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.