The Clio is a safe bank for the French manufacturer Renault. Since 1990, over 13 million copies of the small car have been sold worldwide. The fourth generation of the Clio has been on the market since 2012 - time for a facelift. With revised optics, additional equipment and a new top-class diesel, the Clio competes in the Bordeaux test.
From the outside it is even more chic
The already swaggering female swarm was further refined outwardly in the context of the facelift. Both the front and the rear apron are slightly more pronounced. The new radiator grille and the full LED headlights built for the first time in the Clio give the smaller a more adult and sporty face. Especially the lights at the front value the Clio visually very much. Otherwise, there are still new 17-inch-rims in black with diamond-driven rim, which was it but also already.
Cosmetics for the interior
In the interior, Renault has endeavored to improve the feel on the dashboard, the door panels and the center console with modified material compositions. A big difference can not be felt. For the first time seats are available with an artificial leather-suede cover. They feel as plush as old cinemas, and you do not really want to imagine how they might look like 100,000 kilometers. The artificial leather seat covers are very soft and offer only moderate hold. A new addition is the possibility to order a Bose-Soundsystem, which ensures a significant improvement of the sound quality. A park radar, which helps both maneuvering at the front and rear as well as on the side with sensors, and a semi-autonomous parking mode round off the innovations in the cockpit of the Clio. The old-fashioned Tomtom-Navi also remains with the facelift on board and continues to annoy with crashes and very slow workstempmpo.
New Topdiesel with 110 hp
In my test car is the new topdiesel "dCi 110" installed. The four-cylinder turbo diesel engine with a displacement of 1.5 liters produces 110 hp and drives the Clio forward with 260 Newton meters. The unit is linked to a manual six-speed box and performs its service in the Clio unobtrusively and emotionless. With a value of 11.2 seconds from the stand to 100 pace, the little Frenchman is even slower towards speed than a smart smartbus - the facial features do not slip away. The new engine is exactly what you expect from it: it drives the car. Whether in the overpopulated B segment now for the Clio or one of the numerous competitors decides: The engine should have no influence on it - neither positive nor negative. The torque curve is very linear, a "punch" moment, in which the Clio pulls particularly strongly forward is not noticeable. When consuming, Renault gives a value of only 3.4 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers.
Chassis and steering remain unchanged
The chassis and the steering has left Renault unmolested within the scope of the Facelifts. Typically, the somewhat too easy steering and the very good comfort remain also on bad roads. The Clio is not characterized by side-tipping orgies or by a particularly taut chassis - an ideal everyday adjustment.
No need to buy
The Renault Clio is available with the dCi-110 engine exclusively in the higher-end equipment variants "Intens" and "GT Line". The fun starts at 19,790 euros. Whether you opt for the Clio or one of its competitors, which is admittedly optically quite right, you should, in addition to the willingness to spend almost 20,000 euros on a conventional 110-hp diesel, decide, above all, your personal taste for the design. You like the Clio? Good choice. But would you prefer another small car? They miss nothing.
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