Not sure what to make of this article:

"Honda Integra S vs Renaultsport Clio vs Mini Cooper S (2005)
April 2005"

Integra, Mini and Clio are great for winding detours and weaving through traffic roadblocks, but which hot-hatch should fast forward into a driving enthusiast's hands?

http://carpoint.ninemsn.com.au/porta...opDefault.aspx

 

Interesting article. I like the Aussie writing style, and the Clio sounds interesting. I might want to test drive one, just for comparison if I could. However, it doesn't seem like its marketed in the U.S.

 

Yes, it is an interesting opinion.

I'd consider the v6 version. (I can't find a pic...I've seen one with fender flares, aero kit etc sweet)
But the others don't have enough character for my car taste.

-Pete

 

The Renault Clio Sport has been coveted as "The Hot-Hatch" to have (performance/price wise) here in Australia for quite a while now, consistently winning magazine challenges, although from all the tests i've seen the MINI and the 2.0L Clio are almost identical in performance times. I think it's winning edge is mainly due to the fact that the Clio is roughly A$8000 cheaper than the MCS in Oz ).

But our beloved MINI wipes the floor with it in the looks & style department!! The Clio is about as attractive as a monkeys butt!!

It's a shame you US guys & gals don't get to try out the Renault for comparison, but then again, I know how much you all love your French-built autos...

 

252bhp mid-engined V6 is a totally different beast Pete – but I agree, it does look pretty awesome. Here is a pic:

 

Yes, Reunault pulled out of the market in '88, in spite of the fact that they had a couple of decent cars during the '80s. I think that, unfortunately for Renault, the Dauphine lives on in infamy. But, I hear that they may re-enter the market someday, maybe in partnership with Nissan.

 

Love that car!

 

wow.. reminds me of the old R5 turbos.... nice looking ride.

 

I was talking about this with some of my Canadian friends last year at the Canadian GP...and we all agreed that until every last person that remembers the "le car" had died off, that Renault would never be able to sell another car in North America.

Anyway, to prove us all wrong, I read in Motor Trend a couple of months ago that Renault plan to be back here by 2010 latest, and most likely 2008...especially given that Carlos Ghosn is now running Renault.

 

Look here for more pics and a review of this £27,000 rear-wheel-drive beast.

I wouldn't be surprised if they made a comeback in the US market, their build quality/reliability seems to have really improved lately. You only have to look as far as F1 to see their strength. And with the French boys (Peugot/Citroen) getting in on the act with BMW and the next gen R56 MINI, lets hope the improvement is here to stay!! :smile:

 

If I had the chance, I would have picked the Clio Cup 182 (mix those around, the names in there somewhere ) over the MINI. I know it's blasphemy, but after seeing a lot of the pics of it in tripod mode, I really want to try that!

If it's more fun, I'll buy it. Renault is more than welcome to come back and try to hack it one more time with American buyers.

However, there'll still be a lot of resentment of the French (even here in CA), and Alfa Romeo is coming over too (probably in the same time frame) so it'll be a toughie. Best of luck to them! More options is always good!

 

I wonder why they didn't test the Focus RS as sold in Europe around 210 bhp and 5 seats...presumably not available to Aussies...

 

The RS hasn't been made for a couple years now - it was very limited production. I think the better question is why they chose the integra S instead of the Civic type R?

If you like the Focus RS keep your eye out on the new Focus ST - it's got 217 hp and no LSD, which means it'll be much easier to drive (read less torque steer). The concept also had Recaro seats like the ones in the Audi S3. Pretty sweet

Even better news is that this means there may be an AWD 300 hp Focus RS on the way! WOOOO!!!!

Too bad we don't even get Focus v2 here in the states

 

Believe it or not, many of the current Nissan/Infiniti products sold in Northamerica already have a heavy Renault influence in terms of design and engineering. Before the Renault takeover, Nissans used to be pretty run-of-the-mill products. All the edgy designs nowdays have French influence behind them.

However, Renault has not expressed interest in returning to the US/Canada market. Historically French cars have been an absolute flop in North America, thus automakers from that country have maintained a safe distance from one of the biggest car markets in the world. But if you want to see fresh new Renaults, Peugeots and Citroens without having to travel to Europe, just take a quick flight to Mexico, central or South America where French cars have been largerly successfull accross the decades.

 

Please stop holding your breath on the hot Focus, that is if you were holding your breath to start with. You can thank the lone survivor of the Pony cars to snuff out any chance of North America every getting Ford's best products. The Focus the Europens get is awsome and some of them make Mustangs look bad performance wise so Ford will not bring them here because they want to sell more Mustangs.

The other real shame is that GM couldn't find a way to make a Solstice platform Camaro finally they have a good chasie to work with and they blew it.

 

Anyone else notice the guy in the picture looks totally uninspired by the car?

 

Ford sucks. I hate Fords! To me Ford is junk and most of what they sell are problematic, disposable cars with the worst resale values in the industry. The current Focus is an aging platform and quickly becoming a mediocre car in the market. Ford has a thing to single handely destroy successful models. Just look at the Taurus that was all the rage in the late 1980's, saw high performance versions (The Yamaha powered SHO) and ultimately became the ultimate yawn rental fleet car par excellence!

Ford killed the Focus SVT because no one wanted the thing. It was cheaper than the MCS, had more standard equipment it even shared the MCS getrag 6-speed transmission, but none of that went far enough to hide the fact that this high performance Focus was another cheaply built Ford with poor resale value and dubious reliability.

Sorry if I offend any Focus fans out there, but Ford is one sorry company, at least in its home turf.

 

Too bad they didn't use a Teg-R. That would be the only other FF sports coupe I would consider getting if made available in the US.

After the MCS, not sure if I'd be happy with any other FF car in terms
of performance that are available in the US.

 

Have a look at this website http://www.gminsidenews.com/futureguide1.htm
and this one
http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/...?modelid=20004
The Torana might be the next GEN Camaro.....
Expect a GT or GXP Solstice next year 240HP

 

Funny thing is I desperately wanted a Le Car in the 80's I thought they were so Continental! A Le Car and a Masi bike on top on a roof rack. Must have watched "Breaking Away" too many times!!

 

Compaired to me you sound like you love Fords.


I would not have a Ford if they gave it to me. well if they gave me their hot new Mustang I would take it until the repairs made me give it back.

Earl

 

I cant believe you guys are even putting the Clio in the same class as the Cooper S. .

The only reason it's getting attention on this board is because we dont have them here. If we did, we would look at them the same way we look at base Civics. Cheap and small boy racer cars that people who have no money buy. .

 

RCristiano - here is a pic of the Clio 182 Cup edition, although it looks better in this pic than face-to-face:




ZAKdog - the Focus RS never came to Aus. We only ever received the Focus ST with 127Kw, and it never managed to impress in any of our hot hatch comparos.
RCristiano - we have many of the generic Civic models but never got the Type R version you lot always talk about the ricers driving around in.

camelpilot, I can't believe you would even say that. The fact is that this car directly competes in the same class as the MCS here and that's why they have been tested against each other. Fact is, I chose the MINI anyway and don't regret it one bit but to totally discount something without having any experience in/with it is a bit naive. Fair enough, this is a MINI board and the MINI rocks but it shouldn't mean we can't discuss anything else...

 

The pic here proves my point.

By the way, when I mention "class" I'm not talking performance. I'm talking everything. EVERYTHING. OVERALL.

... Now tell me.... is the Clio in the same class?

btw, I'm very aware of alot of the small European cars.

 

I LOVE those wheels!