Nose job brings Renault’s small car into touch with the brand’s most recent models On sale August Price from £19,000 (est)
George Hill george.hill@haymarket.com
IT’S EASY FOR smaller family members to be overshadowed by bigger relatives, and the Renault Clio’s new styling should ensure that it doesn’t come across as the runt of the litter. Freshly updated, the Clio now has a new front-end design that aligns its looks with the brand’s Megane E-Tech electric car and the recently launched Austral family SUV.
The Clio’s engine range remains unchanged: you can have a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine (badged TCe 90) or a 1.6-litre hybrid (E-Tech Hybrid 145). Renault had previously planned for the Clio to go hybrid-only with the refresh, but because of the current economic climate, the more affordable petrol option has been retained. The Evolution and Techno trims also remain, but the previous range-topping RS Line trim has gone, replaced by Esprit Alpine – named for the Renault-owned sports car maker.
Of course, being available with both hybrid and petrol power means the Clio has plenty of rivals to fend off, including the Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris, Vauxhall Corsa and Volkswagen Polo.
So far, we’ve driven the E-Tech Hybrid in range-topping Esprit Alpine trim. Like most hybrids, it starts off in electric mode and can run like this for short distances around town. Ask for a burst of power, though, and there’s often a distinct pause before the petrol engine wakes up, with acceleration being relatively leisurely (the 0-62mph sprint takes 9.3sec).
When you’re under way, the automatic gearbox shifts smoothly enough. As in the Yaris, though, the engine can get quite noisy under hard acceleration.
The Clio could be more refined around town, too; there’s a slight whine from the electric motor when you’re driving with the engine off, and the engine can take you by surprise when it kicks in to top up the battery, because it hums quite loudly, even when you’re sitting in traffic.
The brakes are sensitive, but you get used to them quickly. You can also slot the gear selector into ‘B’ mode, which increases the amount of energy that’s put into the battery whenever you lift off the accelerator, with the side effect that the car slows more dramatically, although you still need to use the brake pedal to come to a complete stop.
If you pitch the Clio into a corner briskly, you’ll find that body lean is kept nicely under control and the steering is fairly accurate at higher speeds, but the Seat Ibiza is more fun on a twist
