Renault Clio 2026 review | Stylish, spacious and efficient supermini

What is the Renault Clio?

The Renault Clio is a long-running French supermini that has been a familiar sight on British roads since the original arrived in 1990. More than one million examples have been sold in Britain, contributing to global sales of over 16 million, making it one of Renault’s most successful vehicles ever.

The current Clio is an extensively updated version of the fifth-generation car, which was first introduced in 2019. A major facelift in 2023 ushered in refreshed styling inspired by newer Renault models such as the Austral and Megane E-Tech, along with changes to the trim structure, technology and engine lineup. Several familiar variants were dropped, including all diesel engines, leaving a simplified range that is focused on efficiency and electrification.

The current Clio competes with popular superminis such as the Volkswagen Polo, Peugeot 208, Skoda Fabia, Citroen C3 and Toyota Yaris. A new-generation Clio is expected to launch in the UK in 2027, but this model will remain on sale until it arrives.

How practical is it?

The facelifted Clio is just as practical as before. That is to say, there’s plenty of space in the front seats and plenty of adjustment for your driving position. Visibility could be better at the front quarters of the car due to the thick pillars that flank the windscreen, but it’s far from catastrophic and your rearward view is clearer than most.

The rear seats have an acceptable amount of room compared with other superminis, but no better than that. Both headroom and legroom are on the tight side, so tall passengers will feel hemmed in. The rear bench is quite wide, though, making it marginally more comfortable than most superminis when carrying three in the back, yet it’ll still be a squeeze. There’s a hump in the floor in front of the middle passenger, although it won’t get in the way of their feet too much.

On paper, the Clio’s boot space looks huge at 391 litres: that's not only bigger than most superminis, but even than some cars from the class above, including the Volkswagen Golf. There’s a fairly tall load lip to negotiate when loading heavy items in, and a step up to the 60:40 split rear seats when you fold them down. Fortunately, both can be levelled out using the moveable boot floor if you don’t require maximum capacity. It’s also worth noting that the hybrid’s boot is much smaller, at 301 litres. That’s still more than some rivals, but plenty of others have it beaten.

What’s it like to drive?

The Clio is a very grown-up-feeling car, especially on the motorway, with a pliant, comfortable ride, calm refinement and light controls. Overall, it’s a very easy car to drive. It’s fair to say that you’ll be more satisfied than excited – a Ford Fiesta is far more entertaining and engaging in the corners due to its superior grip, sharper responses and weightier, more involving steering – but there’s very little that flusters the Clio. Your driving life should be drama-free.

Two engines are currently available. The first is a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder TCe turbocharged petrol producing 90bhp, which offers acceleration that feels eager and smooth, if not particularly quick. Alongside it is the E-Tech self-charging hybrid, which combines a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and a 1.2kWh battery to deliver 143bhp.

The Clio E-Tech hybrid is the faster version, with a 0-62mph time of 9.3 seconds. But while its performance is perfectly adequate, it never feels especially sprightly. It does, however, blend its various power sources smoothly, so things stay civilised most of the time. The petrol engine can make a fair old racket on the rare occasions it needs to work hard, though.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

The latest Clio has four trim levels to choose from, including the entry-level Generation, which offers a simplified specification to keep the price low by modern supermini standards. Highlights include 16-inch steel wheels, a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, automatic headlights and wipers, tinted rear windows, two USB ports and three driving modes.

The next rung up the ladder is called Techno+. This adds 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, chrome exterior trim, an electronic parking brake, heated seats, a wireless phone charger, front- and rear parking sensors, and a reversing camera. Next up is the Techno Esprit Alpine, which adds a 10.0-inch digital instrument cluster, 9.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and interior and exterior cosmetic upgrades inspired by the Alpine brand. Finally, the flagship Iconic Esprit Alpine boasts a heated steering wheel, a Bose nine-speaker audio system, adaptive cruise control and a 360-degree camera.

Whichever Clio you choose, the user interface isn’t the most intuitive, and the graphics can be glitchy and look dated. You’ll likely get annoyed with the navigation system’s ambiguous instructions, too, so you’re best off just hooking up your phone to the integration software and using your mapping app of choice.

Renault Clio running costs

On list price alone, the Clio is priced aggressively compared with its rivals. That applies to both the petrol model and the hybrid. In fact, with the hybrid, opting for a Clio could save you thousands compared to a Honda Jazz or Toyota Yaris Hybrid.

As for efficiency, no prizes for guessing that the hybrid is the star of the show. Official WLTP-tested figures suggest average fuel economy of up to 65.7mpg and CO2 emissions as low as 98g/km, which isn’t game-changing in hybrid terms, but it’s not half bad. The figures for the more conventional turbocharged petrol engine are respectable as well, with average fuel economy of 54.3mpg and CO2 emissions at 118g/km.

Insurance costs are competitive, with even a Clio E-Tech hybrid in flagship Iconic Esprit Alpine trim slotting into group 16. Cars with the standard petrol engine will be even cheaper to insure, especially if you choose the Generation model.

Renault Clio reliability

Once upon a time, Renault offered its customers an impressive (but still not class-leading) warranty package of five years and 100,000 miles. Those days are no more. Today, you get unlimited-mileage cover for the first two years, and then a third year of cover up to a limit of 60,000 miles. That’s the bare minimum you should expect on a new car, and when considered alongside the way-more-generous warranties offered by certain Korean and Japanese brands, it looks rather mean. The traction batteries in Renault’s E-Tech hybrid models, meanwhile, are covered for eight years or 100,000 miles, which is also pretty par-for-the-course.

The 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey would suggest that you’ll get a pretty average level of reliability from your Clio. The car placed equal 18th out of 26 vehicles considered in the small car class. Meanwhile, Renault itself was ranked 20th out of 30 brands in the manufacturer survey.