Faults:

Numerous minor irritations, but the biggies have been gearbox failure at 40,000 miles (£900 to replace with a reconditioned unit), noisy VVT dephaser (£300) and a couple of PAS oil leaks (£300).

Frankly, unimpressed.

General Comments:

Having thoroughly enjoyed my previous long termer (205 GTi), I am hoping to find the 172 Cup as rewarding.

Things haven't gotten off to a good start though. Having been unlucky in my selection, I have suffered a number of significant mechanical problems (not least of which has been gearbox failure).

I bought into this model knowing that the gearboxes have a poor reputation, and had quickly concluded that the unhelpful shift action spoilt what is, otherwise, an extremely impressive package. I'm just hoping that the gearbox doesn't provide any further disappointments!

If it weren't for the gear shift and the reliability problems, I would be over-joyed with the car: I've not been on track with it yet, but its road performance is very impressive and it's surprisingly economical too (35 mpg average - mixed driving).

I don't think it's going to be as loveable as the 205, but all being well, hopefully it'll get close.

I would recommend one, but would advise potential buyers to choose carefully.

Faults:

Warning lights coming on, air bag.

Engine management system lights on.

Loss of power.

General Comments:

The wiring loom rubs on the metal casing and shorts the system out.

I found this out after buying the car and read this page.

Solution. I took the top off the metal box where the wiring loom ends at the top, back of the engine. And packed it with Blu-tak; the sticky stuff you put posters up with.. This stopped all the movement in the metal casing and put a buffer between the casing and the wiring loom. I did this 4 months ago and it hasn't gone wrong yet, fingers crossed.

Faults:

Orange dash light comes on at random times. The car then goes into limp home mode. This clears by switching the ignition on and off. Has been in two different Renault agents for repair; the first put in a pedal box, which didn't cure the fault, and the second put a new ECU in, and this didn't cure the fault either. Total costs £850 and it is still the same.

Is there anybody out there who can repair Clio electrical faults? I think not, as two main agents have been tried, tested and found lacking.

Faults:

I have had this car since May 2007. Due to only passing my driving test in September, it was hardly used, although my mother and father used it to take it for grocery shopping every so often.

I noticed in September that the electrical fault light and pre-heater indicator on the car's computer kept coming on. When this happened I seemed to lose all the power of the car, with it decreasing in speed sometimes from 70MPH to 40MPH. It was as you can expect, very worrying.

I was wondering if anyone has had the same problems as myself, and could possibly tell me any steps they made to fix this problem?

I would ideally like to fix the problem myself, as being a student I cannot afford to spend mega money to have a car fixed, that I have owned for barely six months.

Before this problem happened the car was absolutely perfect, and I loved driving it. I still like the Clio, but this problem is now starting to become extremely annoying, and if this problem is not fixed immediately, I will be buying another car, and it will definitely not be a Renault!

General Comments:

Nice car. Perfect for a couple or a young person to use, however the electrical problems seem extremely frequent.