27 Aug 02
The seats are non-branded items, adequate rather than outstanding, while other standard Clio traits show through. The indicator repeater has its familiar lame-donkey clip and clop, and there is plenty of dark grey plastic, though the latter's blandness is lifted quite effectively by inserts of body-coloured trim. If our experience of 172s is anything to go by, it'll have the odd squeak after a few thousand miles.
Not that you'll hear them. A lot of sound deadening material (actually, I suspect all of it) was left on the factory floor during the Cup's slim-fast plan. Talk about being equally blessed and cursed. Let's put it this way. The Cup is supposed to have a shift-light to let you know when to change gear. The car I tried apparently didn't, but it doesn't matter as the Cup is so loud and urgent that you will never, ever, hit the rev-limiter by accident.
It's very loud and, frankly, the engine is a little on the rough side. There's very little to be gained from taking it to the red-line, as the 2.0-litre lump does most of its best work through the upper stretches of the mid-range, where it at least sounds more gutsy than painful.
The noise might be a bit of a bind on a long journey (it's only really bad under heavy acceleration or at very high revs), but when you're hot-hatching in the proper manner you won't give a flying fig. Comfort and interior quality are not why you'd buy a Clio Cup. The best thing about a hot-hatchback is the 'hot' element, after all.
And few are as hot as the Cup. It's the quickest four seater you can buy for less than twenty grand, with 0-62 in 6.8secs and a top-whack of 138mph. That 172bhp means torque steer, even in third gear if you're brutal.
