guage slowly going down. I raced a BMW to just over 120, and when I looked at the fuel guage after it, it had gone down a quarter of a tank! I really do hope it is just mine and something is wrong! Any feed back on this area from RSi owners would be appreciated! However with prices dropping making way for the newer, girlier Clio�s (Obviously except the 172 and the V6! (Bows!)), this car is an ideal sports car for the younger driver, the only stingers being fuel economy, tax and insurance group 11, which should be expected anyways.
A few things to watch out for when buying an RSi is to check the electrical equipment works, watch out for rusted back arches, worn front wheel bearings, front suspension dampers gone, rusted back boxes and worn disc brakes/pads. Other than that the car is a great car with fantastic looks, good performance and an extremely great ride!
