Review - Renault Clio

I like to think of myself as an honest person; maybe slightly flawed, but honest.

The Renault Clio lies within a very extensive car class: family hatchbacks. There’s practically a car for everyone here; from the light and advanced Japanese offerings to the chunkier, solid ones from Germany and Britain. The Clio of course, is French, and you’ve got to hand it to them; they are very good at diversity.

The exterior is a good starting point (though please note the model has recently changed a lot, a couple of times, so for arguments sake the one I’m reviewing was on a 54 plate, or 2004). It doesn’t have the bubble, orb like appearance of some of its rivals; it’s unadorned, with a smooth but functional compact design. It is nicely rounded but doesn’t have a ‘bulging’ appearance that some can have. The only downside is that this can leave it looking a bit plain.

This doesn’t seem to bother the Clio though; it somehow lacks the relentless need to impress that you can get with other cars. Some have so many gadgets and lights that you think you’re in a microwave. And the interior follows suit. Conventional dials along with simple light displays are attractive yet practical. These combined with the visually dull yet comfortable seats make the cabin a practical and comfortable place to be. There is one thing however; most small cars are designed to feel incredibly light and responsive with light clutches and steering. The Clio doesn’t. Its clutch feels chunky and metallic, like it’s moving girders around underneath you. I like that, when the clutch is light it makes you wonder what on earth it’s doing. The steering isn’t overly light either. It’s not stiff but there’s enough resistance to stop you snapping the wheel off.

It seems then, that the Clio is rather stuck in its ways. It doesn’t want to try the new fandangled gadgets and gizmos with ultra light steering. It’s proud of what it is and that’s that. One more thing about the interior before I move on; the driving position is rather low down compared to others, as if to give you better stability and road-handling. Now this is a hatchback and not a sports coupe, so why have they done that? It is true that Renault is into their motor sports, so it might be an echo of that, though I think its part of the cars character. “I am a practical hatchback, but I am my own car. Like it or lump it.”

Then there’s the ride itself. Now you’d expect from what I just said for it to be firm and sporty, and it is, kind of. Though only slightly; in this area it does what a family hatchback should do. It is comfortable, that must be said, though you do get a fair bit of feed back, which is no bad thing. It allows you to play more with your driving, as it tells you what works and what doesn’t. Now I drove the 1.2 litre petrol model, and this had a lot of go while still being economical and cheap. However, a hatchback is designed to be practical and load carrying, which the Clio is, so I can see performance going significantly if you load it up too much. Not to worry though. They also provide it with a 1.4 petrol, 1.6 petrol, and a whopping 2 litre petrol if you’re planning on loading it with lead bars. This again reflects the nature of the car. It can be economical, or it can be a bit of a brute for its class.

Overall I do like this car. It’s not overly advanced or attractive, but it is honest, a trait which can be underappreciated (subtle link to the intro…). It is nicely and practically designed as well as being comfortable for all, and not just the driver. It seems to be for those who want a conventional, simple car to get them from A to B.

Fun - Top 10 cars for not being noticed

To be honest, most cars aren’t that visually exciting are they? Most just bumble along with sensible doors, and sensible bumpers, and sensible exhausts. They’re visually understated, functional things owned by sensible people.

Some however are just a bit too understated. These are cars that are so normal looking and so reservedly styled that no celebrity, actor or millionaire could drive one of these around, could they?

So then, let’s celebrate the top ten cars that just wouldn’t get you noticed. In reverse order of course:

10. Ford Escort - Funky for the Eighties, but these days you just don't think about them.

9. Mercedes-Benz C class - A nice, good car, but the baby Merc saloon and so many about that you don't pay attention.

8. Vauxhall Vectra - A practical, functional saloon, but not the most extrovert of cars is it?


7. Mercedes-Benz CLK - Unlikely for a coupe, but there's something about it which is somewhat generic.

6. Volkswagen polo - Sensible, normal and German, these are everywhere, and never in an outrageous colour is it?


5. 1990's Nissan Primera - Quite dull if we're honest. A smooth body for the 90's but in just the right way that it isn't exciting.

4. Toyota Corolla - As normal as Toyota have achieved really. Nothing that stands out here.

3. Nissan Bluebird - Not bad for the Eighties, but not particularly interesting. The only thing that saves it from true understated anonymity is that they're pretty rare these days.

2. Subaru Legacy - A very good car actually, but so beautifully calm and inconspicuous in design that it just doesn't stand out.

1. Volvo S40 -  Apologies to anyone who owns one of these, they're good cars, but you do have to admit: They are a tad anonymous. Like the Legacy above they're very good really, it's just they're very... well... safe and buying a S40 is a safer move than wearing a suit of armour when going into a boxing match. Not that safe is bad, its not, just not exciting.

