Faults:

Front fog lights stopped working. This turned out to be a wiring fault that was fixed under warranty.

There are three different rattles which sound like they are from the interior trim. I will try and get these looked at under warranty.

General Comments:

This is a very rapid car. The acceleration is frightening in first and second. I don't know if it's a fault with mine, but the esp doesn't seem able to cope in the wet. The handling is fantastic as I had expected and the brakes are very strong - in fact they are the best in any car I have ever driven.

It could really benefit from an extra gear for motorway use though. At 80 miles per hour you running at just under 4000 rpm. I guess this is par for the course for this kind of car though.

It's a real shame about the rattles. They let the car down badly as it gives the whole thing the impression of not being very well screwed together when you're driving a long a bumpy road. Come on Renault - this can't be that difficult to sort out and would make a huge difference to the feeling of quality in the cabin. Having said that, the materials in the cabin all look and feel great though, and maybe this issue has been addressed in the Clio 182.

The only other gripe I have is the driving position. The headrest feels too far forward so I can't straighten my neck fully. Also, the pedals are offset to the right which feels strange at first, but you do get used to it.

As a driving machine the Clio 172 is fantastic. It offers the same kind of point and squirt driving as my mk1 MR2 was, but with extra chili sauce.

Faults:

I had done about 5,000 miles after getting the car brand new and the starter motor stopped working.

I had to call the AA out to jump start me at work to get me home, and then call the AA out again to get me to the dealer the following day.

The dealer was unhelpful to say the least and went white when I said I'd need a courtesy car... she then tried to charge me £25 for the pleasure, something to do with insurance?! I eventually managed to get a courtesy car without shelling out any money!

The sun roof used to rattle and I had to take it back to have it "modified" but was told it was a design fault, its stopped rattling now though.

The fuse for my horn keeps blowing...

General Comments:

The car handles well.

Responsive, I can confidently put my foot down on country lanes and not worry about the approaching corner!

The inside is a bit "pound shop" but other than that well put together.

Faults:

The car cut out whilst sitting in neutral gear in traffic. Renault resolved this problem, after stressing there was NO problem.

Sunroof rattles on the lightest bumps making it sound like you are driving an older car.

Now - drastic problems with the paint work which has corroded to the primer due to Bird Droppings, even though the car is well maintained and washed twice a week.

Renault are adamant that this is my problem and not a fault with there paintwork. They also say that this is not covered in there 3 YEAR PAINT Warranty???

General Comments:

The Renault Clio was recommended to me and I have been deeply disappointed with the after-sales care from both the Renault Dealership and Renault UK.

Please be warned, paint warranty is just sales talk don't be fooled, you would need a lot of time on your hands to "remove bird droppings from your car in a maximum period of two hours" as we were told by the Dealership and Renault UK.