Aussie comparison: Ford Fiesta ST v Renault Clio RS200

Nice post, I hadn't read that one yet. It looks like Renault misread the segment and chose a dual-clutch in the wrong class of car. I recall the guys at Top Gear quibbling about it. Strangely, it works about as well as any DCT, just the wrong transmission for this car.

McRib 1s Back said:

Nice post, I hadn't read that one yet. It looks like Renault misread the segment and chose a dual-clutch in the wrong class of car. I recall the guys at Top Gear quibbling about it. Strangely, it works about as well as any DCT, just the wrong transmission for this car.

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The Fifth Gear guys actually did a show comparing Ford Fiesta ST, Renault Clio 200, and Peugeot 208 GT back in October. Jason Plato loves the Fiesta.


Wish we got live BTCC coverage around these parts.

meFiSTo said:

The Fifth Gear guys actually did a show comparing Ford Fiesta ST, Renault Clio 200, and Peugeot 208 GT back in October. Jason Plato loves the Fiesta.

Wish we got live BTCC coverage around these parts.

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Yep! Caught that one.

BTCC is excellent -- I only have old DVDs (and VHS tapes!) now. I got into in Audi's mid-90s domination; it was fun until they were "ballasted out"!

Also, I love the modern DCT -- I bought a first year Audi A3 just because it was the only car here with it at the time! After the R32 and S5, I was pretty much over it. I may go back, but it will probably only be in a GTR.

McRib 1s Back said:

Yep! Caught that one.

BTCC is excellent -- I only have old DVDs (and VHS tapes!) now. I got into in Audi's mid-90s domination; it was fun until they were "ballasted out"!

Also, I love the modern DCT -- I bought a first year Audi A3 just because it was the only car here with it at the time! After the R32 and S5, I was pretty much over it. I may go back, but it will probably only be in a GTR.

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I loved watching BTCC because of all the door banging, grid reversing, corner cheating, bump passing. Low speed thrills.

Oh and the Aussie V8s were great fun too. Oh sigh.

Renault still has it with their chassis tuning on the Clio EDC. But that gearbox how it response especially during upshifts would have been enough in other applications, but certainly not in this segment where driver involvement and instant response to inputs plus the all important fun factor are where it counts. They sortta dominated the 00's hothatch market where the 206gti left off, but the torch has certainly been passed on.

I loved 90's BTCC hence I need to stare at my E36 M3 and B5 RS4 everyday. But they have been left behind since August in favor of this little fighter.

DSG's are brilliant! They are efficient, instant and suits multiple applications depend upon your mood and needs. I've had one so far with the little A3 1.4T 7 speed and...I've sold it within 3 months. This DQ200 is alright in most situations but if you threw it into heavy start-stop traffic, it would overheat. For some reason the global recall did not include mine so the only way was to let go and move on.

... and it took somebody from the other side of the globe to point out this review to me - thanks! Have to say, it's fairly consistent with what most (Aussie) reviews say, in that the Fiesta looks a little cheap and dated inside, but is just such a brilliant car that it upstages its more powerful, more expensive rivals.

On the the flappy-paddle matter, I say it has no place in a hot hatch. So many reviewers have marked down the Clio for that. It also appears to be a bit gimmicky where the Fiesta is more about the overall experience. Would I buy a Clio RS? Maybe one from about a decade ago, sure...