Citroen C3 - Review

From the outset this funky little hatchback looks rather like a Nissan Micra; both are smallish hatchbacks, both have a smooth, bubble like appearance, and both have airy interiors with lots of toys on the inside. However, there is one big difference; the Citroen is French, and the Nissan is Japanese, (I like stating the obvious) in that the Japanese want to build a hatchback that’s good value, well equipped, and reliable. The French however want to build a hatchback that’s good value, well equipped, and fun. And this is good news, as they have indeed succeeded with the C3. You see, this car was originally intended to be the advanced, sprightly successor to the Saxo, which was a snazzy, lovably little car, but unfortunately was outclassed by a shopping trolley as far as reliability and safety go. The C3 was Citroens chance to create a new, modern, advanced car that heralded change, or something along those lines. And you can see this when you get in. The futuristic dash with loads of lights and the digital speedometer for example may put some off, but give them a chance, and you’ll soon get used to them, if not like them. The rest of the cabin has a similar feel, although it’s not really as futuristically minded; a few light greys here and there break up the monotonous black plastics which aren’t really that bad, giving the cabin a cheerful and somewhat bouncy, if not limited atmosphere.

Then there’s the handling and control; the C3 is a largish city car and smallish family car. It was designed to be light on the road, slipping from lane to lane easily and getting off from the traffic lights without making a fuss, and being a city car, especially in the big cities, it knows it’ll be spending a lot of it’s time queuing, so it needs to be comfortable and easy to use at low speeds and in low gears. One word of warning though; in an attempt to do this Citroen has made the steering and the pedals stupidly light. The first time I trod on the clutch I nearly put my foot through the floor, and the steering felt like it was held together with elastic bands. This worry goes though, you soon get used to the lightness and it becomes refreshing to do a U-turn through what is practically telekinesis.

The model I drove had the 1.1 Litre engine, which is the base engine, but it was quite smooth, and had some punch, however it wasn’t really much cop past 75 mph (the top speed being 98 mph), it did it but you get the sense it’s really trying. However you can get a 1.4, and even a 1.6 and I imagine they’ll have more go. The money conscious however would probably prefer the 1.1 as it’ll do the most miles per gallon, except for the 1.4 and 1.6 diesels of course but these are in higher insurance brackets, the 1.1 only being in group 2. Overall, it’s a funky little car, that’s well equipped, however, it’s not designed to be good at long distance so don’t expect it to be; it’s new and snazzy, but in a city car kind of way.

Nissan Almera - Review

Let's start with some honesty... this is my car, I own it. The insurance documents are in my name. I've tried not to be biased, but like a lot of things, it's easier said than done.

When you see it for the first time side on you think “Golly, that’s an interesting shape”. Not that it’s bad, it’s just that its nose is at a slightly funny angle and its bum seems to be sticking out. Sitting next to an old Vauxhall Astra or Honda Civic, it somehow looks funkier and newer. Interior wise it’s quite generous. Front electric windows, air conditioning, and loads of little storage and cubby holes that you will probably miss the first time you get in. There’s even a little compartment by the front ceiling light that holds sunglasses. Might sound a bit pointless, but... erm, it is practical. Fans of CD’s however be warned that mine’s just got a tape deck, but I’m sure you can find a CD player on a newer model. The interior trim is of a nice quality too. True it’s all plastics in the front, but they feel as if the maker made an effort, rather than just using the stuff you get at the base of biscuit tins. There is the odd bit of basics plastic, like the bit surrounding the gear knob’s base which I’ve never been a fan of and after six and a bit years some of the beige coloured plastics can be a bit stained. Though nothings cracked or broken, so it’s obviously solid.  The back’s similar, though not as much room and the manual winding windows might irritate some.

The engine? It’s a similar story; it has life but doesn’t catapult you into the nearest hedge, and it’s surprisingly quiet at times, especially when waiting at the lights. But it is a 1.5 litre petrol, so not the cheapest or most economical to run. And that is the only engine the Almera had (except for a mythical 2 litre, but they were about as common as solid gold break pedals)  so you won’t be finding anything smaller in recent models. On the bright side it is insurance group 5, and can do over 40 miles per gallon on a good day which are both pretty good. The ride’s a mixed bag too. For instance; it’s generally very smooth and comfortable but you occasionally get the odd bump or judder from under you, as if one of the wheels just sneezed. It can also lean a fair amount when cornering which can be somewhat alarming; however, I drive a tad too quickly sometimes, so it’s probably due to me, not the car.

Overall you get the feeling that the car was well thought out; it’s comfortable, easy to drive, nippy when it wants to be, visibility is very good. The boot’s a good size too and with the back seats down you could fit a lot of stuff in there; trust me.

 I like it, well I would do, I own it. I do have one reservation though. As I've said, all is nice, but nothing particularly stands out, which is a pity.