Renault Clio vs Renault Kangoo

What's the difference?

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?

The small van segment (Under 2.5-tonne GVM) is one of the smallest in Australia’s light commercial vehicle market, as it currently caters for only three contenders, the Volkswagen Caddy Cargo, Peugeot Partner and Renault Kangoo.

Although total sales in this category are a fraction of those achieved in the mid-size (2.5-3.5-tonne GVM) van division, these compact commercials are ideal for buyers not requiring the big one-tonne payload ratings and cavernous load volumes of their larger siblings.

Petrol and diesel-powered models are typically equipped with small displacement engines offering excellent fuel efficiency, combined with cabin ergonomics and driving dynamics which are the most car-like of any LCV offering.

French manufacturer Renault released its third generation Kangoo range in Australia in 2024, comprising a mix of petrol and full-electric variants. We were recently handed the keys to one of the petrol models to see if it has what it takes to win costumers in this three-way fight.