The Renault Clio turns 25!! During the intervening years, and through four successive generations, it has become one of the world’s best-loved small cars:
from a newly qualified driver’s first ‘wheels’, to a hugely popular and potent track day machine – the Clio has evolved into many guises, taken on many personas, but always with a unique sense of French style, quality and practicality. In the process it has flown high in the sales charts, and even spawned one of the most famous TV advertisements ever made. Over 13 million Clios have been sold around the world since launch – enough to line them all up bonnet-to-boot and circle the globe almost one and a half times – with over 1.2 million sold in the UK.
The Clio story begins in 1990, during October at the Paris Motor Show, with the debut of a new Renault for the supermini class. Clio, taken from a Greek word meaning ‘made or to make famous’, the all-new car was naturally seeking to improve yet further on the qualities of the much-loved Renault 5. The principal aim of the new car was to ‘create big-car refinement in a small car’ – a ‘big’ little car, as it was referred to at the time. To that end, Renault made the car physically larger, some 2 inches longer and 2.5 inches wider, and increased the wheelbase and track to be the largest in the class to the benefit of ride comfort as well as handling. New ‘Energy’ engines of 1.2- and 1.4-litre capacity, and a high level of interior specification for the time, pushed the Clio even further upmarket.
The Clio I arrived in the UK on 29th March 1991 having already scooped the prestigious European Car of the Year award. In Britain, the range started with the RL 1.2 3-door at £7,190, and rose to the RT 1.4 five-door at £8,980; all models featured an extended eight-year corrosion warranty, with top-line RT specification bringing the sophistication of front electric windows, remote central locking and a stereo radio/cassette.
The Clio IV was the first all-new Clio to be designed under the watch of Renault’s current Head of Design, Laurens van den Acker. Unveiled at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, it deliberately set out to reinterpret the more dynamic visual qualities of the earlier Clios, while a longer body and significantly increased wheelbase improved even further the roominess within the car. Described as “simple, sensuous and warm”, the design of the five-door only Clio IV apes the coupe-like form of a three-door vehicle, with a lower roof than Clio III, a body that’s nearer to the ground and a wider track. The fourth generation Clio was heavily inspired by van den Acker’s striking 2010 DeZir concept and established the now familiar Renault design language that has been seen on every new Renault since then.
Renault’s prowess with turbocharging technology has realised an advanced range of petrol and diesel engines, with a naturally aspirated 1.2-litre 75hp engine complemented by a 0.9-litre, three-cylinder TCe with 90hp and a 1.2-litre TCe offering 120hp. The 1.5-litre dCi engine now boasts an incredible 88.3mpg combined fuel consumption figure, while the standard five-speed manual gearbox is joined by the option of Renault’s new six-speed dual-clutch gearbox, EDC – unimaginable technology in the era of the original Clio.
Inside the Clio IV, a striking dashboard design in the shape of an aircraft’s wing is combined with a tablet-style facia with the option of Renault’s new R-Link integrated touchscreen, a bridge between the world of motoring and the connected world outside, with TomTom navigation and a catalogue of available apps. A personalisation programme allows buyers the freedom to specify their Clio like never before: a fitting new chapter in the life of the ‘big’ little car that grew up over the course of 12 million sales and counting.
