Renault Clio III : CARRY ON CLIO

Renault's Clio Has Always Been One Of Britain's Favourite Small French Cars. In Latest Clio III Form, It Deserves Its Sales Success, Thinks June Neary

If ever a car was aimed at women, it has to be the Renault Clio. Unless you've been living in a cave for the last few years, you can't have avoided Nicole and Co, the `Size Matters' campaign, billboard ads suggesting that we've all "lost our `va va voom'" and most recently, the `Britain vs France' ads. I won't air my personal views on whether size matters, but I have to agree that this little car has had a massive impact on the shape of the supermini market - past and present. The most recent Clio III version I'm testing has a `big car' feel - courtesy, say Renault, of a long wheelbase, which has released generous interior room. It's benefiting for a facelift too, one that's yielded sharper looks and improved refinement. First impressions then, were good.

The Clio Mk III was always a big car in the supermini class but this facelifted model is even bigger. At 4,027mm, it's 41mm longer than the pre-facelift model and that extra length is utilised in making the Clio appear lower, leaner and more streamlined. This isn't one of those facelifts that leaves everyone at a loss as to what exactly has changed. The front end of the Clio is markedly more aggressive with the sharp lines of the air-intake and the headlights combined with the thin, smirking grille. It's a look that debuted on the Megane family hatch and it gives the Clio a far more purposeful appearance, even in its non-sporting forms. The interior was also upgraded with some relocating of the minor controls to increase user-friendliness. Higher spec models now get a soft touch dash with the satellite navigation screen integrated into it. Beneath the skin, Renault's focus has been on increasing refinement on the Clio and today's model features upgraded sound-deadening measures to combat engine, transmission and wind noise. The occupants should have a pretty cushy time of it because the Clio also continues to set the standard for supermini cabin space with its impressive rear head and leg room along with a generously proportioned boot of 288 litres.

The latest Clio is a very relaxing cruiser. the ride is absorbent - and still soft enough for it to be obvious that you're in a French car. As far as handling is concerned, I'd say that Clio is once more at or near the top of the class. It may not feel particularly sporty, but it's easy to place through the bends - even with excellently weighted power steering. If Renault's objective was to create a car you could enjoy driving on motorways and back roads, as well as around town, then they've succeeded. The dCi 86 diesel engine I tried isn't a bad unit, combining what super low fuel consumption (over 64mpg) and low CO2 emissions. Performance isn't that startling though, but if that's a problem, you could go for the106bhp version of this engine. To be fair, the 86bhp unit is reasonably flexible on the road, but it's never the kind of engine you really ever want to push hard. More surprisingly, nor is the 75bhp 1.2-litre 16V petrol unit. If you really want performance, then the story gets better the further up the range you go. I was impressed by the clever 1.2-litre TCE turbocharged petrol unit. For families, a key factor in any supermini buying decision these days is safety and the Clio II set quite a benchmark. For a start, it has some serious brakes to prevent an accident happening in the first instance. It is delivered as standard with Generation 8 Bosch ABS plus electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and emergency brake assist (EBA). Other options insclude electronic stability programme (ESP) incorporating ASR traction control, understeer control and MSR engine torque overrun regulation. I don't understand what it all does but the bottom line is probably that you're as safe in this car as you can reasonably expect to be in a small runabout. My test car had Renault's clever `additional beam cornering' headlamps, which follow round the curves of the road at night, plus while double distance xenon headlamps are also available for enhanced night visibility. The Clio III's structure includes a number of programmed deformation zones and has been designed to function with Renault's third-generation System for Restraint and Protection. This includes up to eight airbags, incorporating two adaptive front airbags complete with load limiter and double pretensioners for the front seats.

Renault seems to have a trump card here, given that prices start from around £10,000 and specification levels are higher than with virtually all the opposition. All models get things like power steering, central locking, electric front windows, twin front and side airbags and ABS with Brake Assist.

Why not? Maybe the va va vroom thing works after allâ€¦.