2018 Citroen C3 vs Renault Clio

What's the difference?

Citroen has embarked on yet another relaunch in Australia, led by its arrival into one of the hottest new car segments: small SUVs.

Aimed at competitors such as the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3 and Hyundai Kona is the C3 Aircross, which takes some of what we know about the brand, like funky styling, and combines it with actual practicality to produce one of the more well-rounded small SUVs on the market.

It’s been available in Europe for a few years and is based on PSA’s 'PF1' platform that also underpins the Peugeot 2008, and in Australia is available with a single model grade/engine choice for now.

I'm going to reveal something of myself here - I used to be a RenaultSport Clio owner. This is what the purists call what we now know as Clio RS, and I find myself constantly corrected yet unrepentant. It was a 172 - a nuggety three-door with wheels that looked too small, a weird seating position and a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine that was big on torque as long as you belted it.

It was a classic and you could still see the links back to the epoch-making Renault Clio Williams, that blue and gold Mk 1 Clio we never saw in Australia that redefined the genre. The current Clio has been around for four years now and I even drove this current RS Clio at its launch in 2013, memorable for the sudden bucketing rain that drenched the circuit and made things very interesting indeed.

This Clio was a big change from the cars that went before - slimmer-hipped, less aggressive-looking and with a 1.6-litre turbo engine, five-door-only body and (gasp!) no manual, just Renault's twin-clutch EDC transmission. It was a hit, at least with enthusiasts. Back then it was the dawn of a golden age in small hot hatches. But that was then, this is now. With a small power bump and a couple of features thrown in, is the ageing RS still at the pointy end?