Clio 1.2 - 8v or 16v?

Bob63

My daughter is 17 this weekend and will be starting to learn to drive soon. We plan to buy her a car within a couple of months so that she can supplement her driving lessons by doing some accompanied driving with me and have something nice to drive once she passes her test. The family car is group 17 insurance so adding her to that insurance policy is going to be impossible.

My research has led me in the direction of the Renault Clio - probably a 3-5 year old model and almost certainly with a 1.2 engine which will give us the important group 3 insurance. There are a lot of very nice models around at the moment so plenty of scope for negotiation on price etc.

My question relates to the 8-valve and 16-valve versions of the engine. Which one to go for? Does anyone here have experience of both? I would be very interested in your opinions.

hewhoisnotintheknow

There will be a little bit of performance difference, but as shes a young girl i would go for the cheaper option of the 8v. The 16v will cost more to insure too.

I know its an unpleasent thing to say but new drivers are likely to crash in the forst two years so i would look at safety features first. Renualts have excellent safety records

goldspanners

if it were my daughter i probably wouldnt buy a renault.but thats my opinion.
but if this was the only car left in the world then i would get her the 8v engine,it wont accelerate as quickly or be as fast,which is always a good thing for a new driver especially seen as she can only get 6 points in the first 2 years,im not suggesting she will be speeding but this helps reduce the chance of that.
when i passed my test i had a very slow van,i think this helped me out.

Alfrescodave

My sons girlfriend has just passed her test and has her heart set on a Clio - what I hadn't realised was how well they keep their price. Even the ones on Autotrader seem to be a lot of money for a vehicle with quite high mileage.

Good 8v clios are particularly in short supply; suggest you start looking sooner rather than later.

Bob63

goldspanners wrote: »

if it were my daughter i probably wouldnt buy a renault.but thats my opinion.

Any particular reason? My wife had a Laguna for 7 years and it was 100% reliable, all it needed was routine servicing. The Clio also has a very good NCAP 4-star safety rating (latest version is 5-start but don't want to buy new). The icing on the cake was a conversation with the RAC breakdown chap who came out to a problem with my wifes Subaru a few months back. His opinion on small cars was that the Clio was the best of the bunch and gave far fewer problems than Polos or Fiestas.

Alias_Omega

Clio 1.2 16v all the way..

The 8v clio is just damn too slow. Drive it, you will see.

Go with the Clio 1.2, 16v Expression or Dynamique.

You will get, fog lights, electric windows, central locking, alloys (dynamique only), colour coded bumper (dynamique). Electric mirrors, rear headrests, wheel trims (expression) and more..

The 8v, you dont get rear headrests, really bad interior, no central locking or electric windows, no electric mirrors, and no colour coding of the car.

For not alot more insurance, you get alot more of a car.

Just a real bad poor persons car..

Alias_Omega

Though, one thing to watch out is that on the 1.2 models, the TDC (top dead centre) sensor can failure causing a missfire, intermittent starting. The AA can diagnose it, but can be replaced easily by a competent DIY person.

Other failures can be the coil pack. But apart from that, the engine bay is empty..

This is why i moved onto the 2.0 Clio 182..

Idiophreak

My GF has a 1.2 - I think it's the 16v, it's an "Extreme" ltd edition, anyway.

Have to say, it's a lovely little car - easy to drive, surprisingly nippy, plenty of room (I'm 6'2", so didn't think I'd fit in the thing..).

The only thing I'd suggest is looking into the bonnet issue - there's something about (iirc) a defect where the bonnet can just fly open at motorway speeds. As I say, something to read up on.

hewhoisnotintheknow

Alias_Omega wrote: »

Clio 1.2 16v all the way..

The 8v clio is just damn too slow. Drive it, you will see.

Go with the Clio 1.2, 16v Expression or Dynamique.

You will get, fog lights, electric windows, central locking, alloys (dynamique only), colour coded bumper (dynamique). Electric mirrors, rear headrests, wheel trims (expression) and more..

The 8v, you dont get rear headrests, really bad interior, no central locking or electric windows, no electric mirrors, and no colour coding of the car.

For not alot more insurance, you get alot more of a car.

Just a real bad poor persons car..

DOnt forget its for his daughter who is learning, i would keep it nice and simple!

hewhoisnotintheknow

Alias_Omega wrote: »

Though, one thing to watch out is that on the 1.2 models, the TDC (top dead centre) sensor can failure causing a missfire, intermittent starting. The AA can diagnose it, but can be replaced easily by a competent DIY person.

Other failures can be the coil pack. But apart from that, the engine bay is empty..

This is why i moved onto the 2.0 Clio 182..

Dont forget these sensors are made by bosch, magneti mirelle (sp) siemens etc, so they are the same that will be found on lots of random cars, so its not a renault only problem

ihatecharges

The bonnet issue has been raised on Watchdog numerous times as Renault refuse to recognise there is an issue!