@@Samspianopage It did, the mk2 Clio was a lot heavier than the 106 or 205, there's actually some metal behind the trim in a Clio the same can't be said of contemporary Peugeots
MK1 Clio was a great car for the time, I think it really moved the supermini game on. Especially when you compare it to rivals at the time like the MK3 Fiesta and Nova. I can't believe how big the latest Clio is though, it's HUGE.
really the mk3 changed the deal about size. they became much larger. but it is quiet common for cars. for instance, mk2/3 golf were 205 competitors while mk7 plays with the 308 in size
the latest ones are massive in the clios.i went to look at one out of interest and was surprised.only reason why i have one on the list is nissan do not offer anything in the class i want.
Well as Chris says, it did look awfully like the 14 or the Daihatsu Sharade. I think what the Clio did was to make Superminis feel abit more substantial. The Fiesta and Nova were very tinny and basic by comparison. The 205 was the same though it was bags of fun, we had a 1.4 and it was a fast little bugger even with 5 people on board. The rest of the gang really made superminis feel primative and something ye bought either as your first car or a 2nd car or whatever, they were just very stingy on spec back then and they were built with the thinnest of metalwork but then again that did make em light and very economical even if they weren't safe by today's standards. I always think because we take modern safety equipment for granted, we didn't have it back then so we were more aware of the fact we could have a crash and there wasn't much to protect us, I think if they released a car like that today if they were allowed to people would be abit more careful about what they were doing when they drove. Just a suggestion.
Love Chris's comments about the lack of glass, it's a veritable greenhouse by modern standards! Nothing I have driven before or since had such good visibility as my MkI Phase III Clio
I don't know how they could criticize the Mk1 Clio for lack of character - to me the design had plenty of gallic charm and flamboyance, and it was distinctly different from anything else around at the time. I remember the car well because we had a Renault dealership just round the corner from us in 1992 when it was launched, and they gave us lots of promotional posters and merchandise. 7 years later I actually owned one, and it was a very entertaining and enjoyable car to drive!
Cool! I think in styling terms they have aged very well, although unfortunately you don't see many of them around these days. I absolutely loved the clio when it first appeared, it looked extremely modern and well proportioned, and I still think it's a great design. It's really nice to hear you're enjoying yours! :)
tjf4375 I agree. I remember seeing the Clio for the first time and thinking it looked really smart and chic. I remember the rear windscreen wiper being aerodynamic too!
when i took my driving license, my older sister gave me her 1994 renault clio. a 1.2 l engine. it's a funny car to drive, i really like it. with 260.000 kilometers, it still runs like new :)
Other than rust, these old Clios are definitely reliable, the other day I started mine up for the first time in 2 years, new oil and the thing started right up with the fuel left in the tank, 132148 miles (212671KM) on the clock, and it's also got the 1.2L petrol engine.
@@mr.slaphappy3794 yes. They are really reliable. It is a little bit drunk, when we talk about autonomy. But still a pretty enjoyable car. I still have it in the garage, now i drive the 2017 clio i bought recently with my wife.
@@andreiorlowski9893 I have "97 facelift version which was only manufactured for 1 year, its old af but at least unique as i only saw 2 or 3 in the past years :D, first car aswell.
Drove my mum's '97 Clio RN MK1 Phase 3 for years. One of the best cars for beginners; reliable, easy to drive and maintain, average city car fuel consumption and strong chassis. I actually bought an ICE Phase 3 version with 1.4 Energy. Wish only it was white like my mum's, and not plenty of scuffs, aged and chipped painting. Still gives me joy and thinking to bring it to a paint shop for restoring.
I had a clio 1 1.2 RT MOTOR ENERGY. 256.000km i did a crash, but she give me home safe. Only the chassis was broken(for the third time). My big mistake was spent money for a new DIESEL car! After that mistake, inly petrol cars. If i’ll have some i want ro restore a clio fase i mybe a 1.8 16v
@@bensmithkent22 yep way off, it was more like 12 seconds with the cat and 11 without, I had my old e7j engine ported, full system exhaust with decat, a 2 litre Laguna throttle body matched up, and a hillpower chip, various other little bits aswell, I stripped it out and it would beat vtr's
Anybody notice at 3:47 how the bonnet on the righthand dide aswell as the bumper surround below the headlights, is like way squint in comparison to the left-hand side, as is the bonnet don't know whether Chris shut it right, but look at that panel gap between the bonnet and the wing, pmsl when he mentioned build quality right there. Still a good looking car even today.
