A fabulous drive

I often meander into Kinds Motor showrooms and remark to myself that there has to be a bit of a split personality in one company dealing with beautiful German thoroughbreds on one side of the showroom and Renault cars on the other.

This is sensational motoring from a small family saloon... a unique motoring experience- Hugh Arnett

This is where the magic, the indefinable élan, the bubbling effervescence that seems to eternally spring from Renault cars satisfies the most non-interested among our motoring population at one end of the scale, and the lover of thoroughbred competition saloons at the other end of the motoring kaleidoscope.

Quite simply, this writer has been involved with the ownership of a Renault 5 soon after it was launched and then enjoyed three of the most exciting drives in a long career as a road test driver, in Renault cars.

Frank Fenech’s Mark I, Five Turbo, with its mid-engine and only two seats was a dynamic and exciting car to try and handle well and once the very noticeable turbo lag had been sorted when trying to corner fast, the sense of personal achievement was only bettered when the handling of my old Aston Martin Ulster had been properly mastered.

More recently, the Megane F1 tested me to my limits on all but the smoothest surfaces, but what a car it was to drive, scintillating, captivating and almost untameable in the short time allowed for the test drive.

An offer of the exciting Clio 200 RS came as a total surprise – a fabulous Christmas drive that raised myrespect for Renault cars to extreme levels.

The car is race bred, a body surprisingly similar to the well-known Clio range, suspension tuned to the nines, a dynamic dash layout where the rev counter is far and away – the most important dial among a fine collection of instruments.

The Recaro front seats grip the thighs like a rugby scrum, but the car has an almost total absence of roll even when cornering fast, so the ultra grippy seats are never even remotely uncomfortable.

If these facts were the end of the story, it would be a story well worth telling, but the tale has just begun, for the drive behind the need to modify a popular little vehicle begins with a two-litre engine that develops 200 bhp, blasts from 0-100 km/h in only 6.9 seconds, and peaks out at about 220 km/h. This is quite frankly sensational motoring from a small family saloon and I dare say an almost unique motoring experience among saloon counterparts imported into Malta.

Obviously, in any high-speed dash, the brakes have to be tested beyond the norm because the life of the occupant/s depends on the car’s ability to be brought to a halt from high speed without the brakes locking, binding or misbehaving, and the tyres must be able to sustain their integrity under unusual moments of stress.

Even hands off the wheel at the legal maximum, the brakes were faultless, and at high speed quite amazing.

The six-speed gear change lever took a few changes to get used to as it has an amazingly short ‘throw’.

This means that once mastered gear changes are done in a fractionof the time a conventional Clio would take.

At this point, the gear throw had a charm of its own and provided an even more exciting drive.

These days I like the input from a skilled passenger and had James, an expert Land Rover pilot on board. Every few moments after a fresh excitement he would murmur: “I must own this car”.

Abroad, these high-performance Clios have a general four-star rating, which is an obvious introduction into the far realms of the Cliokingdom.

The model tested should bethe benchmark for all those manufacturers exporting normal saloons, of a sporting persuasion, to our shores.

This little car is small enoughnot to be obstructive, is easy to park, nimble as an elf with razor sharp and delightfully positive steering and a total joy to drive whether on the open road or in town traffic.

My only word of caution is to behave with care on pot-holed surfaces, as expensive wheels and low-profile tyres really dislike being thumped around.

Verdict

Comfort
Amazing for arace-bred vehicle.

Performance
In class.

Cool
Words elude me.

Quality
In class.

At a glance

Top speed
220km/h

0-100km
6.9 seconds

Economy
Combined cycle,8.2 l/100 km

C02
190g/km

Engine
Euro 5, four-cylinders 16 valves. 1998ccdisplacement.

Power
200bhp

Maximum torque
215 Nm