The Renault Sport Clio Has Been Given A Bunch Of Updates, But Not The One Thing It Needs
It’s facelift time for the Renault Sport Clio, which can only mean one thing: we can play a little game of spot the difference! Firstly, we’re taking a look at the front, where you’ll notice the snazzier lights in the slightly reshaped lower grille selection.
It’s Renault’s new “multi-faceted LED lighting” setup, which it calls RS Vision. No complaints from us here: they look smart, and are far nicer to look at than the daytime running lights on the pre-facelift car, which had a whiff of ‘afterthought’ about them. The headlight clusters have also been slightly re-designed, and you get the option of a set of new 18-inch alloy wheels.
At the rear, we’re looking at a repositioning of the badges, and, erm, that’s about it. That’s the facelift itself dealt with, so what else is new?
Other than a new optional Akrapovič exhaust, the mechanical aspects of the RS Clio haven’t changed. You still get a choice of three different chassis - Sport, Cup and Trophy - and it’s still putting out 197bhp from a 1.6-litre inline-four, or 217bhp if you get the ‘220’ Trophy. And yes, that means you still only get the option of Renault’s clunky, fun-sapping six-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
With the refreshed Clio RS missing the one thing we want - a manual gearbox - we’ll just have to hold out hope that the amazing Megane-engined RS16 concept ends up spawning a production version.
Still want a regular Clio RS despite the DCT? The facelifted version will go on sale in the UK this September.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
I see the new one look like Focus ST, while the old one look like Focus RS
I like how it looks (Hate the yellow though) but if it has a BAD DCG - ain’t nobody got time for that.
Looks much better now
The new one has some really cool new lights in the bumper. Reminds me of the Renault Sport Logo.
Matt Robinson
Opinion time…
I’m not sure I get this whole “it doesn’t have the manual gearbox we want”.
This has been weirding me out for a while. The conclusion I have come to is that “we” aren’t going to buy one new. Car people… we tend to buy used cars. If we are going to buy new, it’s going to be a bit special and this car ain’t special.
Renault know their demographic. It’s early twenty somethings with a bit of money that want to make a statement with their car. Look at it. It’s try hard shoutyness. And what better to show off to your mates than a flappy paddle gear box just like a race car?
If an enthusiast wants to buy a shouty car, he’s going to buy the Fiesta ST or a Focus ST or RS. Renault will have done the market research and concluded it only needs to sell this car to the first buyer, and the first buyer will want the flappy paddles and not really know they are crap because flappy paddle gear shift superduper dual clutches mate your Ford sucks race technology I’ll have a Big Mac sweetheart.
oop
Still plenty of car guys going out and buying hot hatches of this type new, I’d say. And whatever market research Renault has done, I’m not sure it’s paid off as far as UK buyers (we buy more hot hatches than anyone else in Europe).
I’ve not been able to find any sales figures, but I can’t even remember the last time I saw one of the current Renaultsport Clios out in the world, yet I see Fiesta STs (and to a lesser extent 208 GTIs) constantly. Seems to be far fewer Clios for sale on the used market too, which is another indication of how many are being shifted new.
I still find the decision to build an auto-only Clio RS baffling, when the same company makes a hot Megane which is only available with a manual. In the more grown up C segment it makes sense, but it speaks volumes that no other B segment hot hatch is auto-only, and (I think) the Polo GTI - again a more grown up car - is the only other small hot hatch available as an auto.
Since they have a manual gearbox that can handle the power (the one from the Megane), and do not have to design a new one, it is baffling to me why they would not offer the option of a manual. That way they would be able to charge a bit more for the DCT as well.
The rs16 will be built trust me ;)
It just got cancelled
I was curious cuz i’m tempted by a good deal on a used Cupra Leon here.
Still, even after your valid points don’t see myself owning a french car, after the never ending headache that was my dad’s previozs 508.
The new fog lights look like the renault sport flag ahah
the change is the number plate
I was actually kind of hoping they’d get rid of the Flappy Paddle Gearbox because that just ruins the car