New Renault Clio price, specs and release date

 

Update: For more information, you can read the full Renault Clio review

 

You already know that you’ll see the new 2019 Renault Clio at the Geneva motor show in March, but in a break from recent car-launch tradition, Renault has side-stepped teasers and has revealed the car in full– all at once. THANK YOU.

2019 Renault Clio styling

So what do the new pictures tell you? Well, they show that the 2019 Renault Clio has been given an all-new, more premium look with a big bold grille and standard LED headlights with the C-shaped light signature seen on other Renaults. The car is 30mm lower than the old model – to improve aerodynamics – and gets vents ahead of the front wheels that are also designed to improve the air flow around the front of the car.

The hidden rear door handles are a carryover from the old model that trick your eyes into thinking the car is a sportier three-door and the look has been re-enforced with chrome windows surrounds and glossy black plastic trims. The rear-end gets ‘3D’ design taillights and a boot-mounted spoiler. Renault says that particular attention was paid to the shut line between the boot lid and the rear bumper – a sure fire sign that it’s looking to pull the Clio upmarket. Despite the 2019 Renault Clio being 14mm smaller than the current model, the new version offers class-leading boot capacity of 391-litres – that’s 25% bigger than you get in the current Clio and more than you get in the bigger Volkswagen Golf. The boot, says Renault, also has a flat load lip and rear seats that fold away neatly into the floor for maximum practicality, and the 2019 Renault Clio also has 26-litres of additional interior storage.

The Clio is available with alloy wheels of up to 17-inches in size and you can choose from 10 colours including Valencia Orange that, we’re told, ‘offers unprecedented depth and radiance thanks to a specific coloured varnish treatment’ that Renault claims hasn’t been used before by another carmaker. You can customise the exterior further by going for one of three exterior packs that trim the outside of the car in red, orange or black.

Another specification announcement is the addition of R.S. Line trim – shown here on the blue car. Renault’s version of Ford’s ST Line or VW’s R-Line, it makes the Clio look sportier without you having to put up with the expense of a powerful, fuel-sucking engine. It gets you a redesigned front end with a honeycomb grille and a new look rear with a mock diffuser. The exterior touch-ups are completed with 17-inch alloy wheels

2019 Renault Clio interior

The centrepiece of the 2019 Renault Clio is its brand new, 10-inch infotainment touchscreen, looking almost comically huge as it sits in the centre of the dashboard. This giant display will not come as standard on base models, though; entry-level 2019 Clios get a more conventional seven-inch screen. But no matter what size display you choose, you still get conventional knobs beneath it to control functions such as the air conditioning. And, for the small storage space underneath those dials, a wireless mobile-phone-charging port is available, too.

Along with that large centre screen, the 2019 Renault Clio comes with an additional digital display where you’d normally find the speed and rev counter. Called the Smart Cockpit, it’s up to 9.3 inches in size and allows you to access all of the features present on the infotainment screen, such as music and navigation. It also gives you control of Renault’s Multi-Sense. This function lets you set up the car in modes such as Eco, Comfort and Sport, so you can lighten the steering and soften the throttle response for easy and more economical driving in town, before sharpening things up on a twisty road. Changes have also been made to help make things more comfortable for your passengers – the front headrests are thinner to let those in the back seats see the road ahead. Plus, the material is less chunky to grant slightly more legroom. All this accompanies what is said to be a larger cabin than you’d get in the current model, with room for four adults, a welcome improvement over the cramped-in-the-back current car.

2019 Renault Clio engines

With regard to engines, the 2019 Renault Clio is expected to have petrol, diesel and petrol-electric hybrid options. But no matter what choice you make – Renaultsport model notwithstanding – the Clio will be decently economical. Even the entry-level petrol version is expected to return up to 60mpg, while also being a great urban vehicle thanks to its 90hp, 1.0-litre engine (a 150hp, 1.3-litre petrol is also predicted). Meanwhile, the 1.5-litre diesel is likely to get up to 90mpg. The Clio is set to be available with the E-Tech hybrid system – which will be fitted to the Renault Captur from 2020, as well. It gets a 1.6-litre petrol engine connected to a motor that gives it a pure-electric range of 30 miles. This would make the hybrid Clio exempt from London’s Congestion Charge.

The autonomous-driving kit fitted to the 2019 Renault Clio concludes the technical onslaught, allowing the car to brake and accelerate by itself in heavy traffic. If that all sounds good, you can expect the 2019 Renault Clio to go on sale at some point over the summer. Prices will likely range from £14,000 for the base model up to £20,000 for the top-of-the-range version. To stay up-to-date on the 2019 Renault Clio, and hundreds of other cars, sign up to the carwow newsletter.