What’s it like?
The Renault Clio is a long-serving, chic French supermini hatch and, in 2019, it evolved into its fifth generation, in order to continue doing battle with the likes of the Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Polo, Peugeot 208, Hyundai i20 and more. For this generation of the car, a halo performance model from Renaultsport never materialised, so it is essentially a plain and simple runaround with a straight choice of either pure petrol or hybrid drivetrains. Sold only in a five-door shell, the Clio represents a classy and comfortable way to get around.
Which model to go for?
As stated above, your choices really only amount to either a turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine (called TCe), which variously had either 90- or 100hp (although the real-world performance difference between the two is negligible, so it doesn’t matter which one you choose), or a more advanced 1.6-litre hybrid set-up called the E-Tech Hybrid.
This made do without a turbo, but its electrified assistance raised peak power to 145hp. Perhaps of more note with the E-Tech Hybrid was its advanced automatic gearbox, which – from a technical perspective – works in a convoluted fashion. For the end user, however, it will feel like a standard automated transmission, albeit one which can sometimes be a little hesitant to respond.
It’s worth remembering that the E-Tech is a full hybrid, not just a mild system, so it can drive for short distances on electric power alone – although it mainly tends to do this in cities and other congested urban areas when it’s travelling at lower speeds. While the E-Tech is slightly more affordable to run, there’s little wrong with the TCe options either. These, by the way, come with either five- or six-speed manual gearboxes, and all Clios are front-wheel drive.
Does anything go wrong?
As seems to be more commonplace in the modern motoring era, it would appear the onboard electronics are the weak link of the Renault Clio Mk5’s make-up, so watch for warning lights on the dash or features in the car which do not work. Beyond that, as an affordable runabout which will have spent a lot of its time with previous owners driving around in towns, the Clio will be susceptible to parking rash, dented panels and kerbed wheels, so check the exterior condition carefully for signs of the car having endured a hard life.
There were four recalls issued for this generation of Renault Clio, although one of them relates to the liquid petroleum gas (LPG) model which wasn’t sold here. The other three were for a potential issue with the left-rear seatbelt anchor point; a possible failure of the steering column motor control unit; and a faulty stop switch in the automatic gearbox.