While Ford and Opel/Vauxhall believe a B segment sports model should be a coupe with a slick manual gearbox, Renault thinks otherwise. Glenn Brooks samples the R.S. Clio 200 EDC, a hot hatch with rear doors, and automatic transmission.
First off, the answer to the obvious question. Yes, a dual clutch gearbox does work as the default transmission for a small sporty hatchback but it’s fair to be suspicious that it might not. Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of automatics though not always of CVTs, while there was a dual clutch auto in a SEAT Ibiza a few months back which wasn’t the smoothest ‘box in the business.
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The six-speed EDC (Electronic Dual Clutch) transmission in this R.S. version of the Clio has won me over, though it did take a couple of days to get used to it. One of its coolest tricks is a multi-change downshift function via the aluminium paddles, with Renault claiming this to be the first non-supercar to have such a function.
Weight reduction is clearly becoming a major new trend in Europe’s B-segment, with Renault claiming a 100kg version-for-version saving for its fourth generation Clio but just 36kg for the R.S. variant. That, despite this car having a 1.6-litre engine compared to the 2.0-litre unit of its predecessor. Still, what matters is the overall economy, CO2 and performance mix, and here the Renaultsport impresses. Zero to sixty takes just 6.7 seconds, top speed is 143mph, average emissions are 144g/km, the VED band in the UK market is F and the real world Combined cycle figure is an amazing-for-the-performance 44.8mpg.
The fastest Clio weighs in at 1,204kg which is pretty good for something with so much standard equipment, as well as the quasi-automatic transmission. For the record, your GBP19,995 for the top of the range Lux trim gets you cruise control, hill start assist, an R-Link multimedia system with navigation, aluminium pedals, dark windows, leather trim on the steering wheel rim, electrically-folding mirrors, climate control and four electric windows. The test car was fitted with optional body-coloured rear parking sensors (GBP350) and a few other items which brought it up to GBP21,050 which isn’t bad value considering the gear you get and the performance/economy mélange. The press review car was white but you might have seen one in a striking metallic which I’ve since learned is called Liquid Yellow. To have your R.S. in this shade will cost you an additional GBP1,300.
The Clio IV uses the same Renault-Nissan Alliance B platform as the third generation model but is longer, wider and lower, while the three-door body style was not replaced. There is also a wagon, but not in the UK. The old car, incidentally, remains in production but is renamed ‘Clio Collection’ and is offered as a cheaper alternative though the former R.S. version has been discontinued.
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By GlobalDataWhile the old Clio R.S. also had a 200hp engine, this came from a normally aspirated 2.0-litre unit, whilst the new car’s 1.6 is turbocharged and has an extra 25Nm of torque (now 240Nm). The additional twisting effort at just 1,750rpm comes into its own if you select launch control mode. To do this, place the gearlever into manual, pull on both paddles, put one foot on the throttle as well as the footbrake and then…release. It’s enormous fun but probably best to leave this sort of stuff for a track day. What you can do every day, is push the RS Drive button, which is hidden away between the seats. That means you get automatic throttle blipping on every downward change, just like in the Nissan GT-R.
Things to love apart from the performance and extraordinary grip and handling are the interior – I can forgive the hard plastics as the seats are super-comfortable despite their firmness – and the styling at both front- and rear-ends. You cannot mistake this Clio for any other car and I mean that in a good way. There are all manner of smart details such as rectangular exhausts integrated into a diffuser, and a differently shaped diffuser at the front that apparently plays a major roll in keeping the front end of the car held down at higher speeds.
Something that often bugs me in test cars is the annoyance of automatic wipers. Usually, they just don’t work as well as they ought to. The Clio had easily the best I’ve yet tried and the windscreen mounted sensor was also one of the smallest, so the technology must have jumped a generation. Let’s hope more manufacturers start fitting the same system as featured in this Renaultsport.
Another gripe of mine has been Renault’s sometimes unreliable keycard locking and unlocking system. It seems there has been work done on refining this as it’s now a seemless operation, every time. Walk away from the car and you’ll hear the locks clunk as well as a beep, or if you’re approaching, just touch any door handle or the boot button and the whole vehicle unlocks. I’m not normally into press button starters but somehow it suits the nature of this car to have that feature.
Apart from the 1.6-litre turbo unit in the Renaultsport, there are of course smaller, less powerful engines. The former 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel were updated and are supplemented by the Energy TCe 898cc turbocharged petrol unit. This one is all about low emissions, and it has an average CO2 output of 99g/km.
Renault believes drivers will be encouraged to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by as much as 10% thanks to a push-button eco mode which modifies the car’s performance parameters. Helping you get more miles for your gallon, are a driving style monitor which glows green, yellow or orange and a gear shift indicator. There’s also a driving eco² app available from a special R-Link store (via My Renault) through the dashboard-mounted R-Link tablet which allows the way you drive to be analysed.
The seven-inch (18cm) touchscreen recognises intuitive voice commands and, as a market first, a home page that can be personalised by the user for access to essential functions, without the driver having to take his or her eyes off the road. Further, TomTom connected navigation includes Live services and boasts the market’s claimed best real-time traffic information, helping to minimise journey times and fuel consumption.
It’s almost hard to believe with so many of the latest shape Clios on the roads that the fourth generation model series was launched only a year ago at the Paris motor show, as was the Renaultsport derivative. Like the previous X85 model, the new B98 series range is manufactured in France and Turkey. Build in Brazil may follow during 2014.
The Flins plant is the main production location in France, with the Cio, Clio Collection and Zoe all built on the same line. Final assembly for the R.S. derivative is, however, undertaken at Dieppe, the historic home of the Alpine marque, which Renault will revive in 2015 when it launches the S1 sports car. Some 300 people work on site at Renaultsport headquarters in Dieppe and this plant has built over 400,000 cars since opening in 1969, of which 81,500 have been Clio R.S. models.
Primed Renaultsport Clio R.S. 200 EDC bodies are delivered from Flins for painting at Dieppe, with all panels painted on-site, as opposed to roughly half for the previous model. The company claims that each car takes 26 hours to manufacture, which is obviously far longer than a normal Clio due to the hand-built nature of some parts of the production process.
The R.S. will never be a big volume model but the Clio range is proving to be even more successful here in Britain than the old-shape car was. As I write this, registrations totals for November are yet to be released by the SMMT. However, during the peak month of September and in October, the first peak period with the new Clio and all-new Captur crossover, retail car sales for the Renault brand increased by a record 32.1 per cent. They also rose by a record 97.1 per cent for the group (Renault+Dacia) versus 2012; outpacing the retail car market growth of 14.9 per cent in the same period. In these two months, with the launch of Captur, the Renault brand increased its volume in the growing B-segment by a record 76.0 per cent.
Along with the Captur, Renault UK group car sales, including Renault and Dacia brands, for the 10-month period of January to October increased a record 46.1 per cent to 49,154 units, up from last year’s total of 33,640, according to SMMT figures.
