RENAULT wheeled out an all-new Clio towards the end of last year but you could be forgiven for not noticing, writes William Scholes.
That's because at first glance, this latest Clio - the fifth generation to bear the nameplate in 30 years, in which time it has become the best-selling French car ever - looks a lot like the one it replaced.
Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Clio has always been one of the nicer looking small cars and the last version still looked fresh when it went off-sale last year.
Renault may have been further persuaded to stick with the same-again styling because customers clearly loved the outgoing car, evidenced by the fact they bought them in droves.
As Volkswagen has shown through eight carefully curated generations of the Golf, gentle evolution can be an advantage in the mainstream family car market.
Strong initial sales for the new Clio would appear to have vindicated Renault's decision.
The Clio is Europe's reigning most popular small car, and in February it was the biggest seller of them all, dethroning the Golf from its traditional number one position.
There are caveats - there were fewer than 200 registrations in it, and the Golf was in between its Mk 7 and Mk 8 iterations at the time. Coronavirus was also beginning to take its first bites at supply chains.
It is perhaps too much to expect the Clio to remain at number one when - if - Europe's new car market regains some semblance of post-Covid-19 equilibrium.
In any case, the Golf isn't the Clio's real rival. For that, you have to look at cars like the Ford Fiesta - decisively the most popular small car in Northern Ireland - as well as the new Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Polo, Mazda 2 and Seat Ibiza.
But the Clio's most natural opponent is the Peugeot 208. There's a new one of those too, and my original masterplan was to drive them back-to-back to get a feel for which French organisation's take on the small hatchback best suited our roads.
As with so many other plans, coronavirus got in the way of that. I had already enjoyed a week with the Clio when the 208 arrived on my driveway, its timing perfectly coinciding with lockdown. In the end, the Peugeot didn't turn a wheel for two weeks and I didn't even start the engine.
That means a proper comparison will have to wait. What can be said, though, is that where the Clio's styling looks like it has been with us for a while, the 208 is a more modern design.
Underneath the same-again styling is a car that feels at least one generation ahead of its predecessor. The sparkling interior alone is a leap forward, and the Clio's sense of refinement is also deeply impressive
All is not lost for the Clio, though. For underneath the skin is a car that feels at least one generation ahead of its predecessor.
The sparkling interior alone would be a leap forward, but the Clio's sense of refinement - at least in the engine and transmission I tried - is also deeply impressive.
It's built on the same platform as the new Nissan Juke; the two companies operate an alliance, sharing engines and various other oily parts, and this also means the Clio can be had with all the latest safety kit and driver assistance aids.
Another advantage of using a bang up-to-date platform is space efficiency.
Despite appearances, the new Clio is actually a little smaller on the outside than its predecessor - the wheelbase is shorter and the roofline is 43mm lower, for example - but it is more spacious for passengers and their luggage (the boot's seats-up volume is a very generous 391 litres).
And model for model, it is around 50kg lighter, which always helps with efficiency.
The gadget count is assuredly 2020 as well - try Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, digital dashboard, 4G connectivity, LED headlamps and ambient lighting - and the safety aids include an optional 'EasyDrive' system which looks after steering, acceleration and braking in certain conditions.
Lane-keep assist, traffic sign recognition, cruise control and automatic emergency braking with cyclist and pedestrian detection are on board, and the Clio was one of the safest cars of any size tested by Euro Ncap last year.
Petrol engines include a 71bhp/70lb.ft 1.0-litre, a 99bhp/118lb.ft turbocharged 1.0-litre and a 128bhp/177lb.ft 1.3-litre turbo, badged SCe 75, TCe 100 and TCe 130 respectively.
If you want a Clio diesel, for now a 1.5-litre 'Blue dCi 85' engine with 84bhp and 162lb.ft is your only choice. Treat it right, and you should be able to get nearly 80mpg... A 'Blue dCi 115' with 113bhp and 192lb.ft is expected later.
The petrols use a five-speed manual gearbox apart from the 128bhp car, which comes only with a seven-speed double-clutch gearbox. If you must, you can also have the TCe 100 car with a CVT transmission. The diesel has a six-speed manual.
Unlike rivals such as the closely-related Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Corsa, the Clio won't be offered with a battery-electric drivetrain.
Renault is content that the big-selling Zoe can cater for customers who want a small EV.
There will, however, be a hybrid Clio, badged E-Tech. It uses a 1.6-litre petrol engine, two electric motors and a 1.2kWh battery, all linked together with a clever 'multi-mode' gearbox.
Renault reckons that so equipped, the Clio can tootle around town in EV mode "for around 80 per cent of the time".
It won't be offered as a plug-in hybrid, though - that distinction is reserved for the Captur, the Clio's chunky mini-SUV sidekick.
There are four trim levels, ascending from the entry level Play (from £14,895) to Iconic (£15,895), S Edition (from £17,695) and RS Line (from £17,995).
My test car was a top-of-the-range RS Line TCe 130 with the obligatory automatic gearbox which, with a few options fitted, came with a price tag nudging £22k.
That's a not insubstantial amount of money for a small car, but in this guise at least the Clio feels good for it. (Prices, like cars themselves, have got bigger over time, haven't they?)
The Clio has to be an essential fixture on the checklist of anyone in the market for a small hatchback, for it is right at the top of a class occupied by a bunch of talented contenders
The interior quality is in a different league to the previous Clio. A large infotainment screen, portrait-orientated as is Renault's style, catches the eye, but everything you touch and operate regularly feels slick and operates with precision.
These aren't things that one has always been able to say about a Renault. Its five-year/100,000-mile warranty is also noteworthy.
It looks great, too, and the overall ambience is that of a larger, plush car.
The driving experience is similarly mature, with comfort and refinement clearly prioritised. It's remarkably quiet on a motorway journey, for example, with wind and tyre noise well suppressed.
If you prefer your small hatchback to be more overtly fun to drive, then a Ford Fiesta or Mazda 2 will be a better bet.
But I reckon the majority of people will be just fine with the Clio's grown-up feel. It means the Clio is closer in character to the Volkswagen Polo than the Fiesta.
The Renault's upmarket interior also helps make Polo comparisons inevitable, though the Clio's cabin has far more flair. It's a more interesting car from the outside, too.
Taken together, the Clio manages to be both reassuringly familiar and decisively better.
The Clio has to be an essential fixture on the checklist of anyone in the market for a small hatchback, for it is right at the top of a class occupied by a bunch of talented contenders.
AT A GLANCE
Renault Clio TCe 130 RS Line
Price: £20,995. As tested £22,355. Options included spare wheel £200, metallic paint £660 and 'techno pack' with hands-free parking, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, 360-degree camera and wireless phone charging £500
Engine and transmission: 1.3-litre four-cylinder petrol turbo, front-wheel-drive, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox; 128bhp, 177lb.ft
Performance: Top speed 124mph, 0-62mph in 9.0 seconds
Fuel consumption: 49.6mpg (WLTP combined); 45.4mpg (real world); 130g/km (WLTP)
Car tax: £175 in first year, then £150 annually
Benefit in kind: 29 per cent
Euro Ncap safety rating: Five stars (96/89/72/75), 2019
