Renault CLIO Dynamique 1.6 16V
Renaults Clio Dynamique 1.6 16V Is The Kind Of Hot Hatch You Dont Have To Be An Enthusiast To Enjoy. Jonathan Crouch Reports
Where others offer one hot hatchback in their supermini line-ups,
Renault likes to do the job properly. The latest Clio range can offer you at least four. Yes, you read that right.
To be honest, most of them are relevant for mainstream buyers. Forget for a moment, the sporty models aimed at urban dwellers. These include the £9,300 Dynamique 1.2 16V (with 75bhp), the 95bhp Dynamique with its 1.
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4-litre 16V engine from £9,700 and the dCi 65 or 80 versions of the Dynamique. More serious sporty motoring for Clio fanciers starts with the model featured here, the Dynamique variant with the companys impressive 110bhp 1.6-litre 16V engine, priced from £10,100. Thats of course assuming they cant stretch to the 182bhp Clio Renaultsport 2.
0 16V, the dCi 100 versions or, if you must push things to the limit, the mid-engined Renaultsport Clio V6 24v (just under £27,100). Raw power is all very well but for the money
Renault are asking, you have to wonder whether its really necessary. Particularly when on a twisty country lane, a well driven 110bhp Clio Dynamique would certainly keep the 2.0 litre model comfortably in sight, thanks to stiff anti-roll bars and taut sports suspension.
Though performance from the 1.6-litre engine this car shares with Renaults larger Laguna is hardly neck-snapping, it will still make sixty in comfortably under ten seconds on the way to 122mph. You might be surprised by the cars parsimony at the pumps too: expect to average over 40mpg on ordinary use.
"Out on the road, most appear to find the 110bhp Clio Dynamique a hoot."
Like the 1.4-litre Dynamique, styling in this case is subdued. Dynamique trim features 15-inch Alium alloy wheels, front fog lamps, a rear spoiler, a leather trimmed steering wheel, sports front seats and sports suspension. Aluminium finish interior trim, Graphic Night upholstery and a trip computer are all included in the standard equipment list.
You may not instantly recognise the styling revisions on the latest Clio when its positioned alongside its predecessor but, take our word for it, they are there. The changes at the front amount to what Renault insist is a bolder, more sporty front bumper that incorporates revised fog-lamp housings on those models deemed posh enough to be equipped with fog lamps. The Dynamique model is one of the chosen few and it accentuates its sporty theme further with a body-coloured sports spoiler to bring up the rear. Cast your mind back and you may recall the Dynamiques predecessor, the Clio RSi a car that seemed to lose popularity when Repetitive Strain Injury started making the headlines.
The Dynamique makes far more sense exactly the same package with even more equipment. In true Renault style, safety gets its usual top billing. The pre-facelifted Clio had already achieved a top four star rating in the EuroNCAP crash tests and in its latest form, builds on that by further including adaptive intelligent twin front and side airbags with two levels of inflation, depending upon the seating position of the driver and the severity of the impact. For the rear side seats, pretensioners are now combined with 600kg load limiters.
Finally, the latest Clio is equipped with Isofix three-point child safety
seat attachments in the rear side seats and the front passenger seat, which is provided with airbag inhibition, should you wish your child to be placed alongside the driver. But hold on - baby seats, airbags, NCAP tests. Its all beginning to sound a bit boring. Fear not.
Out on the road, most appear to find the 110bhp Clio Dynamique a hoot. The slick, short-throw manual gearbox helps. So does the quick and precise steering, reprogrammed to be more direct on the Dynamique. The anti-lock brakes are effective and aided by an electronically-controlled system that optimises the efficiency of the braking between the front and the rear wheels by taking account of the vehicles load.
The result is that you can pull the car up very quickly indeed - in less than 45m from 60mph for example. Otherwise, the recipe is pure Clio - which means all the usual nice touches. Take the useful eye-level display showing radio and clock information. Or the bendy composite front wings, designed to withstand supermarket scrapes - you can stamp on them and they still pop back into shape without a scratch.
This is one of the reasons why the eight-year paintwork warranty is the longest in the class. The doors open wide to give good access to the rear for larger passengers; the back seat will comfortably accommodate a couple of six-footers. The height adjustable front seats are good too, with lumbar support on this model. Car protection meanwhile, comes courtesy of a Thatcham-approved volumetric anti-theft alarm and engine immobiliser.
You do, in short, get a lot for the money. In return, theres no doubt that this is a fine fast little car. If your idea of a fast hot hatch is a noisy little car with a bone-jarring ride, you might be disappointed; this is not a car with raw appeal. For everyone else however, the Clio Dynamique is, in 110bhp form at least, an excellent all-rounder.
A hot hatch you dont have to be an enthusiast to enjoy.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Renault Clio Dynamique 1.6 16V
PRICE: £10,100 - £10,700 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 10
CO2 EMISSIONS: 170 g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 9.6s / Max Speed 122 mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (Urban) 30.2mpg / (Extra Urban) 47.1mpg / (Combined) 39.2mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags, ABS, Brake Assist WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE: Length/Width/Height: 3812/1940/1417mm
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