197 as a Motorway Car

[catherinej]

I've read a few reports saying that the 197 is not a great car on the motorway due to it being quite high reving.

Are they really that bad?

We have had in the past an Astra VXR, how would it compare to that for example?

 

[Big Iain]

I would have kept the vxr over a 197

 

[spankf1]

would be alot louder, astra is turbo and would be sitting at lower revs. clio is tuned so you have instant acceleration at motorway speeds. but the cars soul purpose in life is a and b roads, thats where the fun is.

 

[spankf1]

I would have kept the vxr over a 197

why?

 

[catherinej]

I would have kept the vxr over a 197

Please don't say that. I hated the VXR, the seating position was awful and the legendry torque steer was not nice.

The 197 is coming as I have to close my business and as a result 2 3 month old BMW's have sadly depart. I tried to think of something interesting to buy and the 197 was really the only thing that we liked for the money.

 

[DrR]

^^ ass would I

 

[Big Iain]

imo its a better car only reason!!

 

[Josh220]

would be alot louder, astra is turbo and would be sitting at lower revs. clio is tuned so you have instant acceleration at motorway speeds. but the cars soul purpose in life is a and b roads, thats where the fun is.

the vxr will be the better motorway cruiser, has shed load of torque and if both were at 70 in 6th the astra would make the clio look silly. the clio is normally aspirated and has to be worked to get the power out. hardly instant acceleration at motorway speeds

the clio is about the b road blasts and i've not driven either but would have thought the 197 would be a more fun drive

 

[spankf1]

well i thought the original post was"is the 197 that bad at motorway speeds?" not which is better vxr or 197?

 

[DrR]

How far do you drive on the motorway?
A light(ish) weight french buzzing biscuit tin is never going to be a sleek smooth relaxing motorway cruiser, it's not what it's about.

 

[spankf1]

would be alot louder, astra is turbo and would be sitting at lower revs. clio is tuned so you have instant acceleration at motorway speeds. but the cars soul purpose in life is a and b roads, thats where the fun is.

the vxr will be the better motorway cruiser, has shed load of torque and if both were at 70 in 6th the astra would make the clio look silly. the clio is normally aspirated and has to be worked to get the power out. hardly instant acceleration at motorway speeds

the clio is about the b road blasts and i've not driven either but would have thought the 197 would be a more fun drive

so you havent driven the car so how do you know its not instant acceleration ie throttle response is maybe the better word to use, sorry if ive confused the matter.

 

[darren_rallye]

I depends on your expectations. If you've been driving a 7series for 50 yrs then maybe you'll not enjoy the Clio. But at the end of the day it's a mainstream car and hardly ever going to be too hardcore for the motorway. It's not a Caterham!

 

[Josh220]

the vxr will be the better motorway cruiser, has shed load of torque and if both were at 70 in 6th the astra would make the clio look silly. the clio is normally aspirated and has to be worked to get the power out. hardly instant acceleration at motorway speeds

the clio is about the b road blasts and i've not driven either but would have thought the 197 would be a more fun drive

so you havent driven the car so how do you know its not instant acceleration ie throttle response is maybe the better word to use, sorry if ive confused the matter.

no i admit i havent driven them however the vxr is a turbo car with alot of power low down and the clio's power band is up top. so at motorway speeds the astra will pull better. not trying to **** the 197 off just saying when you put your foot down at 70 in 6th it isn't going to respond the same as the vxr.

but the clio seems to have grown up a bit now and surely the addition of a 6th gear will make it a nice quiet motorway cruiser

 

[DrR]

the 6th gear is simular ratio to the 5th on the 182 so does nothing, If driven a Astra VXR around Oulton park, it's so so much more refined than my 172 IMO.

 

[Brett]

i've read in reviews that its ok aslong as its kept under 80 because the exaust note kicks in when over 80 (4000 rpm i think). so it will be ok for reasonably short journeys but not for say regualr 150 mile + motorway journeys

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

It does 140 doesn't it ???

So if you need to do 140 miles on a motorway, you should be aiming for an hour's drive

 

[TELFORDS_LURK]

On the motorway the 197 is very acceptable. People go on about it revving high in 6th gear but to be honest at a similar speed my previous 1.4 Dynamique was only revving about 500rpm less and was making about the same amount of noise.

The response from accelerating in 6th isnt that bad as some of the above posts make out. Cruising at 70 - 75 the revs will be at just over 4000rpm and theres plenty of torque there to accelerate further, if not, the difference between 5th and 6th at that speed is'nt that much so if you feel you could do with another 1000rpm, drop it into 5th. I rarely feel the need for this though as I can do what I need to do in 6th.

 

[spankf1]

yes the astra would pull away quicker in the same gear at 70 than the clio but the clio still has instant throttle response is what im trying to say.
the extra gear isnt a cruising gear the 197 has 6 usable gears for accelerating. also i agree with brett anything above 80 could get tiresome after along journey, just crank the music up is what i say lol.

 

[spankf1]

It does 140 doesn't it ???

So if you need to do 140 miles on a motorway, you should be aiming for an hour's drive

:lolup:

 

[Gumby]

Get a diesel for motorway driving...

