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Renault Clio Gallery
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| PERFORMANCE RATING: |
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It's a shame that modern diesel technology places an average £1000 premium on the price of Clios with oil-burning engines, for they are quite substantially superior to the petrol versions, and not just in traditional areas such as economy and emissions.
The 1.2-litre petrol engine is sweet enough, but it's unequal to the task of carrying the Clio at a respectable rate, a fact illustrated by its slow 13.4sec 0-60mph time. The 1.4-litre engine cuts this to 11.3sec and, as this figure suggests, provides a considerably livelier ride, but even the 1.6-litre Clio never feels that fleet-footed, and cannot duck into single figures for the 0-60mph sprint.
The same is true of the diesels, but because they do their best work at around 2000rpm and are blessed with huge torque, they give the impression not only of better real-world performance, but also hugely enhanced refinement. Indeed, you never really need to extend either the 86 or 106bhp diesel engines beyond 3000rpm to make convincing cross country progress, a speed at which the petrol engines are still over 1000rpm below peak torque.
All Clios save the highest-powered diesel use a five-speed gearbox. The new six-speeder in the 106bhp diesel is slick and swift but does not, on its own, constitute grounds to spend the extra £700 over the 86bhp diesel. Indeed, while the price issue will inevitably make the 1.2 and 1.4-litre petrol engines the best-sellers, it is the mid-spec diesel that is the pick of the crop.
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