Faults:

Minor starting problems due to an old battery.

General Comments:

Cracking little motor. Really good day to day car. Reliable and extremely economical so far. I'm averaging around 50mpg quite comfortably. The Clio is really easy to drive and park.

The engine is good in the lower range for smooth acceleration, and it is comfortable when cruising, becomes lifeless and extremely unrefined when worked hard.

Ride and comfort excellent for a small car, however the handling can be poor. Significant body roll and twitching at the rear end at speed ruin the fun, but the car is fine in normal driving conditions.

It has been a great car for me, and a pleasure to own so far. Would strongly recommend one, but one with good history and well maintained, as I have friends with poor examples and they can go wrong!

Faults:

I got the car when it would normally have had a lot to change, so here goes: 4 brake pads, 4 tyres, but since that other than the filter and one or two bulbs; nothing at all.

The front disc are about to go soon.

The previous owner made a few teenager modification on this car, which took a long time to put right (some still aren't), but overall nothing has gone wrong; just wear and tear.

General Comments:

This is my first 4 wheels; I went from a 50cc Suzuki zillion to a 125cc Taiwan made cruiser to a 600cc Yamaha; but all cheap 2 wheels are easy to go wrong, so when this little thing came along it was awesome.

Every morning I start off first time; apart from about 5 occasions that wasn't the case, but the second time did it. With the bike, towards the end I had to push start it (because the starter motor didn't work), and I didn't have a kick starter.

The windscreen gets misty very easily, and that's the only complaint. I get my own back from the car by collecting a lot of rubbish in it.

While driving, the 1.2 litre engine produces unbelievably little power. I was overtaken by a lorry a couple of times, which reminded me of when I was on the 125, but my gosh! this is reliable, not just relatively reliable. I have been driving this car 2 years in a row without service, other than topping up the oil once. It didn't even need water, partly because my friend screwed the water tank cap too tight and I couldn't open it.

So overall, a tough machine; built like a tank, but a very slow tank.

Faults:

Remote central locking stopped working after a week of purchase.

Hard to put into first and second gear sometimes.

Lately, boot refuses to open.

General Comments:

I purchased the Clio in February 2006 after passing my driving test and have found it to be an excellent little car.

The fact that the central locking has gone has been a nuisance however. At first I thought it was the battery that needed replacing, but I doubt it's something more serious. I haven't brought it in to my local dealer for fear that the price will be astronomical. I'm just putting up with it for now.

Over the past couple of weeks I have found that the boot only opens when it wants to. The fact that it can't be opened by the key is annoying to say the least. You have to press the central locking button inside the car to open it.

Despite these minor niggles I am thoroughly enjoying owning the Clio. It's nippy around town, cheap to run and I love the looks. It's also proved popular with my friends at school although I think they would be grateful for more legroom in the back-but what do you expect for a small car. The car does struggle when full and needs quite a lot of revs to get going (which is embarrassing in front of my friends).

Overtaking is quite good as long as you give it some welly. The 1.2 litre engine can struggle though.

It does sound like I am being quite negative, but this really is a great car. I recently put some alloys on the car which really makes it stand out from the rest and the interior still looks quite fresh despite the age of the car.

The Clio is the perfect first car and I'm glad I picked it over the corsa which looks dated and not as stylish.