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@Colm89
I had convinced myself I wanted a new car (see a few pages back) with a budget of about 20k.
On Saturday I took both a clio 220 trophy and a fiesta st for a whip around Kent.
Clio 220 trophy:
It is a much bigger car than previous clios, very refined, great fit and finish. In standard settings it's quite a nice tame car to drive. Can make good progress through the gears, steering is adequately weighted, seats are ok. Flick it into RS1 and instantly you notice the sharper throttle, it holds the gear much longer in auto mode, the gears snap a bit quicker in paddle shift, the exhaust is quite a bit louder and pops and farts a bit as you slap up through the gears. I've read reviews where people think the change isn't fast enough, but I would challenge anyone to shift a manual box quicker. It's very well damped, and you can make great progress on quiet B roads. It feels like a safe, new, modern car.
Fiesta ST:
Feels like a much smaller, older design than the clio. The doors feel a bit lighter and there is a less reassuring clunk as you close them. The cabin is a bit noisier, but that also makes it feel a bit faster, even though it isn't. The gear change is very positive, it pulls hard through the gears and you can hear the turbo spooling from 2nd through 6th. I think boost must be restricted in 1st. The steering was nicely weighted, probably a bit more feedback through the wheel than the clio. The seats are much better in the fiesta. Its certainly a bit stiffer on the road than the clio too.
I think on drive alone the clio is a much more appealing prospect, it would be a much more appealing car to live with day to day.
But then there was the price. The ex-demo clio trophy was £18.5k, they are not taking any orders for new cars as there is a facelift on the way. I was offered a fiesta that had been ordered into the dealer as a demo car, st2 with a few optional upgrades for £16.5k.
I was sorely tempted by the fiesta, and even dropped at small refundable deposit on it, but having slept on it opted to cancel.
I wasn't eligible for finance on the renault on the basis that I have only been back in the UK 3 months, and my UK bank account essentially lay dormant for 14 months prior to that. Ford were confident I'd have no problem getting finance on the fiesta.
But in the end, I didn't want to buy the fiesta just for the sake of buying a new car. It was great, but I much preferred the clio, and would be much happier to keep that long term, so I'll hold off until the new RS clio is out in 6-9 months time and see if I can qualify for pcp on that.
TLDR: don't listen to the poor reviews about the RS Clio 200 EDC, it's a blinder of a car!