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Mildly revised hot hatch is enjoyable on UK roads but continues to play second fiddle to the Ford Fiesta ST

What is it?

At last, the Renault Clio RS 220 Trophy has become part of the furniture. The Trophy was the beefiest version of the Clio RS range, but only available as a special edition. Now, accompanying a mild facelift of the Clio in general,  it’s a regular part of the line-up. And, following a brief sojourn on a track in France, this is the first time we’ve had a steer in the UK.

Mild facelifts don’t get much milder than this one. There’s a new front bumper, which gets some signature RS driving lights, as well as a new design of alloy wheel and a titanium Akrapovic exhaust system on the options list.

Otherwise, mechanically things are as they were. With 217bhp, the Trophy makes 20bhp more than the regular Clio RS, while it sits 20mm lower at the front and 10mm lower at the rear. Our first go in this car was on a dry, smooth, small circuit in France a couple of months ago. Well, now it’s getting the autumnal roads of the home counties.

What's it like?

For the most part, the RS 220 Trophy is an engaging, enjoyable hot hatchback. It’s pretty firm on British roads – and feels even more so compared with the Ford Fiesta ST200, whose own dampers were recently revised to give it a softer ride – but taken in isolation, you don’t worry about that a great deal. Body control is terrific.

The chassis in general, in fact, is a strong point, which is no great surprise, given the pedigree of Renault Sport’s engineers. It grips strongly, has high levels of agility and is even a bit adjustable, although only to any great extent on a circuit.

What’s frustrating about this generation of the Clio RS remains, though. The EDC dual-clutch automatic gearbox means there’s no manual option and, although its shifts are fine, there’s no great level of interaction there. The turbocharged 1.6-litre engine zings happily enough at the top end but, again, the Fiesta has more rort about it. And when it comes to the steering – that ultimate deliverer of feedback and communication – the Clio’s rack is still less involving and rewarding than – yes, again, sorry – that darned Ford. But it's also, by my reckoning, inferior to that of, the DS 3 Performance, a car I have quite a soft spot for and which I think steers particularly nicely.

When the Clio was revised, it got some better interior materials, infotainment and switches, and they make their way in here too. They’re all worthwhile improvements – albeit small ones. None changes the intrinsic character or overall perceived quality of this five-door hatchback, which, to its credit, disguises the bulk of its extra doors well compared with its three-door rivals. So if you do need to put munchkins or a pet on the back seat, the Clio, slightly surprisingly, is the hot hatchback you’ll be wanting. That’s not quite what Renault Sport was about, though.

Should I buy one?

The RS 220 Trophy is a good car, make no bones about it. It’s grippy, quick and relatively enjoyable. Trouble is, ‘relatively enjoyable’ is not what we’ve come to expect from a Renault Sport product, and there is always that glaring, unavoidable comparison to be made with the Fiesta ST. Which means the Clio is perennially fighting it out for second place in this class with the DS 3 Performance and the Peugeot 208 GTI.

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Renault Clio RS 220 Trophy

Location Hertfordshire; On sale Now; Price £22,030; Engine 4 cyls, 1618cc, turbo, petrol; Power 217bhp at 6800rpm; Torque 192lb ft at 2000rpm; Kerb weight 1204kg; Gearbox 6-spd dual-clutch automatic; 0-62mph 6.6sec; Top speed 146mph; Economy 47.9mpg (combined); CO2/tax band 135g/km, 22%; Rivals Ford Fiesta ST200, DS 3 Performance

Matt Prior

Matt Prior
Title: Editor-at-large

Matt is Autocar’s lead features writer and presenter, is the main face of Autocar’s YouTube channel, presents the My Week In Cars podcast and has written his weekly column, Tester’s Notes, since 2013.

Matt is an automotive engineer who has been writing and talking about cars since 1997. He joined Autocar in 2005 as deputy road test editor, prior to which he was road test editor and world rally editor for Channel 4’s automotive website, 4Car. 

Into all things engineering and automotive from any era, Matt is as comfortable regularly contributing to sibling titles Move Electric and Classic & Sports Car as he is writing for Autocar. He has a racing licence, and some malfunctioning classic cars and motorbikes. 

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stumpys182 21 October 2016

3.5 stars?

If this is the UK version and therefore more likely to suit British roads etc, then how come it got 4 stars in its first review, but only 3.5 stars this time? Does that mean the testers preferred the Euro-spec one, or just that they forgot to check their previous notes when scoring this one? Or maybe they were too busy fitting in the word 'Fiesta' into every other paragraph, so they just forgot how good the Clio really was?
bowsersheepdog 20 October 2016

Dubious headline

Once more Autocar titles a piece as a review of a certain car, when in fact it is no such thing, it is merely a promotional piece for Ford, describing all the areas where they have been paid to say that the Fiesta is better. Autocar's obsessive introduction of that poxy little car into other reviews has become ridiculous.
artill 19 October 2016

i dont know why this is

i dont know why this is compared to the Fiesta, Pug or Citroen, as you have to appraoch a Clio wanting an Auto. Surely the comparison should be with the Polo etc which give you an Auto option. I would never concider the Clio, as i would want my hot hatch to be manual, but if need or even prefer an auto box you would never consider the Fiesta, Pug or Citroen......Is this car better than a Polo GTi. I imagine the answer is yes, and so this would be the hot hatch of choice for those people.
xxxx 20 October 2016

Good point

artill wrote:

i dont know why this is compared to the Fiesta, Pug or Citroen, as you have to appraoch a Clio wanting an Auto. Surely the comparison should be with the Polo etc which give you an Auto option. I would never concider the Clio, as i would want my hot hatch to be manual, but if need or even prefer an auto box you would never consider the Fiesta, Pug or Citroen......Is this car better than a Polo GTi. I imagine the answer is yes, and so this would be the hot hatch of choice for those people.

Good Points about the Auto/Manual options. Better than the Polo, I'm not so sure especially as in basic form (which is what these cars are about) the VW is quite a bit cheaper than the Renault(and the VW has a less stressed bigger engine)