Car of the week – April 30th – Renault Clio RS

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  • Wild child grows up: Renault Clio RS.

    The Renault Clio RS is one of those cars that has a dedicated following much like the VW Golf GTI and the Ford Focus ST so when a new one comes out it has a lot to live up to.

    – Car of the week – April 16th – Fiat 500L
    – Car of the week – April 2nd – Mercedes CLA 45 AMG

    This car’s DNA goes right back to the famed Clio Williams which used the Formula One partnership between Renault and Williams at the time to create a very impressive piece of kit. That was way back in 1993 with the first RS being launched in 1998.

    Since then the Clio RS has become associated with fun, reasonably good looks and bags of performance with a potent two-litre engine and manual transmission. 

    Personally, my favourite was the Clio V6 Renault Sport, a gorgeously aggressive looking car, but that’s another story.

    Sadly, with the way of the world as it is and pressure from the dreaded emissions police the RS powerplant has been downsized.

    The two litre engine has been ditched, along with the traditional manual transmission.

    It has been replaced with a 1.6 litre turbo with a six-speed double-clutch automatic gearbox, with a manual mode and paddle-shifts. 

    In effect, Renault Sport’s wild child has grown up and has taken on board a bit of refinement with the result that the hard-edged performance that attracted so many of its fans, has been slightly softened to bring it into the modern world of efficiency, lower emissions and a more friendly approach to life.

    But while some enthusiasts may turn up their nose at such modernization this does not make the latest generation of the Clio RS a bad car. Far from it. 

    Ok, it might not be quite as effervescent to drive but it still has plenty of poke and apart from a small amount of turbo lag provides an entertaining drive.

    The gearbox is smooth and in full automatic works perfectly well. I did, however, find the paddle-shifters a tad sloppy with the gear-changes not exactly lightning quick, even in Renault Sport mode. 

    The engine is potent enough and because this car has launch control it is pretty nippy off the mark and the noise, exaggerated by an enhancer, is smile-inducing.

    In fact, when you start it up it sounds like there is a much bigger engine under the bonnet. No such luck.

    The handling is what you would expect from a hot hatch but because this is a front wheel drive car there is a slight torque steering problem coming out of corners at speed but it is easily dealt with and in a funny sort of way helps make it an engaging drive.

    To look at, the car is distinctive, and the back, in particular, gives it a really aggressive look with the twin exhausts slotted into the rear splitter assembly.

    It sits on very nice 17-inch wheels and the whole effect is pretty cool.

    The interior is fairly basic but reasonably spacious a lot of plastic has been used but there is a leather steering wheel with the red RS logo on the bottom and red trim on the gear lever. 

    Our test car, kindly provided by Al Masaood Renault in Abu Dhabi, had cloth seats but there is a leather option which makes it feel a bit more upmarket.

    The instrument cluster is modern and ergonomically sound and the infotainment system – Renault’s RLink which operates via a seven-inch touch screen – is decent.

    You can use this system to check on all sorts of information like car set up, performance data and race track lap times if you are into that sort of thing. 

    You can actually buy an app for this car which apparently makes the engine sound like that of high powered cars like the Nissan GTR which I suppose adds a little fun if you are sad enough to want to do that. I don’t see the point.

    The cabin all looks very neat and tidy and has all the technology and driver assist controls you need.

    The layout is what you will find in many of the latest Renaults and the only slight complaint is the amount of drastic plastic. 

    It may not look like it at first glance, but this car also has four doors with the rear handles cleverly integrated into back of the rear window frames and there is ample room in the back for passengers.

    I enjoyed driving this little car and although it has lost some of the raw appeal of its predecessors it remains great fun to drive, both at speed and a more sedate pace.

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