2016 Renault Clio vs 2017

What's the difference?

Richard Berry road tests and reviews the 2016 Renault Clio GT Premium with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

How is it that the Renault Clio is France's most popular car but is barely known in Australia? You can't say it's just a French nationalistic thing like eating frog legs or being overly whimsical either because the Clio was the third best-selling car in Europe in 2015 and has been crowned Car of The Year there twice.

You can't even say it hasn't been in Australia long enough to grow on us because it's been here since 2001, well, on and off.

The Clio is up against some fierce rivals in the light car segment many with names that have become embedded in the Aussie car landscape – there's the Toyota Yaris, Mazda2, Honda Jazz, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio and Volkswagen Polo.

The Clio is now in its fourth-generation and went on sale in 2013. There's five grades of Clio: the range kicks off with the base spec Authentique, step up to the Expression, then the Dynamique, the GT and at the top of the range is the car we have tested here – the GT Premium.

There's a high performance Clio range above the GT Premium, too and kicks off with the Clio RS Sport.

So why isn't France's favourite on all Australian light car shopping lists and which Clio lurking in the line-up is even better than the GT Premium?

Renault has two problems. The first is that hardly any of you know the Clio exists, and the second is it's quite a good car, that you don't know exists. And, if I'm being honest, there's a third issue - the price. On the face of it, the Clio looks expensive (even down at $15,990 for the Clio Life manual) and that's partly because, well, it is.

But up here at the Zen, with its $19,990 sticker price, the problem seems to repeat itself. Except when you look at the spec sheet, there is stuff in here you flat out can't get on its competitors at the same price. Like anything, it's all about swings and roundabouts. Let's go for a swing and a spin.