Alex and Phil spent a week in the company of the mighty fine, if a touch bumpy, Renault Clio Cup. They had… thoughts about it.

The thing with a car like the Clio Cup is that you have to want it. You have to want to have the most hardcore thing possible. But you have to admit that you need a boot, rear seats and room for (whisper it) a child seat.

It’s a crazy car with a hint of compromise, it’s dad’s (or mum’s) daily driver AND fun thing to play in on the weekends.

So, the basics (so you can listen to the Pod and hear what we think) – it’s £16k (ish), has naff all by way of toys and you’ll give yourself a dead leg on the seats every time you get in (if you go for the optional Recaro seats). Oh, and the ride is stiff as hell – but that’s what the Cup is all about.

It’s hard, fast and bloody good fun. Though it did nearly make Phil hurl.

Perhaps, if you’re a single man you might do best to keep the Clio in the hole – proclaiming to a date that it’s capable of going round a corner a touch faster than a normal Clio 200. That’s just weird.