You don’t have to look past the recent demise of the Ford Fiesta to realise just how difficult it is to make supermini margins stack up.
Thankfully, Renault feels there is still a place for its cutesy Clio and anyone who has ever driven one will be thankful for that.
Refreshed for the 2023-24 season, the latest model gains a cosmetically enhanced nose job featuring a chequered-style chromed grille, sleeker LED headlights and a more prominent Renault double-diamond logo. Higher-spec cars emphasise the front-end appearance with a striking-looking aerofoil blade, either in matching body colour or matt grey on highest-spec Esprit Alpine versions.
Although Renault has a history when it comes to penning outrageous rumps, modifications to the Clio’s derriere are restricted to a fresh lighting design, larger slashed bumper side vents and a reprofiled diffuser.
A similarly subtle wash and brush up has been applied to the interior, with the familiar compact sports steering wheel and Easy Link multimedia system touchscreen taking centre stage and a gratifying mix of soft and robust fixtures conjuring up a pleasing ambience.
For those on a tight budget, the 1.0-litre TCe 3-cylinder entry-level Evolution spec car can be had for a whisker under £18K and if experience has taught us anything this model will provide owners with plenty of giggles thanks to its fizzy engine, wrist flicking manual gearshift and reassuring dynamic agility.
Sadly, even a 1.0-litre budget supermini isn’t immune from the taxman’s greedy grasp these days and CO2 emissions of 118g/km will clobber this most basic Clio with an eye-wincing 28% BIK implication. This doesn’t sound encouraging for the larger capacity 1.6-litre E-Tech Clio but because this powertrain employs hybrid technology to reduce its CO2 figure to 96g/km tax is levied 4% lower than the 1.0-litre cars.
Utilising a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine mated to an innovative clutchless automatic gearbox, which employs a pair of electric motors to synchronise gearchanges, the hybrid Clio is considerably more refined than its 3-cylinder sibling, so much so it often feels like a car from a class above.
Utilising a 1.2kw battery, located just above the rear axle, this particular Clio always starts in electric mode and will provide silent running up to 27mph, albeit for a limited period.
When the petrol engine does kick in it does so in an impressively muted manner and generally, it stays that way, only becoming strained when pressed to the higher end of the rev range. The only real exception to this is when the gearbox is in neutral and the engine revs are jacked up to provide a reviving boost of electricity to the battery.
Regardless of its complexity, the transmission also works pretty seamlessly and is no more intrusive than a twin-clutch auto, with just the occasional shudder signalling a rare abrupt shift.
Despite pulling the best part of 150 kilos more than the 1.0-litre car the E-Tech Clio still retains a fun-to-drive nature. At low speeds there is some side-to-side suspension shimmy and changes in surface coverings become more audible once speeds increase but generally speaking the more enthusiastically you drive the more enjoyable things become.
It may demonstrate a grown-up feel but the Clio is not exactly big in the back, so many adults will find themselves sitting with their knees uncomfortably close to the front seat backs.
Although it remains a decent size, accommodating the E-Tech’s battery does reduce boot capacity falling from 391 litres in the 3-cylinder models to 301 litres.
With prices starting at a shade under £21,295, the hybrid Clio’s P11D does seem quite punchy compared to the entry model, but given its lower taxation implications and refinement gains, if the sums work for you, it’s difficult to think of many better B-Class alternatives.
Renault Clio E-Tech Esprit Alpine
P11D: £24,095
Residual value: 46.1%
Depreciation: £12,060
Fuel: £6,443
Service, maintenance and repair: £1,839
Cost per mile: 33.90p
Fuel consumption: 65.7mpg
CO2 (BIK %): 97g/km (24%)
BIK 20/40% a month: £95/£191
Luggage capacity: 301 litres
Engine size/power: 1,598cc/145hp
