Fantastic Clio great on all fronts

Clio – a 1.0-litre TCe developing 100bhp in bottom-but-one Iconic trim and a 1.3-litre in top R.S. Line specification with 130bhp on tap.

Performance data is 0 to 60 in 11.8 seconds for the 1.0-litre and nine seconds for the 1.3 with top speeds of 116 and 124mph respectively.

Surprisingly though it is the smaller engine which suits the Clio best and that’s probably down to the weight of the car which is some 70kg lighter.

Both perform very nicely but the 1.0-litre exhibited quite sporty characteristics when it came to handling and its suspension set up coped with the worst British roads have to offer in handsome fashion.

Fuel economy is rated officially at 54.3 and 49.6mpg respectively with emissions of 99 and 118g/km and on our runs we managed to average 50.9 and 47.1 to the gallon over similar routes. In fact the economy of the 1.0-litre Clio is bettered only by the single diesel model in the line up – an 85bhp 1.5 version which is priced from £17,295 and rated at 67.2 to the gallon but by no means as nippy as its petrol counterpart.

The interior of the new Clio is a class act in the supermini sector with a smart looking – and easy to use – dashboard and while the Iconic version came with a conventionally styled seven-inch touchscreen it was more than adequate in operation.

The larger screen on the R.S. Line car was the finishing touch to the interior and created something of a ‘big car’ feel to the layout.