Road test: Renault Clio Sport

By Feann Torr

While the hot-hatch segment in Australia hasn't always flourished in the past, lovers of small-but-agile vehicles are spoilt for choice today.

But more than just having a wide range of marques and models to choose from, most of today's fettled hatches also come with serious standard features, the likes of which have elevated their popularity considerably.

The best way to describe a hot-hatch in today's world is essentially any small-bodied hatch with more than 100kW.

Some may scoff at the piddly figure, but their respective power-to-weight ratios are always eye-opening, and their short wheel-bases make them perfect for tackling demandingly twisty stretches of blacktop.

Herein we'll look at Renault's potent 2.0-litre Clio variant, but other contenders sitting near the 35-grand threshold include the venerable Peugeot 206 GTi (and soon the more powerful Pug GTi 180), VW Golf GTi, the Holden Astra Turbo, Toyota Corolla Sportivo and the Ford Focus ST170.

Make: Renault
Model: Clio Sport
Price: $33,990
Transmission: manual (5-speed)
Engine: 2.0-litre, inline four-cylinder, EFI, DOHC with variable valve technology
Fuel Consumption: City cycle - 9.0-litres/100km, Highway cycle - 6.8-litres/100km
Seats: 5
Safety: Driver and front passenger airbags, front side (thorax) airbags, ABS, EBD, Electronic Stability Program (ESP)

Drive

Renault's Clio Sport is deceptively quick

The French get ribbed for a lot of things, and it's very easy to instantly erupt into a litany of blue language after stepping into the Clio Sport.

For starters, the indicator/windscreen wiper stalks are laid out contrary to most Australian vehicles. Furthermore, popping the bonnet involves reaching into to the front passenger's footwell. What's with that?

Indeed, there are some interesting design decisions evident in the Clio, but once you start up the little blighter and floor the throttle in first (and second, third and perhaps even fourth), you start to forget about how clean your windscreen is, particularly after navigating roundabouts...

The two-door Clio Sport is a very comfortable place to spend ones driving time, which is almost in contrast to its high-pitched performance potentional.

Interior space for the driver and front passenger is well above average and making my six foot frame comfy took less than 20 seconds.

At the same time, the drivers seat alone comes with height and lumbar adjust, which along with only tilt adjust on the steering wheel is a bit disappointing, particularly in what is the top-shelf model in the Clio range.

Pulling away from standstill is a little unnerving at first - due to the sensitive throttle - but rowing through the short-throw 5-speed gearbox is great fun, and although the learning curve isn't easy, it doesn't take long to accustomise oneself to the loud pedal. The steering mechanics are also top notch, with good amounts of power-assistance at low speeds, plus predictable and responsive steering at high speeds.

Like all Renault Clios in the range, the Sport gets a nifty audio controller stalk on the right-hand side and behind the steering wheel, which is a really practical and useful feature. Better than most controls (which are often located on the face of the steering wheel), it's easy to use and allows you keep you eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

The drivetrain is really quite impressive, though if I had one criticism it would be of the throttle, rather than the clutch or the gear shifts. I just found it a little sensitive: Normally the first few degrees of actuation won't elicit much response, but the Clio is very touchy in this respect.

Still, it's more of trivial objection rather than a major criticism, and after a while one adpats to it, and before long you're concentrating instead on the vehicle's inspired driving dynamics.

The Clio Sport tips the scales at 1035kg dry (no petrol, people or luggage), which is feather light in today's era of XR8 Falcons, whose bulk totals just under 1800kg in manual form. It also helps explain the Clio Sport's prodigious 0-100km/h times and eye-opening dexterity.

With a 10.7 metre turning circle, the Clio Sport is easy to wedge into tight spaces and general commuting and city driving isn't too much of a hassle, though expect to be changing gears often. The Clio sits on 15-inch alloy wheels, shod with 195/50 profile tyres, which provide good amounts of grip, even in wet conditions.

French styling-cues are different, but tasteful

While the Clio Sport's compact dimensions translate to hassle-free urban driving, taking the 2.0-litre Clio into Victoria's high country proved that the French really know to tune a chassis.

Fitted with independent suspension at all four corners, complete with a fixed-mount anti-roll bar fore, and an enclosed anti-roll bar aft, the Clio Sport thrives on a diet of tight hairpins, smooth flip-flops and sweeping corners.

Hauling the surprisingly fast little hatch in from speed are ventilated discs up front (280mm) and solid discs at the rear (228mm). Coupled with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), it makes for formidable and assuring stopping power. Renault has also upgraded all 2003 Sport models with switchable ESP, which I can honestly say works brilliantly - but more on that on page 2...

Exterior

The front end actually looks pretty cool, what with it's stubby bonnet and mixture of fog lights, halogen high beams and HID xenon secondary globes, the latter of which are encased in classy-looking teardrop silver bezels.

One thing that I noticed, particularly after stepping out of Honda's Jazz VTi, was that the Clio Sport is very low. While you'll never have to shoe-horn yourself into the cabin (the doors are nice and long), the car's body just sits very low to the ground, and in terms of visual appeal, it gives the Clio a much-needed does of menace.

Overall the car is quite curvaceous - yet well proportioned with its short overhangs - and the brake light cluster highlights the curvy theme with its spherical designs. A small roof spoiler at the rear, with integrated LED brake light cluster looks nice, and the five-spoke alloy wheels, while only 15 inches in diameter, actually look really sporty, which is due to the tyre's low-profile sidewalls: 50mm.

Compared to the Peugeot 206GTi, the Clio Sport doesn't quite have that elegant quality, but sitting atop the Clio range, the 2.0-litre Sport differentiates itself noticably, and pleasantly, when compared to the other models in the range.

Interior

Stepping inside the Clio Sport, the driver and front passenger will be greeted by a pair of bucket seats, finished in suede and leather. While their tactile influence is pleasing, they actually do a really good job of keeping occupants secure in a variety of driving styles and conditions, and the headrests are comfy too.

As is mentioned above, it doesn't take long to sort out a comfy driving position, and despite a lack of extra adjustments, I think the seats are really well built, very snug and secure. The lateral support is assuring and you can confidently press yourself against them when pushing the limit.

Though you can't see them, the seats are great

Cabin space for the driver and front passenger is good, with adequate amounts of elbow, shoulder and head room, which comes in handy when you get overeager on a curly section of blacktop.

Leg room isn't outstanding, yet neither is it poor, but kudos goes to Renault for its killer steering wheel: It's hand-stitched leather feels great, and the rubber grips @ 2 and 10 o'clock are deserving of praise too.

Rear passenger room isn't too flash, but then it never claims to be - this is a small car, afterall.

While legroom is at a premium, particularly when people like myself insist on having the front seats moved right back, the rear seats still manage to be quiet oppulent, with more leather (and less suede) than the front seats.

There's three headrests in the rear bench, and bootspace is slightly above par for this class of car. The rear seats can be folded down for extra room - with enough room for a couple of mountain bikes - and also in the 60:40 split fold method.

The driving instrumentation looks rather classy, with silver-rimmed speedo/tacho, the latter of which reads up to 240km/h.

Apart from the classy dials, the rest of the cabin - while comfy - is a little generic, and I felt that a little more luxe would have gone a long way.

Still, the six-stacker CD stereo pumps hard, and while the stacker is located under the front passengers seat, there's also a single-CD player in the face of the stereo. The Clio Sport offers climate control and air conditioning, and although the centre stack looks a little busy at first, it actually turns out to work remarkably well with time.

>> Page 2: Comfort & Handling, Engine, Extras, Overall