Is the Renault Clio 5 good for long drives?

Ready to hit the open road in style and comfort? The Renault Clio V is a sleek and sophisticated hatchback available in three trim levels - Life, Zen, and Intens - each with its own set of features, but if you're looking for a good road-tripper, is this the car to buy?

Ané Albertse

1 Mar 2023 · 16:02Automotive News5 min read

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If you love the open road and you regularly go on road trips for work or leisure, will the latest iteration of the Renault Clio suffice? Let's take a look...

Safety

Our South African roads should not be taken lightly - our road death statistics are some of the highest in the world, so road-tripping in an unsafe car should be avoided as far as possible.

The Renault Clio V received a 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating, making it one of the safest cars in its class. It also comes standard with six airbags, hill-start assist, electronic stability control, and automatic emergency braking.

It also has a generous list of safety eatures, including ISOFIX child seat mounting points, cruise control, and a speed limiter, to make drives safer and more comfortable.

Engine specs

The Renault Clio V is available in three variants, all of which have the same engine: the Renault Clio 1.0 Turbo Life (R309 999), Renault Clio 1.0 Turbo Zen (R324 999), and Clio 1.0 Turbo Intens (R364 999).

The 1.0-litre turbocharged engine produces 74 kW and 160 Nm of torque, providing sufficient power for long drives while also being fuel-efficient. The Renault Clio's top speed is 187 km/h, and the acceleration from 0-100km/h takes 12.0 seconds. This means that although the Clio is no fire-cracker, it does have sufficient power - but overtaking manoeuvres should be well-planned before they're executed.

The Clio is fitted with a 5-speed manual gearbox, but a sixth gear would have been very welcome.

Fuel consumption

It is probably one of the most important considerations, so let's get right to it. Martin Pretorius has this to say in his review about the Clio V:

Renault says that the new Clio should consume an average of 5.7 ℓ/100 km, but our test period registered an average of 6.4 ℓ/100 km. This isn’t quite excellent, but it is roughly in the ballpark for a car of this size and performance. Importantly, it’s much better than the mid-7 ℓ/100 km averages that the old Clio returned in a similar usage cycle.

You can read his full review here.

Space and Comfort

In terms of comfort and refinement, the Renault Clio V has been praised for its spacious and comfortable interior, making it suitable for long journeys. The seats are supportive, and there's sufficient legroom for kids or shorter passengers in the rear seats - but adults will feel like they need additional space. The dashboard is well laid out, and the infotainment system is intuitive and easy to use, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Intens models have a large, tablet-like touchscreen, while Life and Zen make do with a 7-inch touchscreen, also with screen mirroring functionality.

First Drive Review: Renault Clio finally sets foot on South African soil

The 9-inch touchscreen can only be found in the Intens model.

As for luggage space, the Clio has a deep, 391-litre boot, making it spacious enough for luggage or shopping bags, but bear in mind that more than 3 people would have to travel light for everything to fit inside the boot.

What are the differences between trim levels?

The Intens model has wireless charging as standard.

As you can see from the table below, the key differences between the three trim levels of the Renault Clio V are in the comfort and convenience features they offer:

1. The Life trim is the most affordable and basic, offering essential features like air conditioning, power steering, and electric front windows.

2. The Zen trim adds automatic climate control, rear parking sensors, automatic headlights and wipers, cruise control with speed limiter, and a larger touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

3. The Intens trim is the most expensive and luxurious, adding features like keyless entry and start, 360-degree parking sensors with a rear-view camera, electric folding mirrors, a BOSE sound system, wireless charging, and a larger touchscreen infotainment system with satellite navigation and voice recognition.

Model	Price	Engine	Power Output	Torque	Top Speed	Acceleration (0-100km/h)	Comfort and Convenience Features
Life	R309 999	1.0L Turbo	74 kW	160 Nm	187 km/h	12.0 sec	Air-conditioning, power steering, electric front windows, remote central locking, radio with USB and Bluetooth connectivity
Zen	R324 999	1.0L Turbo	74 kW	160 Nm	187 km/h	12.0 sec	Automatic climate control, rear parking sensors, automatic headlights and wipers, cruise control with speed limiter, 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
Intens	R364 999	1.0L Turbo	74 kW	160 Nm	187 km/h	12.0 sec	Keyless entry and start, 360-degree parking sensors with rear-view camera, electric folding mirrors, BOSE sound system, wireless charging, 9.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with satellite navigation and voice recognition

Verdict

Overall, the Renault Clio V is a safe and practical little car. Its range of safety features, comfortable interior, and fuel-efficient engine makes it a good choice for those looking for a small car for long journeys.

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Written by Ané Albertse

Ané was bitten by the motoring bug at a very young age. Her mom recalls her sitting in her stroller as a 3-year old, naming every car that came past. She was creating content for various publications within Media24 when AutoTrader nabbed her for good, and is one of the longest-standing members of the AutoTrader team. She prefers dirt roads to tar and SUVs/bakkies to sports cars, but her greatest passion is helping people find the perfect car for their budget, lifestyle, and personality.Read more