Renault's latest - for the red-blooded male

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

The Renault Clio Sport is the sort of car everyone should drive once. It clears the head, sharpens the senses, makes you laugh out loud and dream of using it in a movie mix of the The Italian Job, Bullitt, Ronin and Goodbye Pork Pie.

It has been called "wild and wonderful" and "deliciously bold in a world of do-gooders who want to protect us from ourselves."

It's a 225 km/h French pocket-rocket and it's on sale at $33,990 - a performance/price ratio that is as good as it gets.

There is not a hot hatchback that can beat it. The only one that comes close - in a reckless, fun kind of way - is an explosive, scrambling version of the smaller Daihatsu Mira. But that's an after-market turbocharged model, and without an experienced hand on the wheel it can quickly go backwards through trees.

The 206 Peugeot GTi is lively, too. So is the Volkswagen Polo GTi. Both rivals are similarly priced but lack the power and raw driver involvement of the Renault. The Honda Integra R coupe probably comes closest as a thrill-seeker but it is $7000 dearer and its ride much firmer.

The fast-charging Clio has just been unveiled along with the facelifted version of the 2-litre Renault Scenic, Europe's bestselling mini people-mover, priced at $37,990.

Renault has had a reasonable time in the New Zealand market since it set up shop with serious intent in April last year. It launched its comeback with the best value-for-money small car on the market, a 1.4-litre four-cylinder Clio equipped with four airbags, ABS antilock braking and air-conditioning - all for $23,990.

Between April and December 31, Renault sold 253 cars, of which 100 were Clios and the rest people-mover Scenics and Laguna sedans. In eight months this year it has sold 270 cars, again mostly Clios. It aims to sell 600 cars in 2001, which would give it roughly 1 per cent of the New Zealand market, a share it aimed for originally.

Renault's competitive edge is pricing, the often segment-leading power of its engines, and its comprehensive standard equipment list. For instance, it was the first mass-manufacturer to offer side airbags in the standard price. Some of its competitors still option them; others don't have them at all.

Its sharp pricing remains, despite the weak New Zealand dollar. Renault, which deals in euros, indicated it has hedged its currency bets. But things might change.

"We are looking closely at pricing," says general manager Mark Jury. "We are hoping to keep prices stable. We don't want them going up and down without a consistent flow. But there are no guarantees. The best time to buy a new car is now."

The Clio Sport was developed by Renault Sport, the carmaker's high-performance arm. Its 2-litre, 16-valve, four-cylinder engine develops 124kW at 6250 rpm and 200Nm of pulling power at 5400 rpm.

The Clio Sport engine is considerably more refined than that of the 110kW Clio Williams, the sporty benchmark at Renault a couple of years ago.

Renault has a history of building lickety-split hatchbacks that set standards for seat-of-the-pants action. The Turbo 5, a thrilling throwabout, was one such example.

Renault says it built the Clio Sport for red-blooded blokes, hence the use of aluminium - gear-lever knob, drilled driver's pedals, brushed dashboard surrounds and door panel inserts - and leather-trimmed bucket seats.

"We aim to reach an essentially male customer base, fast-moving, on the lookout for a powerful, exclusively positioned vehicle," says Jury.

Not since the Peugeot 205 GTi of the 1980s has there been a hot hatch like the Clio Sport. The 2-litre powerplant belongs to Renault's "F" family of engines, the 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8-litre units.

Renault Sport engineers borrowed from motorsport technology to give the engine more oomph. It improved the air flow, used competition valves with variable valve timing, increased the length of the inlet manifold, changed the profile of the cylinder heads and added a tubular exhaust manifold.

The changes ensured that 85 per cent of the Clio Sport's torque was available between 2500 and 6500 rpm and that 95 per cent of its maximum power kicked in at 5800 rpm, with little power loss beyond 6250 rpm - 750 rpm short of the red line.

The power goes to the front wheels through a Laguna-sourced, close-ratio, five-speed gearbox which is good for 110 km/h in second, 150 km/h in third, 195 km/h in fourth and 225 km/h in fifth. There is some torque steer under the throttle in first and second but it isn't unsettling.

The brakes have been designed to stand up to intense use, the front discs measuring 280mm and the rear ones 228mm. The brakes use the latest ABS antilocking system with proportional braking for greater efficiency.

The suspension has been reworked and stiffened to help the Clio Sport and its low-profile 15in tyres to stay in touch with the road. But the ride hasn't suffered for the revision and remains soft.

The chassis, too, is a gem, coming into its own hustling through snaky country roads. The only thing missing on such roads is feedback through the steering wheel. Perhaps the softish set-up is to blame.

Renault will ship in 20 Clio Sport models before Christmas. They won't be hard to sell.