2017 Renault Clio vs 2018

What's the difference?

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.

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?