Carry on Clio
Why this little Renault packs a big punch RENAULT CLIO DYNAMIQUE S NAV TCe 90
FOR a tiny engine, it packs a lot of muscle. Renault’s 0.9litre, three-cylinder petrol powerplant is a bit of a miracle, offering 90hp and emissions of only 105g – that’s better than a lot of diesel engines can deliver, and among the best out there in the non-hybrid petrol realm.
Because of that, I was a little nervous getting behind the wheel, expecting to be disappointed with the car’s performance. I was, but only in one small regard – of which more later – but mostly I was very impressed. You do have to slightly modify your driving style, and when I first pressed the accelerator, I thought nothing was happening at all; once you get used to it, though, the power feels a lot more seamless, and even lively when it comes to overtaking. In fact, at one point on the motorway, where the speed limit increases from 100kph to 120, a Northerner in an Aston Martin was driving very aggressively behind me, so I gave the pedal a quick flick and laughed when I saw the look on his face through the wing mirror as I took off at quite a clip. Of course, after I pulled back into the left lane, he zoomed past in a blur, but I like to think he had to nurse a little wounded pride all the way back to the border.
Where the Clio engine feels a little less assured, though, is in cruise control. There was an odd push-pull feeling about the drive on inclines, as the engine seemed to be a little perplexed at the idea of settling on the selected speed, but to make a big deal of that would be foolish when so much else about it is right. It really is an eager little beaver, and I grew rather fond of it over the course of a week.
And while the va-va-voom might come in a smaller package nowadays, there’s a lot more about the Clio that still exudes the very best the French have to offer. The car comes with a new grille and a new, distinctive headlamp design with daytime LEDs, and you can customise the likes of contrasting door mirrors, matching roof decals, the seat piping and other colour highlights.
I was driving the top-of-the-range Dynamique S Nav version, which comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic climate control, hands-free keyless entry and ignition, a MediaNav seven-inch touchscreen wit satnav, Dab radio, USB, Bluetooth and aux-in, and automatic headlights and front wipers, and a very tidy package it is too.
The entertainment interface is Renault’s own R-Link, not Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, which was a little disappointing. Both are available on other Renault models, and I miss them when they’re not around. That said, the touchscreen supplied is intuitive and you can play the music from your phone wirelessly or via the charging cable, so it’s not the worst omission. The car’s own satnav, powered by Navteq, I found a little fiddly. I had to travel to Lyons estate on Monday for the Volkswagen launch you can read about in the panel below, and I gave up trying to locate it on the car satnav, and just used Google Maps on my phone in my suction window bracket instead.
There’s no faulting the interior comfort. Renault always instal good seats and these are no exception, deep, enveloping, supportive and very comfortable. There is storage in the armrest, roomy door pockets up front, a cubby for keys and phone in the centre console and a large boot with hidden underfloor storage. With the rear seats down, the car took surprisingly large loads. As you might have read elsewhere in this newspaper over the past week, I’ve been trying to declutter my house, and trips to the recycle facility proved no problem with a fully laden car.
Probably the best reason to buy this Clio, though, is the low motor tax of €190, and low running costs, with fuel economy in the combined urban and extra-urban cycle of just 4.7 litres. That’s not as good as many diesels will deliver, but with that fuel type a little under siege at the moment, the return to petrol is palpable, yet you still want economy too.
The Clio has been around for a long time and it’s not as showy as some rivals, but it has a nice Gallic reserve to its looks. It’s not magnifique, but it’s very, very good.