The French automaker Renault has decided to publish the first official photos and details about the upcoming fourth generation of the Clio which will be making its public debut later on this year in September with the occasion of the Paris Motor Show. The Clio 4 is the first production Renault which has been designed entirely by Laurens van den Acker and we consider that he has done a terrific job as the car looks way better than the rather ugly Clio 3, a model that didn’t do as well as the first two generations of the model, not that those two models ever won any beauty contests, but at least the second-gen model looked decent.
Compared to its predecessor, the fresh new Clio is wider, lower and longer, plus it rides on an updated version of the current platform so it has a revised MacPherson strut front suspension and torsion beam rear suspension. The company’s program director for small vehicles, Benoit Bochard, has mentioned that the architecture of the Clio 4 is “heavily upgraded” as modifications have been made to the tracks, wheelbase, along with an updated electrically-assisted steering system which promises to provide more steering precision.
For now, Renault has only presented the five-door version of the Clio 4 which as you can see looks totally different than the model it replaces in the company’s lineup, while details about a possible three-door version are not available right now but we’re hoping that Renault will say something at the Paris Motor Show. It’s the first model to adopt the company’s new corporate front fascia with a larger Renault badge as well as integrated grille and headlights which are now sleeker than before, looking a lot better than what we’ve seen in the Clio 3. Those prominent wheel arches at the back are inspired from the company’s cool DeZir concept while the rear door handles have been incorporated in the C-pillars for a cleaner look.
Not only does it look way better than the current model but the Clio 4 will also be cheaper by approximately 1,000 pounds as the entry-level 3-cylinder version will have a base price of 10,500 pounds, thus making it more of a worthy adversary for Peugeot’s 208 model which is also quite an attractive car, looking in our opinion even better than the fresh Clio. Customers will be able to customize their car by choosing from the many personalization options like various body paints, interior color panels, as well a rich color palette for the diffuse and side strip.
The interior cabin of the Renault Clio 4 is going to be considerably more premium than what the Clio 3 offers. All of the car’s three trim levels will share the same architecture of the dashboard, as opposed to the Clio 3 where the base model’s dash looks awful. For mid-range and high-end versions of the Clio 4, Renault will be offering as standard a 7-inch color touchscreen display. Running this infotainment system is a software called R-Link which has been co-developed by the carmaker with Tom Tom and will be available for the vehicle in a bunch of versions, including with support for Internet connectivity, as well as speech-to-text functionality. The entry-level model will be sold with radio/CD and Bluetooth support.
Clients will also have the chance of choosing between the many material finishes which will be available upon launch, along with several colored inserts, soft-touch rotary dials and a lot more. Renault says that the Clio will be the safest vehicle in its class while under the hood we should expect to see an all-new 3-cylinder 0.9-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, as well as an updated version of the company’s 4-cylinder 1.5-liter turbodiesel. These two engines will be capable of producing approximately 90 hp.
This will be the first car from Renault to be offered with the company’s Energy TCe 90 engine which the automaker says that it offers a performance similar to a naturally-aspirated 1.4-liter power unit. The engine delivers 90 hp and has a peak torque of 99 lb.-ft achieved at 2,000 rpm. With this engine the Clio 4 can return 65.9 mpg UK and has CO2 emissions of 99 g/km.
As far as the diesel is concerned, this provides starting with 1,750 rpm 162 lb.-ft of torque while the more frugal Eco2 version that will feature a taller gearing will be able to return an impressive 88.2 mpg UK and should have CO2 emissions of just 83 g/k, besting the Econetic version of the Ford Fiesta.
Upon launch, the French carmaker will also be offering for the new Clio 4 a 4-cylinder 1.2-liter turbocharged engine that will be linked as standard to a dual-clutch 6-speed automatic gearbox which will be available as an optional feature for the model fitted with the diesel engine.
Renault will open the order books for the fourth generation of the Clio this October while the first cars should arrive in the beginning of next year.
Source: Renault via Autocar.co.uk
