Faults:

In 2002.

The car was pulling to the left hand side of the road.

The central locking did not work.

The cheap interior began to creek.

In 2003.

The brakes began to squeal when turning left / right at 70mph.

The water pump began to leak.

In 2004.

The bonnet catch had corroded open, so unable to close the bonnet.

The central locking stopped working again.

The engine has begun to tap.

General Comments:

The car is a good little car, but has the initial faults introduced from build. It handles very well, but does suffer from the poor quality of the parts used. The warranty is well used, but when you return it to the garage for rectifying work, they are unhappy that you have a problem. Initial price was £6995 as a previous registered owned car. I test drove the car with 7 miles on the car, bought it their and then. 2 1/2 years on, the car is worth £3200 if I'm lucky. Maybe even less against a new car. I'm not bitter, I've had the usage of the car and it's been reliable to a level, but when you need to ring the AA each month, you do get sick of it.

Ask yourself is it worth it? Should I buy a BMW or a Merc in the first place?

Faults:

My spot lights started to fill with water.

Rattle from the back near the exhaust.

Handbrake light and stop sign remained on when handbrake was fully off.

General Comments:

The car is quick, thought 1,2,3. But when you get upto 70 theres no power in 4th gear what I would have expected, you have to put it in third.

The car is very comfortable at the front, but not that comfortable if you're a tall person in the back.

The lights are great!

Be warned the insurance is high! Group 16!

Faults:

A PDC sensor had to be replaced at 16,000 miles as the car was sometimes reluctant to start. This was carried out under warranty.

General Comments:

A good buy as the dealer was offering very good deals at time of purchase.

Will trade it in at 3 years and expect to get a reasonable resale on it.

It could use a bit more space as the rear is quite cramped.

The car has far more equipment on it than comparable small cars.

Faults:

Seat back adjusting handle snapped at 300miles

Sun roof (electric) has always rattled

Air bag light sometimes illuminates

Alternator failed at 92000miles.

General Comments:

I use car as driving school car and as such I feel it is ideal.

Running costs are very low. It averages 60mpg on lesson! Service interval is 18000 miles!

Pupils like the car and tend to buy a Clio themselves as 1st car.

Pick dealer carefully, but car is great.

Faults:

Clutch destroyed itself at 38000 miles.

Rear washer gave up at 10000.

General Comments:

I am very very pleased with the car, it handles very well, even in the wet it can hold on.

The fuel economy is outstanding, modern diesels kick the teeth of older smoke-belch units. My last car was an Escort 1.8TD LX, I managed about 45MPG in this and it handled like a pig, Clio does 55-70MPG (Depends how heavy foot is).

At the moment i have the 65BHP version but i am now changing that for the new 2004 100BHP version. Extra ooomph but the same or better MPG. 0-60 drop from 15 seconds to about 10. Nice!!!!!

Faults:

Purchased car - 4th July 2003.

7th July 2003- misfiring and emissions warning light- garage said they changed 3 spark plugs and checked emissions -

August - same fault as above

I was then informed by the service reception that the car came with free AA cover!!

Sept/Oct - not starting - AA called - said faulty starter motor.

Few days later not starting - AA called - said engine needed earthing - garage said they changed a faulty connection on battery area.

28 November - misfiring & electrical fault in dash - AA wiggled some wires under cover (16 V 1.2) & did a diagnostic test which showed faulty throttle sensor they cleared the fault light.

Next day happened again in busy traffic.

General Comments:

The car is good when it works and is not in the garage.

It is very comfortable.

It has known faults.