Our French love affair
BRITAIN fell in love with Renault’s perky little Clio in the Nineties, largely through the quirky TV ads featuring Nicole (actress estelle skornik) and her Papa, played by max douchin.
i owned a 16v hot-hatch Clio back then. more than 15 million have been sold globally at the rate of one every minute, making it the best-selling French car ever. Now it’s time for the fifth generation. i was pleasantly surprised and delighted by the experience ahead of first deliveries later this month, with prices from £14,295.
exterior changes are evolutionary, not revolutionary, though there are some vibrant new colours such as Valencia Orange and Celadon Blue.
The styling is broadly the same as the fourth generation, though the new five-door hatchback — with the handles of the two rear doors hidden so it retains its three-door coupe-like profile — is the first car to be built on a new Renault platform. it also has more interior space, despite being slightly shorter and lighter. From launch there is a choice of three petrol and one diesel engine. But a new petrol-electric hybrid will join the range next year, promising that 80 per cent of driving in urban areas will be in fully electric mode.
There are four main trim levels. from Play, iconic, and s edition up to the top-of-the-range Rs line starting from £17,795.
i first tested a very nimble Clio iconic TCe 100 turbocharged petrol model — expected to be one of the most popular — whose frugal new 1-litre 100 hp 3-cylinder engine is linked to an engaging 5-speed manual gearbox.
it’s pretty lively for a relatively economical car and felt faster from rest to 62 mph than the official 11.8 seconds.
Top speed is a more than adequate 116mph. Priced from £16,295, it returns 54.3mpg with low CO2 emissions of 99g/km. a good blend of performance, practicality and parsimony.
The real revolution, however, is inside which is beautifully put together with premium soft fabrics and trims.
Nicole and Papa may be long gone, but i can still at least say with good humour, ‘Carry on, Clio’.