Renault Clio fans, get ready – there’s a new version on the way
Overview
We love the Renault Clio – well, 60,000 of us do anyway because that’s how many Irish people have bought one here since the stylish supermini was launched in 1990.
Now there’s a heavily upgraded version coming on the market and it will be interesting to see how many more purchases will be made.
You can have a petrol model but I suspect the full hybrid will likely attract most attention given the way things are going.
The front end has been completely redesigned, with sharp new design elements.
And the back?
Well, Renault says there’s a “livelier rear end”. I’ll leave it at that.
Elsewhere, it gets new signature lighting that will be used in all future Renault vehicles.
But there is little change to its physical dimensions. At 4,053mm long, 1,988 mm wide and 1,439 mm tall, it is mostly similar.
There is a choice of trims but they seem to be doting on the new “esprit Alpine” sporty model.
The techno trim seats, door panels and dashboard are all decked in a specially developed sustainable fabric, underlining the need for a car to not solely curb emissions in its engines.
Slotted on the upgraded dashboard are digital displays, spanning 7ins to 10ins, according to the trim level.
There are 15 driver assistance systems, including adaptive cruise control and traffic sign recognition with overspeed prevention.
Power comes from the TCe 90 petrol engine (6spd manual) or the 145hp E-Tech full hybrid mentioned earlier.
They reckon its electric motor can drive the car up to 80pc of the time in urban driving.
