Renault Clio 1.6A Review

To be honest, the Clio Campus sold back in 2006 was a terrible flop. It was a little on the slow side, the interior was a visual disaster, not to mention an ergonomical nightmare, and it was more cramped than the average Korean "supermini."

Now, Renault wants their baby to be "bigger, roomier and be the benchmark in the small-car category, with a chassis engineered to guarantee a level of driving pleasure worthy of higher segments," or so they say. Aren't they all™

The "III", as Renault affectionately calls it, isn't exactly a new phenomenon. It has been selling in Europe for quite a while now, showing up in Singapore after a lengthy period of time, but my word, is it different. It also spells the end of the omnipresent reputation of the small Clio we have come to know and, er, love™

Bodywork

Safe, unyielding, and good looking with a continuously styled side profile that contours up from the headlights, edges of the front bumper and up to the A-pillar and over the roof. Put your thumb over the C-pillar window and you'd swear it was a coupe.

It is uncommonly low-waisted, especially these days when safety requirements influence high, slab sided doors. Combined with factory-original body skirting worth about $2500, we can hardly fault our test car for its good looks.

That long wheelbase, stunted, short rear overhang and a robust upper-door line. We won't even go near the redesigned "everything." It stretches to almost four-metres in length, and sports interior space measurements that are among the highest of the lot - 1,380mm (front shoulder width up by 28mm) and 1,343mm (rear shoulder room).

The use of said term proved entirely appropriate, because in reality, the Clio doesn't nearly feel as spacious. I'm about 1.7-metres in height and rather modest in the way of body-fat content. With another alien of similar height and proportions up front seated comfortably mid-length, my legs were found to be resting at an almost 45-degree angle from the vertical.

Consider that the Toyota Corolla has a tad more in terms of leg and shoulder room, but do remember that priority was taken in terms of crash testing - a 5-star Euro NCAP means a lot for a car its size.

Equipment and finesse

Surprise surprise, the Clio III's insides are staggering, and the visual departure from its predecessor is more than noteworthy. Everything appears solid and well trimmed. The cabin is very comfortable, with good-sized seats (60/40 split rears) that carry our test car's sporty, luxurious theme. It is also well insulate, quiet, and with a driving position much better than the previous Clio despite the absence of a reach adjustable steering. That low waist also translates to good visibility, while making for a light, airy living space.

Every Clio will come with at least six airbags, ISOFIX child seat mounts (rear and front), anti-drill door locks, anti-intrusion, immobilizer, cruise control with speed limiter, electrically-operated/heated door mirrors, automatic everything (we mean it, literally) reverse sensors, trip computer and fog lamps.

The first thing you'd notice when you get into the car, would be the two "paddle shifters" that protrude rudely out of the central steering console. They click "n" shift with much cushioned resistance, and are surprisingly lag-free.
Driving Impressions

Drive it some more, and you'll notice how much heavier the car is, mostly due to Renault's priority towards safety. Evidence of its maturity can be found when driven hard through corners - the Clio sits well and is extremely stable, devoid of roll and surprisingly compliant in the rough. In other words, it rides like a Megane, only more agile and nippy.

High speed stability would be the other major improvement - it cruises at 150km/h comfortably, without much intrusion coming from the engine, and very little wind noise - again, almost Megane levels of refinement.

Handling is sharp and responsive as a French should be, with the 185/60 R15 Michelin Energys gripping well in the dry through hard corners. The only gripe we have about the Clio would be the transmission. It almost always finds itself in the wrong gear when driven in full automatic mode, and takes a while to shift between gears when driven enthusiastically.

Acceleration is rather mediocre, but there is enough torque above 3000rpm to get things moving fairly briskly. By this, we mean you would probably not be bullied by a grumpy old driver in that blue Toyota Crown next to you should he try hard enough.

We clocked the car's century sprint by stopwatch at 12.7 - that's just a little over Renault's claimed 12.2 with half a tank of petrol on a cool, cloudy day with one driver only. Steep inclines will also bog this Renault down a fair bit, so keeping the car in the right gear and in higher revs would be the preferred way to go.

The interesting part is, the additional weight, although somewhat dulling in terms of straight line performance, didn't seem to put a bullet through the fuel economy stakes. We emptied the Renault's tank with an average fuel consumption figure of just 8.3 l/100km - higher than the claimed 7.5, but don't forget we were driving the wheels off the car every single time we were presented with a set of corners, which was pretty often considering we had nowhere to go on a lazy Monday afternoon!

The price point

So, yes - it is indeed good, but it has to be in order to sell in today's competitive, price-sensitive small-mid sized market where gimmicks are aplenty. We like its impressive build quality and creative touches, in particular, those air-conditioner openings with track-ball like vent controls, and for a starting price of $63,000 (sans bodykit) there isn't very much room for error when purchasing the new Renault Clio.