The fifth generation Renault Clio has arrived on Irish shores and continues the trend for success and innovation set by the 1990 original of the species, writes Trish Whelan.
It arrives here with totally refreshed exterior styling combined with a revolutionary interior design.
It is now available to order at any of Renault’s 27 dealerships priced from €16,990 - €25,190.
Underpining the new Clio is the strong and scalable CMF-B platform which delivers improvements in space, safety, technology and weight saving.
Customers can chose from a new range of petrol and diesel engines ranging from 75hp up to 130hp with automatic, manual, petrol and diesel to cater for every customer’s driving style. The ‘exceptional’ new TCe 100 engine will be a popular choice for Irish motorists producing class-leading performance while achieving a CAFE-beating 99g/km of C02.
A new E-TECH petrol-electric hybrid option will arrive here in late 2020.
This new Clio features higher quality materials for a better fit and finish, coupled with greater use of safety and driver technologies available from entry level to the top grade version.
New, and optional, is the ‘Smart Cockpit’ with 9.3-inch portrait infotainment screen and a 10-inch TFT instrument cluster offered as an option on the R.S. Line.
Customers have a range of customisations options and new colours including the Valencia Orange, Celadon Blue, Pearl White and Urban Grey.
Grades are Expression (€16,990), Dynamique (from €18,690), Iconic (from €19,990), and R.S. Line (from €22,190).
Each grade comes with very high levels of specification with LED headlights and an array of ADAS features now standard across the range. There’s also more interior and more boot space.
Dynamique grade features the new EasyLink system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto while Iconic’s EasyLink with built-in navigation includes intuitive Google address search. The R.S. Line boasts full exterior R.S. look with 17-inch alloy wheels and the 9.3-inch EasyLink screen as standard.
In the 30 years since the supermini first went on sale, Clio has become Renault’s best-selling model worldwide with 15 million Clios sold. Clio has been Europe’s most popular B segment model since 2013.
The new Clio continues Renault’s strong tradition for safety having already been awarded a maximum five-star EuroNCAP rating.
For ‘201’, Renault is supporting the national Carbon Action plan by rewarding customers for choosing a cleaner, lower emissions car with Renault Carbon Rewards, a simple and transparent offer which delivers real and substantial savings to customers.
With this offer, customers are guaranteed savings of €3,500 on new cars across the Renault range including All-New Clio with €1,000 Carbon Cashback; 2.1 per cent (saving customers €2,500 on interest payments compared to high street banks). These ‘201’ offers are available on all orders taken from now until 31 January 2020.
Patrick Magee, Country Operations Director Renault Ireland, is pictured below with all the Clio models starting with the first 1990 original to the All-New Clio launched to the motoring press today at Kilkea Castle, Castledermot, Co Kildare.
