Faults:

Did stall when idle, but this has been rectified by the dealer.

Wouldn't start when warm, but this has been rectified by the dealer.

Sun-roof rattles. This has been rectified on several occasions by the dealer, but the problem keeps coming back.

In cold weather, the dash board rattles - obviously shrinks. This makes a new car sound pretty old.

Several 'creaky' noises around the passenger and driver's door. This has been partially rectified by the dealer.

When I purchased the Clio boot 'organizer' (I must be dull to have bought one) it didn't fit. The dealer couldn't get it to fit the old model either. Don't know what was going on there.

General Comments:

I have mixed feelings about the Clio. It drives well: cornering and acceleration are not bad at all for the class of car. The seating is comfortable, music system fine and it looks good. All the gadgets initially impress, like the rain sensitive windscreen and the automatic lights which are again good for the class of car. But, my windsreen's got a crack in it and I am not sure what it will cost to replace a non-standard windscreen - check your insurance.

What lets the car down is the quality of the cabin. It's a tad noisy for a 8 month old car. Rattles and creeks spoil the otherwise great ride. The other thing I noticed, compared to other cars I have driven is the loud road noise you get at high speed. However, I've got used to this and pretty much ignore it now.

The Renault dealer has been fairly good and have always sorted problems under the warranty. I think the number of times I have had to take the car back is unacceptable though and that the £10 insurance fee for the hire car should be waived for new car buyers. Because the dealer cleans the car whenever I take it in I have very rarely had to clean the car - looking on the bright side!

Faults:

Before purchasing the car (on test drive), the passenger seat pulley had seemed to have broken. Also, one off the headlamp cleaners had broken. Both problems were fixed by the dealer.

General Comments:

I bought this car with slightly high miles at 6 months old, apart from the problems that are outlined above I was first impressed by the sheer power given out from the engine, seriously fun, but can sometimes be quite aggressive in the wet, especially when you don't need it to be! The car has a beautifully crafted interior, most impressive was the lack of lights on the dash, all are confined to the central display. Climate control, ABS, ESP, disk brakes all round, cruise control and airbags are standard, and make the nearest rival (the Civic Type-R) seem to be from the 80s! Having driven Golf GTis, Civic Type-R's and Peugeot GTi's, this car is simply unbelievable, at almost £5000 less than most of the competition it's a bargain I just could not refuse! The ride is solid and the feeling you get from simply watching the MPH gage go up is amazing, although the engine sounds like it has no power at 7000 revs, not that i'll be doing that. 172 horses, I'm off to the Autobahn to really see how this goes. Trust me, you'll love it. Vavavoom.

Faults:

Nothing so far apart from not having the 172 cup badges for the sides of the car when delivered, but Renault are sending them in the post. Also the passenger seat was move on it's rails (sorted now) and didn't click into place until I sat in it. The latter problem is the same for the drivers seat.

General Comments:

The car is unbelievable. I haven't worn it in yet and so have not been above 3500 rpm yet. It feels like it wants to go faster and is very keen low in the revs. When I can eventually rev this baby up I feel that I'm in for a treat! My old car was a saxo vts and this would eat it for breakfast. The power is always available on the cup whereas on the vts I had to seriously rev it before I got anywhere near the power the cup has at just 3500 rpm. The build quality is like a quantum leap from the saxo and I like the nice little touches such as speed control wipers and audio, and the audio control on the steering wheel. The gear change is shorter and the handling is excellent. Altogether this car is in a different league. A head turner. Can't wait to go up against some competition!