Renault Clio (2001-2020) Questions & Answers

Sorry, I cant say as we had a 1.2 which was fine.

Hi,
Our Clio was a used car and we have had no concerns. It probably depends on who you are buying from and whether it has been thoroughly checked over for problems. We bought from Autosports and they seem to process lots of higher end cars and have a reputation to protect.
So far I have absolutely no complaints about our Renault. We have three vehicles in the family and the Renault has become my favourite for running around after kids.
Good luck with your car hunting.

No problem with mine. Love it, but it was new. As with any second hand car you need to have it inspected and full service history etc.

My Renault whilst it only did 10,000 km's prior to being sold was faultless - not one single problem. The new Renault's have a 5 year unlimited KM warranty so total piece of mind. Prior to buying it I wanted a VW Golf, but the internet is full of disgruntle VW customers with major problems hence why I went for the new Clio. Funny you are a Saab nut, my Mum and Dad had 2 Saabs in the 90's a 9000CD and a 9-3 Cabrio - both wonderful cars. Prior to the Renault I had a Peugeot 206 GTI 180 - this car was excellent however it had heaps of issues - so much so I knew everyone at Brisbane Peugeot pretty well (when it was on James St). The new Renault Clio is pretty good in all aspects - I very much recommend it!

Hi. I have the previous generation RS Clio which is a little different to a regular Clio, and even the new RS Clio, which is automatic only. Only issue with my car, and it's a common issue, is a tiny, tiny oil leak from a bolt on top of the rocker cover. It occurs because when they put it together they did not not put in enough 'gunk' to seal properly. It appears as a tiny smudge of oil at the bolt and you would not even worry about it but as it was under warranty I got it fixed. Trouble is they have to take the whole assembly off including removing the timing belt, which then has to be replaced. Great news for me as I got a free timing belt replacement at 30,000km, but if out of warranty you'd have to pay. Not a real problem as you'd just wait to get it done when the timing belt is due and ask them to add the gunk then. If it's just out of warranty, I'd hit them up for a free fix anyway, as it's a known problem.
Other issues - minor dash rattle that comes and goes from summer to winter. The pcv valve sits too loose, easy self-fix is a little silicon (see the ozrenaultsports forum for details). Leather sports seats (not recaro) can wear through on the sticth bump. It prefers hot weather to cold. It needs proper sticky tyres or doesn't handle like when new (Conti 3's were fine, replacement for Conti 3's (Conti 5's ?) not quite as sticky). As other cars have gone ahead, it's a touch too slow against it's competition, but the handling makes up for it. That and the price second hand - side by side comparo to say a Mazda 3 SP25, you'd be nuts not to go for the Clio. Very firm ride for rear seat passengers (driver is fine, not too firm).
Love my RS Clio. I was supposed to get rid of it when the lease ran out, but I just can't bring myself to do it. More reliable than my series 5 Golf GTi. If I didn't own one, I'd buy one.

We had a 2014 Golf, which overall was a great car, albeit a bit bland. We purchased a new 2017 Megane GT and its been amazing. Much more of a drivers car than the Golf. I also had several Saabs, the last a 2001 9-3 cabrio with the dreaded head gasket leak. Sold before that needed replacing. Being from Canada we don't have access to these fun little quirky French cars, but each time I'm behind the wheel you get that grin. I myself drive a '13 Pug 208 Allure which is and has been a great little car, only downside the horrible old school 4 sp auto. And since that purchase I've fallen for the Frenchies. My partner has the Megane and we were actually going to trade the Golf for a new A3, massive sale at Audi at the time, but our first stop was to test drive the new Megane. We drove it and bought it that night. For the price and amount of features, value is there. There have been a few minor integrity issues, such as both front door seals were misaligned, making the doors harder to open than they should. Was fixed under warranty of course but took a few weeks as they had to order from France. Sadly the issue has returned. And there's a small rattle in the passenger door especially when the bass is prominent on the Bose sound system. However northing that would stop be from buying another. I've dealt with far worse new cars and their issues. But the point is we got a top range Clip (led lights et cetera) when we brought the Megane for service and I was very impressed. For having over 20k kms felt as if it was brand new. Feels a touch smaller than my Pug, but in the works of trading the Pug for a Clio for myself. Oddly I have been wanting an E class coupe, but the amount I drove and as fun as the Clio is, not to mention the value and cheap servicing, I wouldn't hesitate to even buy a good Demo in the car lot. I really fell for the Clio we had for a few days, and even though I may have not had it that long, it's worth your while trying one out. The Megane is great and I'd expect the Clio to be the same, even with its small niggling little issues. After all coming from owning SEVERAL Saabs and other not the pinnacle of reliability cars, I don't think you could go wrong with a Clio. Great little run about. And the one we had for a loaner was returning 5.1l/100km of fuel. Double what my Pug gets, I'm sure do to its ancient 4 sp auto. Also theres some great French car clubs here in NSW and other states, join one and you'll get some really good info and honest opinions about these cars. They really are world players, albeit very affordable, but they can sure compete with anything else out there. If buying a Megane over an Audi says anything. Cheers