Renaultsport Clio Cup

The competition in this year’s high-performance shoot-out has been tougher than ever. Take the Renaultsport Clio for example. All the best bits of last year’s fifth-placed R27 special edition feature on the cheaper 2008 Cup variant, yet this year the French model finishes sixth. That’s still a great achievement. It’s the second cheapest model on test here, and despite being second slowest against the clock, the Clio was a hoot to drive to the track, around the circuit and home again.

Like the top-selling French hot hatches of the past, it relishes being driven hard. Chassis tweaks sharpen the responses of the already capable 197, and there’s no doubt this is one of the all-time great Renaultsport models.

Even though it has finished behind the MINI JCW, the Clio manages to flow from corner to corner with less fuss. It could do with more steering feel, but the way the Renault grips hard when cornering and raises an inside rear wheel as you lift off the accelerator to tuck the nose into the bend is simply superb. If your performance car budget is set at £15,000, there is no better way to spend it than on a Clio Cup.

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