 

[TELFORDS_LURK]

yes the astra would pull away quicker in the same gear at 70 than the clio but the clio still has instant throttle response is what im trying to say.
the extra gear isnt a cruising gear the 197 has 6 usable gears for accelerating. also i agree with brett anything above 80 could get tiresome after along journey, just crank the music up is what i say lol.

Yep I'll agree with all that, pop your foot down at 70 and you will get an instant response, it doesnt lag for a few seconds or anything.

As for the noise, it does sound good but yeah, crank the tunes up :approve:

 

[DrR]

Hmm whats it like at 90, as i'd say thats my cruising speed.

 

[TELFORDS_LURK]

Hmm whats it like at 90, as i'd say thats my cruising speed.

Slightly noisier but not too much, revving at about 4750.

 

[spankf1]

Hmm whats it like at 90, as i'd say thats my cruising speed.

not on amotorway on a private road/track you mean lol.

 

[Jamie]

I was under the impresion the 197 had a 6 speed box? Please dont tell me it revs that high in 6th :O

 

[DrR]

I was under the impresion the 197 had a 6 speed box? Please dont tell me it revs that high in 6th :O

Yeah has 6 gears, but 6th is pretty much the same as the 1*2's 5th, has lower ratios to counteract it's fatness when accelerating i think.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

I was under the impresion the 197 had a 6 speed box? Please dont tell me it revs that high in 6th :O

Yeah has 6 gears, but 6th is pretty much the same as the 1*2's 5th, has lower ratios to counteract it's fatness when accelerating i think.

Smaller power band too.

 

[spankf1]

Yeah has 6 gears, but 6th is pretty much the same as the 1*2's 5th, has lower ratios to counteract it's fatness when accelerating i think.

Smaller power band too.

197 has a larger power band, 5000rpm to 7250.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Smaller power band too.

197 has a larger power band, 5000rpm to 7250.

Can't get much smaller than that..

 

[spankf1]

197 has a larger power band, 5000rpm to 7250.

Can't get much smaller than that..

....than a 182? but not as much torque due to putting on weight. 182 is quicker than 197 im not denying that:S

 

[Steve2004]

6th gear in the 197 is shorter than the 5th in my 172.

197 = 3000rpm at 60mph, now personally I'd hate to use the 197 as a motorway car.

However it's up to you if you think that's acceptable as a cruiser.

 

[Brett]

you could meet your requirements half way and go for the 2.0 dynamique s its better for crusing due to higher gearing but also fun on the twisties

 

[Jamie]

Im sure the 197 wouldn't be a terrible m-way driver but if that was one of the more heavily weighted requirements then it may not have been the best choice for you. Did you not test drive the car before you ordered one?

Also, can anyone comment on how loud motoring is whilst crusing, does the 197 make up for it by sound deadening?

Additionally I must say that gearing in 6th does go a long way to explaining some of the threads/comments regarding the 197's fuel economy (someone reported 26mpg on an extra urban run) - I just cant believe how short it is.

 

[SimonV6]

Cruising at 70 - 75 the revs will be at just over 4000rpm

Well that does sound high to me, as when my Clio is pulling just over 4000rpm at 70mph its still in 4th gear



Simon

 

[catherinej]

Ok we took a 197 out for a 70/80mph session on the motorway. It really wasn't too bad at all and wasn't very different to a 1.6 Megane Sport Tourer that we tried.

So the car is still on order from Motorpoint. I have found out today it is sans locking wheel nuts (easily sorted) and alarm. I believe it has the factory imobiliser fitted.

 

[Pablo]

Hmm whats it like at 90, as i'd say thats my cruising speed.

Slightly noisier but not too much, revving at about 4750.

What, in 6th?

I thought the rev's would be lower than that :S

Pete.

 

[tjhmortimer]

I have just got my 197 as im going to be doing lots of mileage with my new job. Ive driven it on the motorway a few times already and its great!! Yes, its noisy, but I love it!! If you sit at about 80 with cruise control its not much noisier than any other high performance car. Its a great drive and the seating position, steering wheel and supportive seats make it a good ride whether on the motorway, a or b roads!!

 

[Gaz197]

I drove to cambridge and back the other weekend, around a 230 mile round trip. The driving position is comfy for long hauls, and the extra weight has worked in its favour for this kind of driving as it felt very planted. I must admit I was watching Mpg so i stuck cruise control on at 65 (just over 3k rpm) it was very quiet,only road noise. It returned around 33mpg (poor) but if I needed to pull out sharpish I didnt need to drop a gear, 6th was fine. It wont win any races using torque, but to answer the original question, Its not that bad on the motorway,you will feel very safe, you will get plenty of looks, but Mpg and noise above 4k rpm are definate down sides. Just enjoy the a and b roads en route to the motorway,then sit in the inside lane til you get there!

 

[The Hoff]

Useless car for the motorway IMO, crappy gearing and thirsty espacially for a hot hatch that doesn't weigh 'that much' 30mpg in a 2.0L with 6 gears is frankly shite!

My step dads 630i will do 35/37mpg and that car weighs as much as the titanic and runs (obviously) a 3.0L V6.

Stupid short sighted design by Renault, and as said probably to hide the extra pudding it carries around.

 

[Se7en172]

I use far more petrol in my clio on the motorway than around town!
My brothers 197 is the same.