A Renault Clio 1.5 dci is the subject of our Electronic Diagnostics feature this month.
Remarkably, it is almost exactly 30 years since the first Renault Clio appeared. It was launched at the Paris Motor Show in the summer of 1990, with UK sales starting in the following spring. Ever since then, and through five generations so far, this hatchback supermini model has been a popular buy in Britain and around Europe, being applauded for its practicality, comfort and commendable fuel consumption. Sporting versions have always been praised for their dynamic performance, and have achieved modern classic status in their own time too.
Third-generation Clios arrived in 2005, with the newcomers being built on a platform developed in conjunction with Nissan. In fact, Nissan’s Micra and Note use the same underbody architecture as the Clio and the contemporary Renault Modus.
The Clio was rated with five stars in the EURONCAP safety rating scheme, and in 2006 the model was awarded the European Car of the Year title.
A facelift was applied in the spring of 2009, improving equipment levels and the quality of materials used within the car.
Here we are taking the diagnostic lid off a third-generation 2009 Clio dating from July 2009. This is powered by the proven ‘K9K’ type four-cylinder, 8-valve, 1.5-litre dci (standing for ‘direct common-rail injection’) turbodiesel engine, developed jointly by Renault and Nissan. The first examples of this motor appeared in 2001, with successive versions being improved through the years in terms of performance potential, fuel consumption and emissions. Ian Vaughan, who has owned from new the car we photographed, reports that it consistently returns more than 60mpg in real-world motoring.