Renault Clio review

We’re used to the Renault Clio having image changes like they're going out of fashion, and the latest version has been restyled to match the French manufacturer’s newest models.

As a result, the Clio has a front-end design similar to two bigger cars, the Renault Austral and Renault Megane. Like the Austral, it’s available with a 1.6-litre hybrid petrol engine – but you can also have your Clio as a 1.0-litre petrol.

Of course, the Clio isn't the only small car you can get with hybrid tech these days – the Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris have been using it for years.

Renault Clio video review

There are also plenty of rivals with non-hybrid petrol engines in this hotly contested class, ranging from the Audi A1 and Skoda Fabia to the Suzuki Swift and VW Polo. So does the Renault Clio hold its own against the best small cars? Read on to find out...

Learn more about the Clio from Renault

With 90bhp from its 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine and a 0-62mph time of 12.2 seconds, the Renault Clio TCe 90 is fine for dashing around town. True, the Skoda Fabia 1.0 TSI 95 feels stronger in the mid-range, but if you drop down a gear using the Clio's six-speed manual gearbox it has enough oomph to overtake slower traffic or get up a steep incline.

The other Clio engine option is the 1.6-litre regular hybrid – the E-Tech 145. It produces 143bhp for a 0-62mph time of 9.3 seconds. When accelerating from a standstill it can take a second or two for the petrol engine to wake up, but once it kicks in performance is reasonably sprightly and on par with a Toyota Yaris Hybrid.

That said, the E-Tech 145 has a rather unconventional four-speed clutchless automatic gearbox and the gap between each gear is enormous – we’d estimate there’s at least a one-second delay between shifts.

The Clio doesn't round off imperfect road surfaces as well as a Skoda Fabia or VW Polo but its firmer suspension delivers superior body control. That means that on an undulating country road, it doesn’t suffer from the floaty effect you feel in the soft-riding Fabia – a real bonus if your rear-seat passenger is prone to car sickness.

The entry-level Evolution trim comes with 16in wheels and these provide the best ride comfort. However, the 17in wheels you get on other versions, including our favourite Techno model, are perfectly acceptable. You’ll notice around town that the ride is a touch more unsettled but the difference is marginal.

If you pitch the Clio into a corner briskly, you’ll find that body lean is kept well in check. Plus, the steering has a more direct and accurate response than most small cars – including the Dacia Sandero and Skoda Fabia – and gives a better sense of connection with the front wheels.

If you go for Techno trim or above, an additional Sport driving mode adds weight to the steering for an extra bit of reassurance when pressing on. There is also plenty of grip on offer, but if you start to really lean on the tyres you’ll find that it starts to run wide at the front before the stability control kicks in to bring everything under control. It's a safe but not particularly fun set-up.

If you want a small car that grips more evenly front to rear and allows you to adjust your line with a lift of the accelerator pedal, we’d point you in the direction of the Seat Ibiza in FR trim, which really is a hoot to drive.

You’ll hear very little suspension noise as you drive along in the Clio but it does produce slightly more wind and road noise than a Fabia or Polo. Likewise, while the TCe 90 petrol engine is quiet for the most part, it's not quite as smooth as similar engines in those rivals.

Meanwhile, in the Clio E-Tech 145, there’s a slight whine from the electric motor when it’s running on electricity but nothing that’ll get annoying around town. If the battery is low, the engine will kick in quite loudly to top it up and can sound a bit coarse when you start to push it, but it’s smoother overall than the Toyota Yaris.

Unlike in the Yaris, the hybrid Clio’s automatic gearbox is not a CVT auto but it does sound like one when it holds on to gears to get the most out of the engine under hard acceleration. And while the gear changes are relatively smooth when you’re driving in a relaxed manner, if you want an instant burst of acceleration the slow gear changes feels very unnatural.