The clio wasn't meant to be a "fast" car. was meant to be cheap to run and cut insurance costs in Europe. Renault still made the special version to be sporty, like the Clio Williams or the Clio Baccara
Still a few MK1 Clio's about now, not bad when you considering the newest ones were made 15 or 16 years ago and the oldest are 23 years old. The Renault 5 was crap in comparison, might have been good to drive for a small car but most of them vanished years ago and few of the remaining examples looked up to much.
Just got a 5 drs RN 1.2 (E7F) from december 1993, has 23.700 kms, still brand new. Always funny to hear the 1200 cm3 is slow since it do the work well for 850 kg (all fluids filled).
Very interesting how Chris makes very good comparisons with other cars in the class, yes you get that today abit but not in the one review like that or as quickly and objectively as the way Chris puts it. Boring reviews they might be but he puts it in perspective of what your average Joe would be able to afford and stacks it up against what else you can buy at the time, only thing he missed out was say the Fiesta, Citroen AX ,Mitsubishi Colt, Toyota Corolla and Vauxhall Nova but I'm sure most people knew they were pretty outmoded by 1990 against the Clio and others they were all showing their age abit in engines and handling (save for say the turbo and XR versions of each model and the Colt was pretty good for it's time), space we could argue about I suppose but there ye go.
I had 3 Clio's over the years, all the 1.9 diesels and i loved them. no character? WTF is he on about??? If i could get a new 1.9 today, i'd have one.....just replace the clutch cable for a thicker one!
They ended up being complete rot boxes that is why so few remain now. Mine was going rusty within one year along the sill in the middle well away from any edges.
@@mr.slaphappy3794 yeah, cat is short for catalytic converter / catalyst / catalyzer :) a guy i know shouted to me from the garage he works at that he was going to go and pick up a cat - on that particular occasion it was actually the animal, not the emissions device :-P
this one is slow because this 1,4 is the carburator engine, with the C3j old engine. The Energy E7J 1,4 was far better, also the E7F 1,2 was not bad at all (my parents had one and it topped 185 kmh easy)
30 years old now the Renault Clio and there has been 5 generation of Clion now the latest one is probably as big as a Renault 19 and even a Megane from the mid 90s. Them yellow fogs and headlights do and them alloys stylish lol I would say very dull. Thankfully Renault have come on leaps and bounds since then and make probably the best cars you can buy now in there sectors.
I love how they talked about character alot. Character is the main selling point for me in a car. If it has no character, I'm not interested. These new cars don't have any character at all, the manufacturers don't even try to add character, and the consumers don't care, the average motorist these days just want something thats cheap, safe, gets from A to B and usually a daft 'SUV'. I must add though, theres still some character left in new cars such as the new Peugeot 208, however its not as common as it was 10+ years ago.
Fierce competition???? The Clio was far superior to all its rivals at launch,think AX,Fiesta MK3,Corsa MK1...Dont know what he was talking about :-/ The 205 was stiff competition when the Clio was released but the Renault was never really challenged until 94-95 when the MK 2 Polo was released...
I wonder what Mr Goffey would have to say about the visibility in modern cars! For many, the pillars are so unnecessarily huge and the windows so shallow, being able to see out properly seems to have been an afterthought! Without a bunch of sensors to save your bacon they would be totally unsafe. Not good design at all! I rather like this shape of Clio - more attractive than the blobby and fat bottomed model that replaced it IMO, and the 150bhp Williams version with its subtle body kid and gold allows was genuinely cool.
the old Nissan Micra is far lighter, you can compare it to the old Renault Twingo. The Renault Clio was meant to be a cheap family car, easy and cheap to run (fuel and insurance)
Sales of the Clio was helped significantly in Britain with the famous adverts starring 'Nicole and Papa'. Personally they were ridiculous in my opinion! 😏😣
I think the honda civic is better than both of those cars when it comes to performance atleast. a 1991 Honda Civic EG6 with the /1.6 L DOHC VTEC Engine made 160-170 HP and could do 0-60 in 6.8 secs
