Faults:

It's ironic really, all the faults listed on previous reviews of the Clio range occurred with mine.

Passenger seat rattles if no-one is sat in it, thanks to it not sitting correctly on its runners.

The rear left speaker is blown.

It hunts for its tick over speed when cold, and is lumpy at tick over.

The most astounding problem is that the leading edge of the O/S/F wing has not been painted fully! The edge nearest the headlight has primer showing. How this got past 'quality control' I have no idea!

General Comments:

All of the above does not matter really, after all, it's a cheap car.

The usual comments like 'the performance makes up for it' apply.

Took it out for a run against a mate's 4 litre Chimera and another mate's Elise, and it had no problems keeping up. Round the bends, the TVR was struggling, and the Elise driver and I called it a draw.

Unless you're up against someone who can drive like Richard Burns, there is not much out there that can give you any competition on A, B or C roads. In a flat out motorway chase, anything with more than 200 bhp (apart from an Audi TT 225 Ha! Ha!) would win, but how many times can you do that?

All in all, pleased with the car, I would not spend the extra cash for a Mini or Civic Type R. What's the point; they are slower and heavier, and there are loads on the road!

Faults:

It's a little too early to tell, having only covered 600 miles. I've had a minor niggle with the fuel gauge responding EXTREMELY slowly after a stall (in fact it read zero until the engine was stopped and re-started). The problem has since gone (I've also learnt to use the clutch!)

General Comments:

I brought it brand new from a car "super-market" for £11,000, a bargain when you look a the specification for this car. It's got every gadget and toy you'd need, including: climate control, CD player, cruise control, traction control, automatic lights and window screen wipers, air bags, leather sports seats... the list goes on.

I've only covered 600 miles so it's too early to comment on the full performance of this thing, but one thing I can say is that it's quick, seriously quick. It accelerates from 30mph - 70mph in no time and still keeps pulling right up through 100mph mark.

The ride is little hard and you feel every bump, even the ripples on the man-hole covers! Unfortunately, this is something you have to learn to live with.

Fuel consumption isn't too bad for a 2.0L engine. A "sensible" driver could expect the 35mpg stated in the brochure for town mileage, a "boy-racer" would see a lot less. Insurance group 16 means a 30+ yr old with full no claims and no points could pay as little as £400 fully comprehensive and protected.

I'd previously read reviews on this car that doubted the build quality, in particular "noise and rattles developed after a few thousand miles" I'm sure that these cars we driven hard from day one, so you can only expect them to show signs of abuse. I'm hoping that occasional "abuse" won't cause too much long term damage.

Overall this is seriously fun car to drive.