Renault Clio 0.9TCE

Working away today so I was provided with a hire car. Previous experience working away, I had been provided with a Seat Leon 1.2TSI which was superb and a Toyota Rav4 which was surprisingly good and I ended up seeing why people buy them.

This time I was given a 15 plate Clio 0.9TCE. Always liked how the new Clio looks and certainly enjoy watching the Clio cup on the BTCC coverage but have never been sure about Renaults. Indeed just reversing it back a couple of metres last night so our neighbours could park up raised my eyebrows as I had almost fully lifted the clutch pedal before the car started moving backwards.

So to today, I had this car to drive from home, to Ratcliffe power station, to Lincoln then back home so a good mix of city driving and A roads. Got to the junction at the end of my road, hit the brakes to stop and initially there wasn't a lot of response but once the brakes apply they are very sharp (as you would hope on a 15 plate 2k mile car). I soon got a feel for the brakes and adapted to the high bite point clutch and was able to relax into the 45 mile from home to Ratcliffe. Although the engine isn't what you would call powerful, the turbocharger provides plenty of punch and allowed for a fairly quiet cruise at 65-70mph on the A46 dual carriageway without too much effort, not bad for a 900cc unit.

The ride comfort on the bumps needs improvement but coming from my Octavia that comparatively glides over the bumps, I have driven far worse and it didn't ruin the journey.

I wasn't able to get an accurate reading on fuel economy but my estimate is 45-50mpg making reasonable progress.

Enjoyable to drive and did exceed my expectations but just lacks a little bit of refinement engine-wise or perhaps I am just being a bit harsh on a tiny 3 pot motor.

So would I go out and buy one with my own money? Probably not if the equivalent Fiesta Ecoboost or Fabia TSI turned out to be any good but Renaults supermini is not a bad little car to drive.