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Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Big Fight!
It's time to introduce tonight's contenders...
In the blue corner...weighing in at 990Kg, packing a 150Bhp punch of torque, with an engine carrying a 2.0litre 16v heart
of gold...the star that shook the world in 1993 with its world championship debut...making 0-60 in 7.2 seconds...Papa, lock
up Nicole, the rebel-with-a-cause-to-rally is here...the Renault, Clio...WWWWWWWWilliams!
And...
In the red corner...weighing only 845Kg, with a punch of 112 charging horses, a power reserve coming from a 1.8litre GTI 8v
battle-tested engine...first making its explosive debut in 1982, with speed and power to contend even with the heavyweight
division...the undefeated hatchback champion of the world...the Pocket Rocket, the bad bad buggy, the raging rabbit, the
80's most notorious getaway car...the Mk1, Volkswagen Golf, G...T...IIIIIIII!
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It would be unfair to compare the Mk1 Golf GTI with the Renault Clio Williams. Whilst the Golf was designed to be a road car
with a few clever tricks up its sleeve, namely the 1.8 GTI engine, the Williams was designed to be a rally car, which could
also be used on public roads.
So no contest? Think again.
The VW engineers who started the 'Golf Sport' project in Wolfsburg, Germany, really knew they were sitting on something very
hot. All being
familiar with the laws of physics, it was obvious that a car weighing initially only 810Kg wouldn't have any trouble in the
speed/power department. Likewike, 20 years later a group of Renault Sport engineers submit their proposal to headoffice, for
the production of a new 2.0litre rally-spec Clio - the car which will keep Renault at the top of the rally championship table.
So we have the first hot hatchback, and the first rally hatchback. On a rally track there would be no competition. The Williams
should rightly win hands down, eyes closed, as it does against many other cars. But on a normal road?
In this article we explore the differences between these two icons of motoring history, taking the driving experience fully
into account.
Let the battle commence!
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'So what's all this Williams business?' you may be asking. Well, nothing to do with the F1 racing team - Renault just pinched
the name as a part of the marketing strategy. Unfortunately it sort of backfired, because insurance agencies panicked at the
Williams name, and stuck the car into group 17.
The Clio Williams was created by Renault Rallye Sport, and finished off by Renault Engineering to make sure it accomodated
for normal road use. So the result, in 1993, was the fastest hatchback ever produced. And it's still a better or equal performer
to many of the latest sports hatchbacks, as is the Mk1 Golf.
Sitting behind the wheel in the Williams, the driving position feels well suited for controlling the car in all instances.
The bucket seats are comfortable and secure, the white dials, blue seat patterns with gold Williams logos, all makes the car
feel very sporty - and that’s before you’ve even started the engine.
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The sound of the Renault 2.0litre 16v engine is healthy, clean, and very revv-able. Pulling away in 1st and 2nd gives you
an instant taste of the torque on hand. Change up to 3rd, smoothly increasing the power, and before you know it you’ve
reached 45Mph in a few seconds, without even trying. The steering in the Williams is phenomenal. It’s extremely responsive,
yet solid
at all speeds. This makes it a very nice car for all driving situations. In fact it's a challenge to make this car do something
it shouldn't.
As an example of what the Williams does – you can floor the pedal in 2nd gear going round a small roundabout, and it
just goes, round and round. The back end doesn’t slip out, the car just glues itself to the road.
So here we have a perfect contender for the Mk1 GTI; another hatchback that is fun to drive and an amazing performer. But
what of the daily driving experience? What’s it like to live with?
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Like the Mk1, the Williams will turn heads when it’s out on the road; due to the gleaming gold alloys, and of course
the Williams name on the side and rear. But for everyday driving, the Williams feels like a quiet performer. You’re aware
of the extra
power and responsiveness you have, but for the everyday journey to work, unless you live in the countryside, it's not gonna
be thrilling or involving driving.
In the end it comes down to personal opinion and driver's taste. So we tested a Williams and a Golf on the same stretch of
road, maintaining the same speeds for both journeys. Find out how our road testers responded, and which car was voted the
'most-fun-car-to-drive-on-an-average-journey'! We also did a straight line drag race from 0-60...just couldn't resist!
Coming soon...
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