"Initially I found the Renault Clio's brake-pedal response a little sensitive but I quickly got used to it. The brakes performed strongly, even when I was driving a bit more spiritedly." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

The Clio's driving seat and steering wheel both have a decent amount of adjustment and most people should be able to get comfortable behind the wheel.

What’s more, the seats themselves are comfortable and supportive, especially the sportier seats in the Esprit Alpine version. Our only demerit is that you don’t get adjustable lumbar support, which you do in the Skoda Fabia.

The steering wheel in the Clio is reach and rake adjustable, and you get a clear view through it to the 7in digital driver's display fitted to Evolution and Techno trims. The resolution is clear and crisp and there are a few basic lay-outs to choose from.

Esprit Alpine comes with a larger 10in driver's display that extends the full width of the cluster and can show sat-nav directions and other information. Even so, it can’t show as much information as the Active Info Display in the VW Polo.

The windscreen and front windows on the Clio are large by small car standards, and while its windscreen pillars are chunkier than on a Skoda Fabia, their shallow angle means they don’t impede very much at junctions or roundabouts. For a better view forwards, try the Honda Jazz – it has front-quarter windows to minimise blind-spots.

Rear visibility in the Clio is not so good. The smaller side windows and narrow rear windscreen conspire to reduce the amount you can see out of the back and over your shoulder.

Still, parking shouldn’t be too difficult, thanks to the standard rear parking sensors. On Techno trim and above you also get front parking sensors and a rear-view camera.

The size of the infotainment touchscreen in the Clio depends on the trim: Evolution and Techno get 7in screens while Esprit Alpine's measures 9.3in. Both come with touch-sensitive shortcut buttons and plenty of features, including wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring, DAB radio, Bluetooth and built-in sat-nav.

Starting with the smaller screen, the graphics are pretty crisp and it responds quickly enough as you prod around its interface. The only problem we found was that the feed from the rear-view camera looked fuzzy at night, but it was still easily usable.

As well as being larger, the screen in the Esprit Alpine is portrait-oriented like a tablet computer (rather than the more usual landscape format). It’s also glass-fronted and has better graphics.

The Clio looks and feels much smarter inside than most rival small cars. That's especially true in Techno or Esprit Alpine trim – they add plenty of soft-touch plastics on the upper levels of the dashboard and doors, a mix of glossy and fabric finishes, and ambient lighting. It compares well with the Audi A1 and VW Polo.

The Clio in entry-level Evolution trim misses out on plush materials and lacks the top trims' flair, but its textured plastics do a semi-convincing job of looking like them.

The metal-effect climate-control dials have a tactile feel, adding to the sense of quality, although the controls in the Skoda Fabia and VW Polo feel more robust overall.

"Many new cars hide all their controls in the infotainment touchscreen so I find it refreshing that the Renault Clio comes with proper buttons and dials for the climate control." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

For what is a fairly small car, front space in the Renault Clio is generous, with plenty of head and leg room for drivers well over 6ft. It’s quite wide too, meaning there’s little danger of clashing elbows with your passenger unless you’re both very broad.

Oddment storage includes a big glovebox, decent door bins, storage in the central armrest and a deep tray in front of the gearlever. That said, few models in the small car class can quite beat the Honda Jazz for interior storage – it has deeper pockets and two gloveboxes.

Rear space in the Clio is fair but there’s no doubt that an adult over 6ft will find their head very close to the roof. If the person sitting in front of them is a similar size, the rear passenger’s knees will be wedged against the front seat.

The regular hybrid Clio is just as spacious as the entry-level version, although neither has as much rear space as the Honda Jazz, the Skoda Fabia or the VW Polo. Again, the Jazz shines in the back, offering room to spare for adults in the outer spaces plus wide door openings that make loading in a child seat a doddle.

The Jazz and Fabia are also better at accommodating a third rear passenger – the Clio’s raised middle seat will force a tall occupant's head even further up against the roof.

