Review of the new Renault Clio RenaultSport 197 Cup

By the measure of today's hottest hatches, 197bhp isn't a whole hill of beans. When some superhatches are nudging ever closer to 300bhp, it would seem that the Clio Renaultsport 197 Cup has been cast adrift in the power stakes. Think again. Not only is the Cup one of the quickest of all hatches in a straight line but it's also the one imbued with the biggest fun factor when it comes to the twisty stuff. The best bit? You can buy one with a budget of around £15,000.

Whereas many hot hatches are defined by their engines, Renault have been in this game long enough to know that big power isn't the target they should be aiming at. With bigger and more complex engines come a number of other design compromises. Instead, the French company has concentrated on honing the things that really matter. They've shaved weight, optimised the steering still further and sharpened the handling to the extent that this Clio is capable of notching off the sprint to 60mph in a claimed 6.9 seconds. If anything, this is a conservative claim and the Clio Cup certainly feels a good deal quicker.

This is a slightly more extreme version of the limited-edition Clio 197 F1 Team R27 model which went down well with hot hatch enthusiasts in the UK. The Cup version features the same reduced ride height of 7mm and stiffer springs and dampers (27% at the front and 30% at the rear). Buyers of both standard Clio Renaultsport 197 and R27 models requested taller 5th and 6th gear ratios, so these have been raised in the Cup variant (and in the standard 197 model) from 16.1mph/1000rpm to 17.1 in 5th and from 18.9mph/1000rpm to 20.5 in 6th.

Another customer request the Cup answers is for the availability of white as a paint finish. Renaultsport wheels in anthracite are standard whilst satin black Speedline wheels are available as an option. Inside, air conditioning is moved to the options list for those who want to reduce the car's weight as much as is possible. Lightweight Renaultsport Recaro seats are also available as an option.

"If you thought all modern hot hatches had become bloated and boring, the Clio Renaultsport 197 Cup comes as a very refreshing tonic"

If you're used to hot Clios, the 197 Cup is more - or indeed less - of the same. The steering feels livewire, the gumball tyres transmitting the slightest response from the wheel to the road. Performance from the 197bhp engine is suitably vivid, and a well driven Cup would likely embarrass the exotic old-shape Clio V6 around most race tracks but it's the chassis that holds all the aces. Compliant enough for road use yet perfectly suited to a thrash around any race track you care to mention, the Cup 197 is a great car to earn your track day wings. I recently tried following one around the Nurburgring. I was in a 340bhp Mitsubishi Evo and still couldn't hold onto the tail of the demonically piloted Renault.

There aren't many more enjoyable hot hatches than this one when the road gets twisty. An open B road is hugely enjoyable, though if it gets any tighter than that, the slightly baulky gearchange can get in the way a little. Fuel consumption? Well, as ever with these cars, it depends just how much you're able to restrain yourself. Renault quotes 31.7mpg on the Combined cycle but if you achieve that too often, then you probably shouldn't have bought this car in the first place.

The one aspect that irks some enthusiasts about Clio 197s is the fact that for much of the time they don't feel particularly thrilling. Much of that has to do with a power delivery that really only gets juicy at the top of the rev range. Others will see this as a good thing and it's entirely possible to drive this Clio much like any other shopping hatch and return very decent fuel figures. The other good thing about this sort of engine characteristic is that you aren't egged on to drive it like a banshee all the time which could well save a few quid in speeding fines.

The interior is light years ahead of the previous generation Clio, offering plenty of space and a driving position that feels as if it's been modelled on a normal human being rather than somebody from a medical case study book. The sports seats offer decent lateral support, the perforated leather wheel sits nicely in the hands and the spacing of the pedals seems very good indeed for enthusiastic driving. A very purposeful touch is the way the digits on the rev counter get bigger as they approach the 7,500rpm redline. This is territory customers will be spending a lot of time in.

It's still not perfect though. Like all 197s, the steering could use a bit more feel, high speed cruising is seriously loud and unless you're really quick with the stick, it's easy to drop out of the engine's power band on hilly routes.

Still, if you thought all modern hot hatches had become bloated and boring, the Clio Renaultsport 197 Cup comes as a very refreshing tonic. Here's a car that feels permanently livewired and only the most jaded will find it possible to resist. Right about now, the best hot hatches around blend the best of modern engineering with a slightly old school fun factor. The Clio 197 Cup is the prime exponent.

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