New Renault Clio Review: Pay Less, Get MORE?!

This is the new Renault Clio!

Renault’s supermini has received a mid-life facelift, and Mat’s going to put it through its paces to see if it can compete with class leaders like the Volkswagen Polo!

In terms of the design, given that it’s only a mid-life facelift, it’s no surprise that it looks relatively similar to the previous edition. There’s an updated bumper at the front of the car, some new DLRs and updated headlights. These now come as LEDs as standard in all versions of this car! Along the side, the looks are almost identical, while the range-topping edition we have here has black window surrounds, which aren’t available on all trim levels. At the back, there’s a new bumper, as well as updated taillights.

Step inside and the Clio is very much what you’d expect from a car in this class. There are some soft-touch materials on the dash, although this becomes scratchy black plastic lower down in the cabin. The edition we have here comes with comfortable sports seats, and there’s also a relatively large infotainment screen and a set of digital dials. Although the infotainment screen is relatively large, it doesn’t run Renault’s latest infotainment system, so it looks a bit old and can be quite laggy.

There are two engines to choose from. The entry-level is a 1-litre 3-cylinder turbo petrol that can deliver 90hp, while the second option is a 1.6-litre self-charging hybrid that produces 145hp.

In terms of the price, the Clio can undercut the majority of its competitors. The entry-level car costs £18,000, 1.6-litre car costs £21,600. The former is only available as a manual, while the latter has an automatic gearbox. In fact, the fully-specced range-topper (that we have for this video) only costs £25,000!

So is the Clio the smart choice for anyone choosing a new supermini? Or is a Polo or Fabia a better choice? Stick with Mat and see for yourself!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:27 Engines
00:41 0-60mph
01:11 Price
01:44 Interior
02:59 Design
04:11 Town Driving
05:50 Infotainment
06:46 Back Seats
08:22 Motorway Driving
09:13 Boot
10:06 Practicality
10:49 Country Road Driving
12:00 Annoying Features
13:21 Cool Features
14:54 Verdict

[Reso]

Finally some normal car review
More of these please

I need a car that does not leak rain, is reliable, can reach and comfortably maintain a speed of 130 km/h, that costs money normal people can buy. I don't care about shait, A to B, low cost, reliable, is all what I need. Car industry is going crazy, this is why the German car industry is massively collapsing.

[glenncole]

I've had this exact same car (albeit in ceramic grey metallic) for nearly 4 months now and I'm very pleased & impressed with it. Not sure why you're getting such poor MPG with it Matt. I've done 3900 miles from new & getting 56.3 mpg - and that's a mixture of all roads - motorway, A and B roads. Onboard computer states that 50% of those miles have been in pure electric mode too - which is saving me a fair bit indeed on petrol costs. The sports seats are fabulous, very comfortable and hugging. My one and only gripe is the seatbelt which is awkward to do/undo as it's under the armrest. I can live with that though.

[joaoluisteixeira]

My dad has a Clio 1.2 from 1998 with 401.000 km. Still running with no probs at all. People complain about reliability but get the revisions on time and don't care about their cars.

[Moray]

I swear to SAAB, if you put "Pay Less" in the title and the Car costs more than £15, 000, i'm throwing Matt's GT3 RS off the white Cliff's of Dover.

[youssefaldebaran]

Glad to see that there is still some Good old car reviews ! Not only rag races

[aloniabasmerom]

This is the first time Renault is offering the base model car in 2024 with a petrol engine and manual gearbox for less than $20K

[tureq]

we got a 1.0 'iron blue' esprit alpine for my wife last month, heated steering wheel, wireless charging & adaptive cruise control is a mental spec for a small car, overall for what it costs it's simply great!!

[saadaayla]

I have a 2023 clio5 rs line and I’am so in love with it the interior quality and the quality of safety is on another level I’am so happy with it

[waynephatg]

I have this exact car. As a petrolhead I'm amazed how good these are. 38mpg is nigh on impossible!
The ventilation fan makes that noise as there are two screws missing from the factory on the pollen filter. Fixed mine myself. Mines does a min of 54 even hammering it. Build, driveability and equipment is unbeatable with heated seats, heated wheel and radar cruise etc. Looked at a Polo which - erm - was bleak to say the least and I feel they are overrated. Never thought I'd buy a Renault tbh but these are so good. Definitely worth a look. The hybrid drive is superb and has the usual EV shove off the line combined with 60+mpg.

[disturbed]

This looks much better than the old one even though its a deep revamp... looks good..for a little hatch thing.

[ItsDanLatham]

I've got an MG3 on loan at the moment, and I think this is the closest competition - main thing I'm going to pick up on my review is that the Clio has nailed the climate controls whereas the MG has a mess through the screen! I think the two of them are definitely the class leaders now at the lower end of the market, especially in full hybrid config. Alpine trim is also really nice on this.

[comanandrei]

I bought the full spec esprit Alpine 5 months ago and I'm very pleased with. True, when driving around town it's not the most comfortable, buy when you get out on a mountain road it's just pure joy, especially in Sport mode.
The self parking feature might not be available for UK, but I have it and it's pretty damn good when I am lazy.
Also, I'd fully recommend getting it with the Bose system. It's around 500 eur, but it definitely delivers when you're blasting it on the highway ❤

[giladfrenkel]

First of all, finally a car review of regular people! But how come every car review ends with the “shortlist” verdict, I think you should set a higher standard.

[AvaMiller-ox]

Can't believe how awesome this turned out!

[gloriclyoko]

Appreciate Matt and the crew for shooting these videos in pouring rains!

[fabulously]

my clio comes in the next few days, made up with it! Going from Fiat to Renault, the money is pretty much the same, but recent reliability and quality is massively different between the brands!

[wlaba]

I have Clio Edition One ordered late 2019 and besides the seats that are better (Although mine also awesome) I like the pre-lift car more. Why? Well... I have 100hp 1.0 TCE petrol engine that is really good and "dynamic" for what it is. If you drive the car alone or with 1 passanger without tons of bags in a Sport mode you can easly get 10s to 100kmh. Also after the lift they literally cut ambient ligts in the door handles and in the middle near the rear mirror - ant all 3 of them gave a really nice, soft, mist like atmosphere. Also mine has 2 grocery hooks and double floor in the trunk... The console is super solid, there are automatic lights above vanity mirrors, soft touch fake leather on the upper parts of the door and padded fake leather below, only where legs are I have hard plastics... really don't understand why Renault downgraded the car after the lifting. Lifting is for MAKING EVERYTHING BETTER. Stupid people.

[andrewwalker]

Fastest car out there. Drive it like you stole it. No worries about scratches and dents.

[BeedGee-wbci]

Hey, I want to start investing but don't know where to begin. Any advice or contacts for help?