SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.
My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active list down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and search through the drop-down menu that appears.
Editor's note: SA Roadtests accepts multi-day vehicle loans from manufacturers in order to provide editorial reviews. All vehicle reviews are conducted on our turf and on our terms.
For out-of-province vehicle launch features however, travel costs are covered by the manufacturer concerned. This is common in the motor industry, as it's more economical to ship journalists to cars than to ship cars to journalists.
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This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a preselected course. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get a test unit for trial. Thank you for understanding.
Posted: February 21, 2022
The numbers
Prices range from R309 900 to R349 900
Engine: Renault H4Dt 999 cc, DOHC 12-valve, inline three with turbocharger
*Power: 73.5 kW between 5000 and 5500 rpm
Torque: 160 Nm at 2750 rpm
0-100 km/h: 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 187 km/h
Average fuel consumption (claimed): 5.7 l/100 km
Tank: 42 litres
*Luggage: 391 – 1069 litres VDA
Turning circle:10.42 metres
*Ground clearance: 135 mm
Warranty: Five years, 150 000 km
Service plan: Two years, 30 000 km at 15 000 km intervals
*Supplementary technical data from www.automobile-catalog.comCleo. Cleopatra Vll Philopator. Exotic. Mysterious. Enigmatic Greek noblewoman, paramour of Roman generals and last Ptolemeic Queen of the ancient land of Egypt. Not the lady we’re discussing today.
Renault Clio. Thirty-two this year. Grown up but still young, with a mother’s protective instincts and a twenty-ager’s love of all that’s new. Top seller in France, number two in all of Europe, member of 76 700 South African households since 2000 and winner of many awards. This is its fifth generation.
The world loves her because she’s cute, perky, practical and safe. Holder of a five-star EuroNCAP rating since 2019, Clio offers a minimum of four airbags, three ISOFix mounting sets, ABS brakes with EBA and ESC, hill start assist, cruise control with limiter, front head restraints with anti-whiplash protection and rear pdc. As trim levels escalate, so do the safety features.
Speaking of trim levels, Authentique has been renamed as Life, Expression is now called Zen and Dynamique is Intens. There’s no final “e’ in the French spelling.
Life kicks off with LED lighting all around, manual heating and air conditioning, five-speed manual transmission, heated rear screen, powered door mirrors, multifunction steering wheel, on-board computer, electric front windows, 4.2-inch information screen, EasyLink 7” touchscreen compatible with CarPlay and Android Auto, analogue instruments, smokers’ pack, six-speaker radio and music system, 16-inch flex wheels and fabric upholstery.
Upward progression incrementally adds satellite navigation, 16” alloy wheels, curtain airbags, synthetic leather steering wheel cover, electric parking brake, discs at the back, cellphone charging pad, leather gear lever knob, lane departure warning, smart high beam assist, and height-adjustable front seats. An Intens-specific option pack, priced at R15 000, upsizes the media screen to 9.3 inches while adding a rearview camera, front pdc and 17” diamond cut alloy wheels. This is the only option available apart from metallic paintwork at R2522.
And what else? The old 898 cc turbo three made way for a 999 cc triple making eight more kilowatts and an additional 25 Nm. This engine revs willingly and its torque band seems to go on forever, making it fun to drive. Comfort items include a simpler dash layout; MultiSense drive modes with MySense (Normal), Sport and Eco; new suspension; upgraded steering mechanism; more in-cabin storage and a bigger boot. Renault managed this despite the new car being 12 mm shorter owing to reduced overhangs.
The most readily noticeable outside changes are the new LED headlamps with built-in DRLs, revised fog lamp housings, reworked side and rear panels and new tail lights. On the inside, instruments, dash, steering wheel, seats and minor controls are all new.
Colours include Flame Red, Mercury, Titanium Grey and Diamond Black in metallic, with plain shades of Glacier White and Urban Grey.
Owing to supply-chain constraints only 525 units made it to South Africa for initial stock purposes but things are expected to revert to normal (?) by July. A CVT version is expected in due course.
An old buzz phrase speaks of “The next Best Thing.” Clio V might just be that thing.
Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored press event
We attended the launch of the previous-generation Clio lV in 2013
We reviewed the 2022 Clio 5 here
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.
If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles. And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8