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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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Dec
23
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
 I had to look at the price list to see where the GT was positioned within the Clio range and was surprised to find far more Clio models than I had originally expected. The full range of models, excluding engine choices isExtreme 3 door (with or without A/C), Expression 5 door (with or without A/C), Dynamique TomTom 3 and 5 door, GT 3 door, Privilege TomTom 5 door, Initiale TomTom 5 door, Renaultsport Cup and Renaultsport. If you then add in the special editions of i-Music which is based on the Extreme, and the World Series which is based on the Dynamique, you find it to be quite a confusing range. The GT seems to fit somewhere in the middle of all of these.
 The car we tested is powered by a 1.5 litre diesel engine which is coupled to a six speed manual gearbox. It produces a power output of 106ps, has a 0-62mph time of 11.1 seconds and a top speed of 118mph. It has a combined fuel consumption figure of 61.4 mpg and during the time that we had the car, it averaged 58.2 mpg according to the on-board computer. The CO2 emissions figure is 123g/km, but this would have been better had the figure been below the 120g/km band. The Clio GT seemed to have more than enough power despite the 0-62mph figure not looking brilliant, but it did feel to be capable of a quicker figure than what is suggested. On the motorway it easily held at 70mph and at this speed in sixth gear, it was barely ticking over.
 The interior has a sporty feel and touch to it, with a nice red ambience to show off its sporty styling. The speedometer during the day has a very pleasant white background with easy to read numbers, but at night the dashboard changes into Blackpool illuminations. Everything turns orange, with figures that you can not see or read and it just looks a mess. Seeing how fast you are going becomes almost impossible because the information on the dashboard becomes blurred and everything just appears as a mass of numbers that all blend into each other.
The Clio has always had a good following in the UK and throughout Europe as it has always represented good value, but as prices have increased, it doesn’t quite look like the bargain it once was. The cost of our test car was £15,255 which will put it out of reach of many people who want a sporty three door car. Although the quality is much improved and fit and finish is good, the price will certainly make potential customers look around at other brands.
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