Excelent little car for small family (Renault Clio 1.4 5-door)

Member Name: welshmikey

Product:	Renault Clio 1.4 5-door
Date:	17/02/09 (56 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very fuel economical, reliable and practical

Disadvantages: Dosnt cope on ice very well, perhas this is my tyres?

I have owned the 2001 model of this car now for 2 years with my NAN being the only previous owner. Best part about the car is its fuel economy and for the most part reliability. There is also ample amounts of boot space.

Fuel economy:

I drive the petrol version and a single tank costs under £30 which is enough to get me from the outskirts of London to Swansea in South Wales and back (just). The diesel version has one of the best fuel economies of any car in its class.

Handling:

The Clio is a nice little car and comes with decent handling. I only have the peughot 306, mercades a class and toyota yaris to compare it too but apart from the yaris I feel it could compete with the others quite well. Tough the mercades a class driving position is much nicer than any of the other cars mentioned.

Reliabilty:

For the most part it is very reliable but like all cars has some faults. Im very sorry for not being able to remeber the part name (will edit this when i find out) but under the bonnet there are what I think are pistons on the engine? these are known for breaking on the clio and cause the engine to vibrate, it is still drivable but makes you feel liek you are driving a tumble drier. The part cost me £40 to replace though this will vary from garage to garage significantly. It has gone twice on my car so far.
Also dont be an idiot like me and decided to take it over speed bumps very fast, I have damaged the constant velocity joint by doing so and costs a lot of money in labour to replace. I am stil lgetting quotes on that part but they are approximately £40-100 for the part plus labour costs which are huge.

Practicality:

For a single or two member family (or young kids aswell) this car is highly practical. For 5 adults on a camping trip you will struggle ^_^.
For those of you that liek surfing with the seadt down you can fit a 6ft - 6ft 5 inch board in there without problem (boot closed) and with the boot open i have take two of us and a long board each for a short trip to the beach.
Bike racks also secure on well.

Acceleration:

I have heard from another review this is good, I have to disagree. Its not poor but out of all the cars I have driven this has the least acceleration.

Accelerator and clutch sensitivity:

I found this car very easy to adapt to, the hardest part to adapt to overall was the steering which im not used to but compared to the mercades a class I drove before it is quite heavy.

Brakes:

The stock brakes on this car are very good and reliable.

Icy conditions:

Im not sure if all cars of this size are the same but this thing skids on ice, gritted roads are fine but any black ice and you will skid im sure of it though its fairly easy to get back under control.

Tape vs CD:

Not sure if the newer models come with this option but tape is better imo ^_^ you can play your old classics and hook up an mp3 player with an adapter that costs just £2 on ebay.

Driving comfort:

Longest journeys I do are four hours, this hasnt been a problem for me

Summary: For the price a lovely little car to drive

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