Dry January? Don’t know about that, but it certainly is warm
KRIS CULMER
Oh, am I glad to have an Esprit Alpine version of the Clio. Not because it means I can enjoy back roads to a higher degree, though. Actually, the ‘sporty’ one handles no more sharply than the others, and nor does it have a more powerful engine. Instead, I’m rosy-cheeked as this trim adds heated seats and a heated steering wheel (which aren’t even options lower down the range).
In deepest winter, even when I’m wearing my coat that makes people think I’m off to audition for a Michelin advert, I’m always delighted to be warmed by elements rather than engine-cooked air.
It’s actually beneficial to my wallet, too, because a car can achieve the same level of warming with far less energy. That’s why most electric cars have them – and why heated armrests, doors and seatbelts are now all real things.
I had wondered whether, being a hybrid with the emphasis firmly on the electric side, my Clio would be annoying on winter mornings. I had worried that I wouldn’t be able to warm it up conventionally before leaving, because the bizarre workings of the E-Tech powertrain can result in the engine firing up at random times and running to incomprehensible revs. But the four-pot does fire up when I stick the air-con on full blast, and by the time I’ve sprayed every window with de-icer, the car is happy to head for the motorway.
By contrast, my parents have a Hyundai Kona Electric, and driving that recently was a pain, as it took ages to defog its windscreen and then needed constant blasting of heat-pumped air to keep it clear.
My one winter worry in the Clio is minor: the silver trim on the steering wheel. I can’t work out if it’s plastic or metal, because it looks lik
