RENAULT RETURNS TO FORM WITH THE CLIO V

Good to look at and even better to drive. Get ready to ditch your vanilla-flavored crossover.

- Pawan Dhingara

Certain markets have waited a painfully long time for the arrival of the Clio V which has a left wide gap for rival brands to rake in customers with their newer wares. In the interim, Renault products like the Kiger have absorbed some of those sales but these products simply lack the pizzaz of the Clio. Now that the new Clio is finally here it will have a tough job reminding customers why it was once a vanguard of the younger generation while catering to those who are in a downsizing phase of life.

Visually the Clio V represents a gentle evolution on the outside and one that brings it closer to the styling direction of the Megane. It's good to see Renault back on a path that once again pays attention to the acute details with fewer examples of direct cost-cutting required for high volume output and profitability. This is the Renault we know and love! Despite being smaller than the model it replaces, interior space has improved and Renault claims that every part of the car is new. It's a fashionable runaround with LED lights, broad shoulders and rear door handles tucked into the pillar for a streamlined look.