Why we're running it:To see whether the latest version ofRenault'stop-seller can unseat theFord Fiestaas the UK's favourite supermini
As secure as you like - 12 August 2020
I'm a fan of Renault's hands-free key, but not everyone I've spoken to would trust their car to lock itself as they walk away – even with the beep that confirms it's secure. Thankfully, the Clio's key menu lets you keep the functions you like and turn off the ones you don't for added peace of mind. Besides, if you go three days between drives, walk-up unlocking is automatically turned off.
Supermini chases greater maturity in its latest iteration but at what cost to driver fun?
A week away reveals our supermini's practical side - 29 July 2020
As lockdown restrictions began to ease and the concept of social bubbles was introduced in early July, my fiancée and I seized the opportunity to visit her mother and spend a week on the south coast. See: Car Battery Tester. Since it arrived six weeks ago, ‘my' Clio hadn't spent a single night away from home, so this would be a chance to fill its boot with something other than the weekly supermarket shop.
Renault's decision to give up a bit of rear leg room makes sense when you don't have any children to squeeze into the back seats, because it means you get one of the largest-capacity boots in the class. Its 391 litres may be more than you'll find in several rivals from the class above, but expecting the boot to swallow a pair of bicycles along with our luggage was more than a little ambitious – even if one of them was the folding kind.
I decided against flipping down the rear seats and detaching my bike's wheels (if only to avoid having to vacuum out the inevitable post-ride mess afterwards), instead picking up a fairly basic bike rack. The RS Line's faux rear diffuser doesn't leave any space for a towbar, but at least the hatch-mounted rack I went for doesn't obscure the rear lights or numberplate, so I didn't need a lighting board to go with it. The over/ under mounting mechanism restricts the rear windscreen wiper, and it effectively blocks off boot access until you remove it, but at least the minor hit I was expecting to the fuel economy never materialised. Even with my bike's wheels acting like tiny sails, the Clio is still averaging near-50mpg motorway runs.
I know this is hardly a regular use case for a supermini, but it would have been nice if there was a setting to disable the rear parking sensors while using a bike rack: with mine fitted, the car threw a fairly ominous dashboard error message when trying to park. Happily it disappeared by itself once the bike was removed.
Parking sensors aren't available on the entry-level Clio Play, and while mid-spec Iconic cars get rear sensors as standard, adding front ones and a reversing camera is a £400 option. The small rear windscreen and fairly prominent C-pillars mean rear visibility isn't all that great, so I'd consider the combination a must-have for anyone ordering a new Clio.
RS looksI think our car has a lot more presence than lesser-spec Clios but is more subtle than, say, an ST-Line Ford Fiesta.
Mystery rattleSomething appears to have come loose around the passenger air vents and now makes an irritating racket at low speeds.
Making sense of it all - 22 July 2020
Renault's My Sense driving modes are a mixed bag: Eco blunts throttle response without a major boost to fuel consumption and the way Sport tightens up the steering isn't always to the Clio's benefit. At least you can mix and match. That includes picking the ambient lighting, which stays on the right side of tasteful even if you opt for a more lurid colour.
Lexusfamously used a digital dash inthe LFA supercarbecause an analogue tacho wasn't fast enough for the engine. If you can believe it, the Clio has a similar issue: the on-screen readout can't keep up with the throttle, skipping digits as it displays your speed. It could be a second before you notice a heavy right foot at traffic lights has landed you north of the speed limit.
Great drives start with a great driving position, which our Clio finally gets right - 8 July 2020
Of the handful of Clios I've tried in the past, ...

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