Renault Clio 2004 Review

Not the car itself, but the colour.

In the mid-1960s, Renault performance tuner Gordini turned out some pretty sharp and fast editions of the Renault 8.

To distinguish the cars, a special colour was available – an eye-jarring bright blue that would have been a shocker to a conservative 1960s kind of world.

Well, it's back. Not in a Gordini, but in its spiritual successor, the Renault Clio 182 Sport.

Cute in a toy shop sort of way, the Clio three-door wears the Sport badge thanks to a bigger two-litre engine and substantial changes to the suspension and brakes compared with the already pleasant entry-level Clio.

This engine gives the Clio a torquey heart making it a very easy car to punt around the suburbs and city.

So strong is the powerplant that gear skipping is expected and third-gear corners considered as excessively revving the engine.

The five-speed manual box is short, sharp and precise, while the steering is direct and boasts excellent road feel and the brakes are strong and show little fade.

It's what the Renault 8 Gordini was in the 1960s – a production car body with more oomph.

Expect this to have a firm ride on the road and you'd be pleasantly surprised. The seats are comfortable and the suspension compliant, though the handling is extremely surefooted.

The interior is also vast, with good rear-seat accommodation and a high ceiling. But what enhances this airy and light interior is the huge glass area.

Don't be modest when touring in the Clio because the side glass drops right down to your elbows. The driving visibility is probably the best of any car – it's just a little daunting that the occupants are equally as visible.

On the track that torquey engine and crisp gear change combine with remarkable roadholding to make this a fun machine.

It's actually hard to provoke understeer despite this being a front-wheel drive. The back also hangs on so the progress through a corner is predictable with the Michelins refusing to release their grip on the asphalt.

At a shade more than 1000kg, the $32,000 Clio Sport is a featherweight fighter.

The feature list is pretty good, with climatic airconditioning, four airbags, ABS, electric windows and mirrors, cruise control – though awkward to use – and a CD player.

The upholstery is alcantara which, like the rest of the interior, is black. The seatbelts are a pale grey. Do these colours match? No!

The exterior gets aggressive with a lowered body, twin big-bore exhaust tips and fat 16-inch alloy wheels. This is really a fun car for the enthusiast that is as good on the track as it is toddling to work.