Renaultsport Clio 200

• Rating:
• Latest deal price: from £8,279 to £15,992
• On the road price: £10,395 - £9,195

Styling / Image
Blending good looks, thrilling performance and excellent handling, Renaultsport’s Clio 197 was a true all-rounder. But with such a high benchmark, how does its replacement, the slightly more powerful Clio 200 fare? Most of the major revisions have been made up front. With a more aggressive-looking bumper, inspired by the firms F1 front wing, lower front air intake and new headlights the 200 looks even meaner than its predecessor. Five new sets of 17-inch alloy-wheels are available, while around back the twin pipe, diffuser and spoiler combination remain virtually unchanged.

Interior/Practicality
Inside, the Clio 200 comes with ‘Renaultsport’ cloth upholstery seats, a leather gear stick and steering wheel as standard. The seats provide a snug fit for the driver as you would hope from a race car but unlike a race car the Clio has room in the back and a boot you can actually use, swallowing up to 288-litres of luggage. Don't expect any radical changes over the standard Clio though, the sport version shares its interior almost exactly with the rest of the range. Available in two versions, the lighter race-geared ‘Cup’ version comes with a stripped down cabin, resulting in a 36kg loss in weight, while the standard car gets sat-nav and a stereo.

Engines/Performance
With it’s 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder engine the Clio 200 manages to deliver a punchy 197bhp in both the ‘Standard’ and ‘Cup’ versions. Reaching its max torque at around 5,400 rpm the Clio is a car that likes to be driven hard, and its 0-62mph of 6.9 seconds further reflects this. The six-speed Clio gets lower ratios for the first three gears now too, to make better use of the revised engine.

Driving experience
On the road the ‘Renaultsport’ is a real drivers car. With its punchy, tuneful engine it’s great on the move. And the chassis, which draws inspiration from the firms Formula 1 car, offers tonnes of grip on the windy British B-roads. But equally important the Clio offers lots of refinement and reasonable equipment too making it a more than capable every day car.

Ownership costs
At £15,750 the entry-level Clio 200 Cup, does offer good value for money considering what a dynamic package you're getting. It is also more efficient than the previous car, offering a very reasonable efficiency of 34.4mpg.

Safety/Environment
A five-star score in the tough new EuroNCAP tests is proof of the Clio’s strength. And for eco-minded buyers emmsions have alos been improved on with the car now rated at 195g/km of CO2.

Our choice: Clio Renaultsport 200 Cup











 

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Model Variants and Specifications

• Renault Clio Expression 1.2 16V 75 eco2 £10250
• Renault Clio Bizu dCi 88 FAP eco2 £10395
• Renault Clio Bizu dCi 88 FAP eco2 £10995
• Renault Clio Expression 1.2 16V 75 eco2 £11000
• Renault Clio Expression dCi 88 FAP eco2 £12050
• Renault Clio Dynamique TomTom 1.2 16V 75 eco2 £12250
• Renault Clio Expression dCi 88 eco2 £12800
• Renault Clio Dynamique TomTom 1.2 16V 75 eco2 £12850
• Renault Clio Expression 1.6 VVT 111 Auto A/C £12925
• Renault Clio Dynamique TomTom 1.2 TCe 100 eco2 £12950
• Renault Clio Expression 1.6 VVT 111 Auto A/C £13525
• Renault Clio Dynamique TomTom 1.2 TCe 100 eco2 £13550
• Renault Clio GT Line TomTom 1.2 TCe 100 eco2 £13850
• Renault Clio Dynamique TomTom dCi 88 eco2 £14200
• Renault Clio Dynamique TomTom 1.6 VVT 111 Auto £14350
• Renault Clio GT Line TomTom 1.2 TCe 100 eco2 £14450
• Renault Clio Dynamique TomTom dCi 88 eco2 £14800
• Renault Clio Dynamique TomTom 1.6 VVT 111 Auto £14950
• Renault Clio GT Line TomTom dCi 88 FAP eco2 £14950
• Renault Clio GT Line TomTom 1.6 VVT 111 Auto £15250
• Renault Clio GT Line TomTom dCi 88 FAP eco2 £15550
• Renault Clio GT Line TomTom 1.6 VVT 111 Automatic £15850
• Renault Clio Renaultsport 200 Cup £16810
• Renault Clio Renaultsport 200 £17810
• Renault Clio Gordini 200 2.0 VVT £19750
• Renault Clio Bizu 1.2 16V 75 eco2 £8595
• Renault Clio Bizu 1.2 16V 75 eco2 £9195