Every Clio has 60/40 split folding rear seats, which is the same as most small cars. The highly versatile Honda Jazz allows you to fold up the rear seat base, revealing a cavernous area you can park a bicycle across.

Still, the seatbacks in the Clio fold to create a flat floor, making it easy to store larger items. That said, it would be handy if the front passenger seat folded forward a little more to give extra-long items a bit more space (in fairness, most of the Clio’s rivals are the same).

You get driver’s seat height adjustment as standard with every Clio. If you want to give the same luxury to your front-seat passenger, you’ll need to go for Techno trim or above.

On paper, the Clio TCe 90 looks to have a vast boot by small car standards. At 391 litres, it’s bigger than rivals' – and also bigger than the boot in the VW Golf from the class above. That means it should have plenty of space for a shopping trip or weekend away.

You get a two-level boot floor so you can either maximise space or reduce the height of the lip when loading it through the tailgate. In the floor’s lowest position, lifting heavy items in and out can be rather awkward. The Honda Jazz has a much lower lip to lift items over, making it easier to load and unload.

The Clio E-Tech 145 has much less boot space (301 litres). It’s still bigger than a Toyota Yaris boot but you’ll get more space in a Jazz.

“I like that the Renault Clio's central armrest doubles as a storage cubby for your odds and ends.” – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

The Renault Clio is offered with temptingly low pricing, with the entry-level TCe 90 Evolution undercutting the cheapest versions of most small cars, including the Skoda Fabia and VW Polo. The E-Tech 145 costs a bit more to buy but will still cost you much less than a Honda Jazz.

Official fuel economy figures are 54.3mpg for the TCe 90 and 67.3mpg for the E-Tech 145, and during our test drive the E-Tech managed an impressive combined figure of 57.6mpg. On a separate test, the TCe 90 achieved a respectable real-world fuel economy figure of 46.3mpg.

If you’re looking for a company car, the E-Tech 145 will be the cheapest Clio to run because its lower official CO2 emissions (from as little as 95g/km) lead to lower BIK tax rates.

Regardless of the trim level, the Clio has a generous amount of equipment. Entry-level Evolution trim comes with 16in alloy wheels, automatic full LED headlights, automatic windscreen wipers, keyless start, automatic climate control, touchscreen infotainment and rear parking sensors.

Techno trim is our favourite because it introduces a lot of useful kit for a relatively small outlay. We’re talking 17in alloy wheels, a leather steering wheel, a wireless phone-charging pad, upgraded LED headlights, keyless entry, front parking sensors and a rear-view camera.

Esprit Alpine is the range-topping trim and adds a host of sporty features to the Clio, including sports seats and unique 17in alloy wheels. On top of that, it gets a bigger infotainment screen and digital driver’s display, a heated steering wheel, heated front seats and adaptive cruise control.

The Clio didn't feature in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey but Renault as a brand performed pretty well, taking ninth place out of the 31 brands ranked. That’s below Honda, Toyota and Citroen, but above most other rivals.

Every Clio comes with a three-year warranty with no mileage limit for the first two years and a 60,000-mile cap in the final year. That matches the three-year warranties offered by most rival brands, although Hyundai, Kia and Toyota cover your car for longer.

On top of the base warranty, the E-Tech 145’s hybrid battery is covered for an additional eight-years/100,000-miles or until the battery drops to 63% of its original capacity.

Testers from Euro NCAP awarded the Clio the maximum five stars for safety, and it performed better than the Audi A1 at protecting adults from chest injuries in the event of a frontal impact. However, because the Clio was tested in 2019, it can’t be compared directly with the five-star VW Polo, which was tested under 2022’s tougher regime.

As well as being well-rated for protecting occupants in a crash, the Clio also helps to prevent you having one in the first place. Automatic emergency braking (AEB), traffic-sign recognition and lane-keep assistance are all standard.

“When we tested the Renault Clio against the rival Skoda Fabia we found that the Clio would cost a typical owner less to run over three years.” – George Hill, Used Car Writer

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