Renault Clio Sport 2002 For $23,500

Europa said:
I'm told there is one currently on display at Main North Renault - but it's a prior ADR certified car, so no test driving (but you can sit in it etc.)

Good that consumers have a choice - go for the conservative Peugeots or the Renault innovation ;)
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Aside from the Renault card (which really is a gimmick for most people anyway) and the unique styling, what makes the Megane II so much more innovative than the 307?

Had a look at my first Megane II in the flesh, an NZ spec 5 door car - it's hidded beck eckross the Tesmen nixt month :) I believe all the metro dealers have Megane IIs on display. Aussie cars for driving should arrive next month.

It's pleasing to see some quality, it does have an edge over the 307 in this area (which was the best amongst French cars). The trim is the best ever to come out of France in a small car - not perfect (eg. rear light switchgear is a bit flimsy), but good. All you have to do is go into the Megane cabrio then go into the Megane II - a world of difference. Over the years they certainly have made progress, and this is one of the things I keep on coming back to - newer cars get better.

Cabin room is average though, nothing really to write home about. It's not that it's bad, but it's not anywhere in the same league as the class' front runners. You sit in the back and there is this feeling of claustrophobia - it just lacks that airy open feeling that you get in a 307, Civic hatch or Focus. You do notice there is heavy sculpturing of the headlining to improve headroom. In the front, it doesn't feel as roomy as the 307 either, you are more cognisant of the fact you are driving a small car (well small-medium family hatch).

Having said that, the car does have some nice practical touches. I like the doorbins which are located underneath the padding in the armrest (similar to Xsaras). There are two infloor compartments in the front passenger and driver footwells, you can fit a purse, mobile, PDA something small in there. With a mat on top, I think it would be a bit of a pain to use.

I do hope the car sells well, it'll make things more interesting in the market. Plus more Renaults out on the road is a good thing for the brand - at the end of the day, it's a business, and these guys have been waiting ages for a volume car. Just look at how the 307 has brought Peugeot truly out of obscurity now - Peugeot are selling some serious numbers now.

I now know there are two good Renault dealers in Melbourne now :) Nice to come across people in sales who believe in their product and actually like it - it does show. Always good dealing with people that enjoy cars.

I asked why Renault prices seem better in MEL compared to SYD, the salesman said we apparently have more competition here. I don't really know the SYD market, but we certainly do have some good prices here.

Brenno, there's a demo RCS with a few hundred kms on the clock, they were ready to knock off a reasonable four digit number :)
 
Despite the feeling you say regarding space.. the claim is that it has the most interior room in its class.. Dont have the exact numbers to hand of the Pug to compare. Its in a mag here somewhere.
 
Craig said:
Despite the feeling you say regarding space.. the claim is that it has the most interior room in its class.. Dont have the exact numbers to hand of the Pug to compare. Its in a mag here somewhere.
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Obviously Renault's marketers have never been in a Honda Civic hatch. NOTHING, in this class comes close. Pure and simple.
 
but really
if you go out and buy a soft top or a coupe you have to expect little or no room in the rear as compared to a hatch or sedan
unless you are prepared to buy a merc which by any standards makes a big convertable or coupe but not so many people have the spare $$$'s
the megane,307,206 convertables are i think mainly aimed at the young coffee set type people
and why not
if i were younger and single i'd love nothing more than a 206CC to run around in or any other soft top even
i always wanted a jensen healey and i still like them or even a sunbeam tiger
 
pugrambo said:
but really
if you go out and buy a soft top or a coupe you have to expect little or no room in the rear as compared to a hatch or sedan
unless you are prepared to buy a merc which by any standards makes a big convertable or coupe but not so many people have the spare $$$'s
the megane,307,206 convertables are i think mainly aimed at the young coffee set type people
and why not
if i were younger and single i'd love nothing more than a 206CC to run around in or any other soft top even
i always wanted a jensen healey and i still like them or even a sunbeam tiger
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Just wondering, how did we start talking about convertibles?

I was comparing the 307 5 door hatch to the Megane 5 door hatch!

The days of modern hatches being too small in the rear are over - they have become taller and they have taken advantage of that.
 
i miss read the post

i thought the talk was on lack of room in convertables oops

as for hatches they have always been regarded to as having little or not as much room as a sedan

as for the new high back roof lines, yes they may have more room but i think the 306 has plenty of room in it and looks better than any of the newer cars on the market now

hatches are also marketed towards the young set or small families or the shopping car for the wife

as for a 206 yes they are very tight in the rear passenger department and a very small boot area, no where near the size of the 306 but they are two different models

honda don't make a bad car at all they are quite a good car but and i know this isn't a big intro into the jap market, but after owning one jap car i would never own another one
they just seem to lack any inspiration to drive them
 
Hi,

I had a civic as a learners car and it couldn't pull away from a diesel transit!!! Everything on the car was rooted and it was only a couple of months old. I gave on it. Never look at another handa again!

Nick
 
I had a Civic once. I loved it!

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Actually I lie. Some mates and I bought it and killed it in the space of a day in a Paddock Derby.

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Back to the original topic - I notice someone STILL hasn't bought this car, it was advertised again today.

Justin - thanks for the update on the price. I notice theres an Astra SRiT down there for $32.9K. Drool x 10.
 
