Sometimes, I can really take my hat off to marketing folk in the motoring industry. Of course, not all of them work off the same page and even in this day and age there are still some who are prejudicial and rude. But there are some who are exceedingly cunning and clever, such as the Renault team.
The launch of the new Clio 3 happened on the weekend of the Silverstone Grand Prix, so when we were not talking about the impressive new car, we were watching Fernando Alonso outgun Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen and we were toasting Renault’s success with, you guessed it, champagne. And during our leisure time, we watched the French Open finals. A perfectly orchestrated onslaught of everything we love about the French. And just to bring it all back into focus, Roland Bouchara, MD of Renault South Africa, said, as Alonso drenched his teammates in champagne: “Don’t forget one thing, it’s the car 70% and the driver 30%.”
While I would probably give Alonso a little more credit, the fact remains that the F1 Renaults are very strong vehicles and while the gutsy little Clio can obviously never compare, it nevertheless does benefit from Renault’s overall success.
Clio 3 is a much more robust looking car than Clio 2 and the overall design is intended to be a touch edgy to attract male buyers while not losing its appeal among its female fanbase. As with most cars these days, it has grown fractionally wider and longer to offer more rear legroom and overall space, though it cannot be described as a family car.
The new Clio comes in five-door and three-door options with two petrol engines (a 1,4 litre and a 1,6 litre), with a diesel and a range- topping sports version to be introduced later this year.
Inside, the Clio has a simple instrument layout. Considering that this is slightly above the entry-level bracket, one can’t expect too much of the fit, finishings and upholstery, but it is nonetheless comfortable and functional. Standard features include air conditioning, electric windows and a CD player that is MP3 compatible.
Of course, when we started talking about safety, we asked about the recent incident where a woman in a Clio 2 was injured by an airbag deploying for no reason. Bouchara said Renault was still investigating the incident and had to get authorisation to inspect the vehicle. He assured us that once the airbag experts from Paris had looked at the car, Renault would issue a press release on exactly what went wrong. It has to be said that Renault is not the first manufacturer in this country to have an airbag deploying without the vehicle being in an accident.
Clio 3 has achieved a five-star Euro NCAP rating and features four airbags, seatbelt pretensioners and an anti-lock braking system.
On the road, the Clio delivers an impressively comfortable ride and has an almost big car feel to it. The road-holding is good and the suspension is soft enough to make even long-distance driving a treat. Optional extras on the Clio include cruise control and a push-button start with a credit-card-type key, which other more expensive vehicles are not offering yet.
The 1,4 litre was a touch lethargic, but it was obviously the 1,6 litre that chewed up those long distance kilometres with ease. Renault says the 1,6 litre is capable of 6,6 litres per 100km on a combined cycle, but I found it to be a tad more thirsty than that. Then again, I was guilty of putting foot, so if you keep things legal, you’ll probably get better figures than I did.
Prices range from R126 000 for the three-door Expression to R141 000 for the 1,6 litre Dynamique.
All in all, it’s easy to see why Clio 3 was awarded the prestigious European Car of the Year Award for 2006 as it really is a well-equipped, comfortable little car.