R9UKE's French Car Blog...

[KP]

That's a nice little clio

I bet the mpg is so good ie to the low down torque and lightness of the car.

It's the 4speed auto is it not for that age and engine?

Get the gearbox fluid changed if you want to keep it for the long haul and filter if it's easy to get done(probably not Diego subframe!) but it will make it live longer....
Power steering and coolant should be changed unless there is record of it as its every 3-5yrs iirc for the coolant and changing the pas fluid will make it feel even sharper

[Citroenmad]

Yes, it does look like a nice little Clio that, not often you see one with all those buttons below the heater knobs. AC! It looks nice, I vet its an excellent daily car for running around, an auto, small , AC and I think they even ride fairly well. Shame about those old style Scenic trims though!

Whats the Auto Scenic you have lurking in the garage, that's a for sale car is it?

So, when are you going to see that Vel Satis?

Some useful tips there if you are going to keep it long term, a cambelt wouldnt go a miss either.

[R9UKE]

Yes it is the 4 speed, and you couldn't be more right about the ATF change! I've had the auto transmission warning light come on twice, once going up a steep hill when the engine was very cold, and once during an enthusiastic kick down manoeuvre I don't want it going down the same route as my 20 year old one!

Apart from that, it's a nice little gearbox. Seems to gauge it's changes well and only ever gets tiring when you have somebody going around 34 MPH in front of you, as it can't decide whether it fancies 3rd or 4th. The overdrive button cures that though.

Yep it's a lovely spec. AC is lovely and cold, seems it's been a well maintained system, which is quite rare. I'm constantly looking for nice Renault wheel trims but it's harder than it sounds. Those Scénic ones are much better than the Halfords ones that were on it!

True about the cambelt, it is possible it's never been done as some people go purely by the mileage.

Yes, the auto Scénic is a seller. It's come in very useful with dump runs and picking up a new washing machine. Only 59k and fresh belts by the look of them. Drives lovely, and you really feel the extra 20 hp over the Clio.

I'll be viewing the Vel Satis more or less as soon as the cheque arrives, which should be early this week. I hope it's still around by then. There will be a lengthy process in registering it in the United Kingdom. It'll have to be assigned an NI plate, taken for MOT, taxed, and only then can my cherished plate be put on it. I'm sure it'd be worth it though!

[Citroenmad]

A 12 year old cambelt, that might prove interesting at high revs

The box has an override button, does that just keep it in the gear its currently in?

Oh I remember you mentioning about the cheapy wheel trims. Does ebay not have any? I got a couple of pairs of Clio trims from there, quite reasonably priced. They were new ones and looked like originals on the face but they were copies. Have done the job and have survived many curbs so far.

Here are a few, though not Alize ones:

Clio facelift Extreme:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RENAULT-CLIO- ... 256df325cb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think these are the ones for yours?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-Wheel-cover ... 3a6a8b406b" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
From Italy though!

[KP]

Maybe easier I get the alloys fitted to some alizes that were optioned with them Luke??

[R9UKE]

Chris the overdrive holds it in third gear and stops it going into fourth. It's the little button under the shifter button and brings up D3 on the dash.
Yes, those ones from Italy are the ones I'm after. They're technically for the RXE but look great, the Alizé is supposed to have the same ones as the Grande. Alloy wheels weren't even an option!

Oooh look at this. Not many pre-facelift Safranes left. Leather and auto as well!

[KP]

ahh didnt realise that Luke

I'll keep an eye out for you as i pass scrappies sometimes just incase

[Citroenmad]

That Safrane has something about it, those early interiors are definitely the best

Good luck with the car search, im sure something will turn up very soon ...

[R9UKE]

Thank you both, much appreciated

Well didn't I have a beautiful day today... normal Belfast rush hour on the way to uni, until I spot this.



My window was down, wasn't really paying much attention to it, drew along side it and suddenly thought "man, that's quiet for a dCi".... looked at the engine badge - 3.5 V6

What an amazing start to the day. A woman driving it as well! Looked in her 50s. Really hope I end up marrying a woman with such impeccable taste. I had given up trying to find a 3.5 Espace here. Then I get home, go on Gumtree and find ANOTHER massive engine-d Frenchy I'd given up on coming across here!

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-moto ... x/98278658" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Citroenmad]

Two very rare V6 French cars there. Id forgotten that they did a 3.0 407.

[addo]

Quite common here in the 407 range.

Funny to think of the XFX donk as a "big" engine - to me, a large motor is (say) a 460 bored and stroked.

[Citroenmad]

Quite common here in the 407 range.

Funny to think of the XFX donk as a "big" engine - to me, a large motor is (say) a 460 bored and stroked.

I bet the average size engine here is a 1.6

[addo]

Aside from Stupid, I think the only manufacturers seriously pushing a smaller than 1.6 powered car, as possibly Nissan (Micra) and Suzuki (Swift). 2.0/auto is a common setup for small/medium cars (eg, Hyundai i30).

A C5 with 1.6 or 1.8 would be laughed off the showroom floor.

[Citroenmad]

I don't think the C5 ever did sell in many numbers with a 1.8 petrol engine, though there are many 1.6HDis but they perform more like the original 2.0HDi 8v.

I wouldn't want a 1.6 petrol family sized car, having experienced a good few they are not at all good on fuel, they are not very quick and if you do want the slightest bit of performance they need thrashing to bits and generally the gearing is low giving an unrefined motorway cruise. Id much rather have a 2.0 petrol, get similar MPG, much more performance and hopefully more low down pull with better gearing.

Despite this I think most cars around here are 1.6s, Disastras, Zafiras, Focus's, 307's etc. Dreary.

[R9UKE]

I'm not sure I'd have the same obsession with these cars if they were more common. Part of the appeal is that they're so rare and hard to spot - when it happens it's very exciting

A 1.6 family car is very miserable indeed. I've had a 1.6 16v Laguna II, and a 1.8 at the same time. The difference was unbelievable. The 1.6 was frustratingly slow, needed worked hard, and so returned less MPG than the 1.8. In saying that, the 1.6 VVT in the Mégane II isn't too bad at all, still not a patch on the 2.0 VVT though!