MG MG3 vs Renault Clio

What's the difference?

A number of established small cars are becoming more expensive and less popular. The Toyota Yaris, Mazda2 and Suzuki Swift were once the go-to first car, but now start at around $25,000.

This repositioning was great for MG and its sub-$20,000 MG3, which has spent much of the last few years as Australia's most popular light car. It’s hard to deny a low price will open many wallets.

But now in its new generation, the MG3 is thousands of dollars more expensive than before, starting in the mid-$20K range and headed even further up with a new hybrid drivetrain option. We jump in the base petrol Excite to find out if the value is still there for this British-branded, Chinese-built hatchback.

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?