Photo: SB-Medien
We have the first photos of a fully built Renault Clio facelift, the French hatchback that will battle the Fiesta and Polo once it's revealed in Paris. All sources point towards a start of production in the late part of 2016, but details are scarce at the moment.
Let's just focus on the styling first. From the front, it's obvious that the Clio has been influenced by the new Renault design language. But as with the Polo facelift, new ideas don't always mix perfectly with the old ones. For example, where the upper grille line connects to the top of the headlights on the Megane and Talisman, it goes through the middle here.
But we're sure Renault will make a beautiful new Clio model. They haven't done a pig since... the last Clio.
Anyway, every forum that's looking at these photos is saying that the hood line looks more wedged, which is another thing they copied from the Megane 4. We already know what the headlights look like, since they were leaked a few weeks ago.
The engine updates remain a mystery, but Renault has been seen pulling an emissions rig with a Clio Estate facelift, so it's clear the emphasis will be placed there instead of on power. The 1.5-liter dCi may gain a mild hybrid version with brake energy recovery, while the 1.2 TCe turbo looks likely to get a de-tuned 100 horsepower version.
As for the interior, your guess is as good as ours. Renault could give us the digital dash from the Megane 4, but nobody does that in the supermini segment because it's not cheap enough. Yet we can pretty much guarantee that the steering wheel will be changed to match other cars launched in 2016. It's the thing the driver most comes into contact with and a focal point of the cabin.
So far, the Clio RS facelift has not been seen. Renault has a lot of things it can do there, ranging from a new gearbox to more torque and a better sounding exhaust. As we said at the beginning of the story, look for the regular 2017 Clio to debut in Paris.
But we're sure Renault will make a beautiful new Clio model. They haven't done a pig since... the last Clio.
Anyway, every forum that's looking at these photos is saying that the hood line looks more wedged, which is another thing they copied from the Megane 4. We already know what the headlights look like, since they were leaked a few weeks ago.
The engine updates remain a mystery, but Renault has been seen pulling an emissions rig with a Clio Estate facelift, so it's clear the emphasis will be placed there instead of on power. The 1.5-liter dCi may gain a mild hybrid version with brake energy recovery, while the 1.2 TCe turbo looks likely to get a de-tuned 100 horsepower version.
As for the interior, your guess is as good as ours. Renault could give us the digital dash from the Megane 4, but nobody does that in the supermini segment because it's not cheap enough. Yet we can pretty much guarantee that the steering wheel will be changed to match other cars launched in 2016. It's the thing the driver most comes into contact with and a focal point of the cabin.
So far, the Clio RS facelift has not been seen. Renault has a lot of things it can do there, ranging from a new gearbox to more torque and a better sounding exhaust. As we said at the beginning of the story, look for the regular 2017 Clio to debut in Paris.
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