Renault Clio

The mark 5 Renault Clio, new for 2020, is 85% a new car but it looks surprisingly similar to the old one, which says more about how good the old Clio looks than any neglect from the designers, this is evolution not design revolution. Underneath and inside, however, the Clio has undergone a ground-up rethink. There’s a new platform, for starters – the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s all-new CMF-B architecture. If the outside looks familiar, the cabin is undeniably where Renault has made the biggest effort. The car is a teeny bit shorter than its predecessor, in overall length and wheelbase, but the company has worked hard on trimming millimetres from interior structures to make the cabin more spacious and the boot more practical. The dash is dominated by a crisp new infotainment display that can be up to 9.3 inches in size, as well as angled towards the driver and slightly curved. Renault claims a boot capacity of 391 litres.

 

Trim Lines on the Scheme are ‘Evolution’, ‘Techno’ and ‘Engineered’ possibly the worst names in motor history.  Evolution has a new seven-inch touchscreen with sat nav and phone connectivity, rear parking sensors, 16 inch alloy wheels, automatic air conditioning, leather wrapped steering wheel, tinted windows and height adjustable front seat. Techno trim adds front parking sensors, rear camera, chrome exhaust pipe, shark fin antenna, hands free key, front fog lights and cruise control, 17 inch alloy wheels and ambient lighting.  Engineered ads a 9.3 inch touchscreen and special styling.

 

Two engines are avaialble, a 1.0 litre three cylinder petrol with 89bhp, only avaialbe with a manual gearbox. The economy is a claimed 54.3 miles per gallon.  The new E-TECH hybrid model combines a 1.6-litre four cylinder petrol engine with a pair of electric motors and a relatively small battery 1.2 kWh. Only avaialble as an automatic it has 143bhp which can propel the Clio to 62 mph in 9.9 seconds and offer a claimed economy of 64.2 mpg.

 Autumn Best Buy – Renault Clio 1.6 Hybrid  143bhp Evolution Automatic   –  £295 Advance Payment  (£72.00 +£119 wpms) or £695 (£72.00 + £519 wpms) in Techno trim

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