Gilles Vidal is not idle.
Since his arrival at the head of design for the diamond brand in November 2020, he has succeeded in outlining the new generation of Renault, just rewarded with the title of car of the year 2024 for the Scenic E-Tech electric, and, at the same time, reshape the style of all models in the current range.
This is how the Clio launched in 2019 has just undergone a major restyling.
The city dweller in turn succumbs to the new formal language intended to be more expressive.
The grille fills the entire front;
the spotlights are getting sharper;
a luminous signature with horizontal streaks and housed in vertical half-diamonds bars the end of the shield.
The latest evolution of the best-selling French model in history, with more than 16 million units, is enriched with an Esprit Alpine finish recognizable by its logo on the front fenders, its 17-inch black lacquer rims and central nut and treatment of the passenger compartment.
The Clio makes you want to fight: the very enveloping and stitched seats look like bucket seats, the steering wheel rim has the thickness of that of a sports car.
Always electric at start-up
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The city car is not intended to tickle the clock but to break consumption records in its hybrid version.
Of course, the sometimes untimely exchanges of energy (petrol-electricity) are detrimental to enjoyment, but in the end, the Clio burns barely more than 4.5 l/100 km in everyday use thanks to its electric starts and almost 80 % of its urban journeys on the 1.2 kWh battery.
The recharge sequences are always very fast.
The result of patented technology borrowed from F1 and which has proven itself: a 94 hp 1.6 liter 4-cylinder engine combined with a 36 kW electric motor, an alternator-starter and a clutchless multi-mode dog clutch gearbox.
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Technical sheet
Engines: 4 cyl., 1,598 cc, 94 hp, 148 Nm + 2 electric motors (cumulative power: 145 hp)
Transmission: Traction, multi-mode automatic
Dimensions: L. 4.05, l.
1.79, h.
1.43m
Consumption: 4.2 l/100 km
CO2 emissions: 95 g/km
Speed: 174 km/h
Price: From €23,600