Clio is one of those cars designed to be as neutral as possible. A mainstream model expected to sell in large volumes, Clio's styling is unadventurous but also inoffensive. A mid-life facelift revises the front-end design, incorporating Megane-like headlights and sharpening Clio's looks. With a finely tuned ride-handling balance, Clio drives with the maturity expected of a larger car. On the roads, Clio puts on a class-leading performance, showing excellent body control, impressive poise and strong grip levels. However, the light steering fails to generate enough feel even as speed rises, hence limiting Clio's appeal as a true driver's car. The ride quality is impressive, proving smooth and comfortable under most conditions. Along with being among the most comfortable in the class, Clio also makes an accomplished long-distance cruiser. Other than some suspension noise on rougher roads, the cabin is hushed, with engine, road and wind noise kept to a minimum. Despite the lack of steering reach adjustments, finding a perfect driving position is possible. All-round visibility is excellent, too, and the simple dash layout ensures easy navigation. Clio's cabin quality is about as good as it gets in this segment. From the soft-touch dashboard and chrome instrument dial surrounds, to the standard of finishing and the tactility of the controls, the cabin looks and feels great. Clio has been in production for some time now, and most of the underlying mechanicals have been proven in other Renault models, so you can expect years of trouble-free running. Clio is powered by a 1.6-litre engine paired to a four-speed automatic gearbox with manual selection. With 110 bhp at 6000 rpm and 151 Nm at 4250 rpm, the on-road performance is more than adequate. But not much more—as the 12.2 seconds taken to sprint to 100 km/h from rest indicates. Drivetrain refinement is impressive, however, with a very refined engine that is well-matched to a smooth-shifting gearbox. The cabin is spacious by class standards, providing four adults with plenty of head- and leg-room. Cabin storage areas include a reasonably spacious glovebox, cup holders and somewhat narrow door pockets. The boot is a good size at 288 litres, and becomes a useful 1038 litres when the 60/40 split-fold rear seats are folded. However, unlike for certain rivals, the resulting loading area is not fully flat. Fuel economy is decent at 13.3 km/litre. But we expect the servicing/repair costs to be higher, if only marginally, than Japanese rivals'. Depreciation is yet another area of concern. Sure, Clio's limited numbers will help support resale prices. But without the perceived reliability or, to a smaller extent, the desirability of Japanese rivals, Clio has no arsenal to ward off depreciation. Being a fully-imported French car, Clio is significantly more expensive than Japanese rivals. The question is whether Clio can justify the premium. Well, it certainly has the talents. The ride-and-handling, refinement, cabin quality and interior spaciousness are there or thereabouts at the top of the class. But with the price disadvantage against a Honda Jazz or Toyota Yaris, and more so against a Honda City or Toyota Vios, Clio seems destined to be a rare sight in Malaysia, even if it is one of the finest in the class. Standard equipments include 15" alloy wheels, leather steering wheel and gear knob, radio/CD audio player, cruise control, remote central locking, automatic windscreen wipers, rear parking sensor, fog lamps, and automatic headlights. Safety kit includes 6 airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, and braking controls (ABS, EBD, EBA). Carbon dioxide emissions of 179 grams/km and fuel economy of 13.3 km/litre are less than great. Don't get us wrong; The environment would be healthier if all cars come with such figures. But given Clio's weight and performance level, we expect better figures.