Hey all

Just have to chime in that the service from Gold Coast Nissan/Renault was excellent! I bought my Clio Sport between Xmas 2002 and New Year's Eve 2002 and even with all the holidays going on they were great. So, it show you that there is good service out there.

Ciao

rd
 
Craig said:
Despite the feeling you say regarding space.. the claim is that it has the most interior room in its class.. Dont have the exact numbers to hand of the Pug to compare. Its in a mag here somewhere.
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I've found some figures from What Car? November 2002.

Front Headroom

307 1002mm
Golf 975mm
Focus 950mm
Megane 901mm

Rear Headroom

307 961mm
Golf 942mm
Focus 918mm
Megane 889mm (see what I mean, coming from the 307 it's no surprise why I find it claustrophobic inside).

Front Legroom

Golf 1080mm
Megane 1041mm
307 1040mm
Focus 1030mm

Rear Legroom

Focus 660mm
Golf 656mm
307 650mm (bear in mind in the 307 you sit up much higher, so you don't need as much legroom - about 50mm higher (most cars have the cushion about 320-330mm above the floor)
Megane 635mm

Now you can always adjust the compromise between front & rear seating for legroom.

The Megane II is better than earlier generation small family cars, such as the 306 and original Megane, but it's really not a class leader at all for cabin roominess - on these figures it's practically the dunce of all the newcomers with regards to that. It's somewhere between the Golf IV and the new class leaders.
 
Those figures don't show that the Megane is generally very disappointed as far as rear accomodation goes.

I know it is all quite variable but I had the luxury of my parents being with me, and we adjusted the seats to how we would all drive, and then sat in the back.

The amount of footroom especially, is shocking.

Lacklustre engines, questionable resale and poor sales service mean that I couldn't bring myself to buy one, which is a shame because I really did like them.

I reckon it's the modern version of a Renault 19.
 
macquered said:
I reckon it's the modern version of a Renault 19.
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No wonder Daniel loves em :D

I actually thought the R19 was quite roomy for its time. From what I can gather though, it seems as if it was France's answer to the Corolla at the time. Still, I thought it was great that a $26k family hatch had a trip computer back in 1991.

Rear cabin room is the Megane II's main weak point - agreed on the lack of foot room. Good trick in the 307 if you want to help out rear passengers is to raise the front seats, then you have plenty of room underneath the seats, it's what I do on long road trips. Also by raising the front seats, you don't need to sit as far back from the pedals, so you can move your seat forward - given the car is so tall anyway, the loss in headroom as a result of raising the seat is insignificant.

But I found the heavily recessed roof lining helped make the car feel more cramped, you can see the roof lining drop in front of your eyes, it feels all quite enclosed. As the figures show, the Megane's rear headroom is quite poor - just remember the Focus & Golf IV are 5 years old now.

In the front, you know you are in a small car - it's just not airy. You can sit in the front of the 307 coming from a larger car such as a Camry or Magna and it doesn't feel small. In fact it feels roomier than a lot of mid sized cars such as the previous Vectra. The Megane II and 307 are quite different when it comes to some elements of their design philosophies. In other respects, they're boringly similar and conventional - eg. suspension.

As I said in an earlier post though, the car has probably the best built cabin of any small car to come out of France. That is a good thing.
 
OK, well the conservative / innovative comment I made (hope you noticed the little winky smiley after it) was in reference to many things:

  • An historical reference to the old marketing campaign "Renault: The innovators"
  • Also referring back to the days of R16 / P504 etc.
  • Megane II styling which gives the perception of something different - compared to 307 - not neccessarily innovative of course
So no harm intended to the 307, it will probably continue to sell in higher numbers than Renault - it's more traditional styling will probably work in it's favour in that sense.
 
Thats the first time I've seen 307 referred to as conservative :D

I don't mind if Renault go all innovative on any of their line-up. I love innovation, hell that's how most of remember French cars of old, right?

It's when innovative styling gets in the way of innovative design, thats when it just becomes disappointing.
 
The French dont agree with you Pug nuts...

In September 2003, 58120 Megane and Scenic IIs were registered in France, an increase of 73.8% (ie they have been waiting for them to roll out of the factories)

In September 2003, only 40650 307s were registered in comparison, a increase of 5.8%.

FWIW, 206: 53700, Golf 45600, Clio 41500, Focus 40850, Punto 34400, Corsa 34200, Polo 30900, Astra 30100.

And.. the Megane II comes up better over the 307 on both mechanical and electronic, and interior and exterior equipment in a quality and reliability survey done by l'Auto-Journal magazine.

Those mentioning the Golf and 307, in a previous magazine, the new VW was voted a better car over the 307, so a few mm here and there isnt all that matters.
 
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I had no idea there were so many foot amputees in France! Maybe Daniel can research the stats on that.
 
macquered said:
I had no idea there were so many foot amputees in France! Maybe Daniel can research the stats on that.
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Well, when you consider the French gave us the seating position in the 206, is that really a surprise :D

I find I either need longer arms, or shorter legs :rolleyes:
 
Oh.. and with the 307CC 2.0 vs the Megane II CC 2.0, yes they give the vote to the 307CC, but actually the Megane II CC is more comfortable and is quieter.. and yes, I'm sure they all still have feet.
 
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