Renault Clio RS 200: Humdrum commutes and load-carrying duties for our French hot hatch

摘要

We've been giving our Renault Clio RS a pretty hard time of it recently. After a long motorway journey, I discovered a small stone chip on the bonnet - the first tarnish on the Clio's otherwise dazzling colour scheme. Then a colleague accidentally kerbed one of its wheels, while another ended up with a puncture. Still, I find myself falling for the little Renault's charms in a big way. My morning commute is usually a journey from one traffic jam to the next, but thanks to the Clio's small size and ample power, I'm able to dart down narrow side streets to avoid the worst jams and snarl-ups. In conditions such as these, the Renault more than matches the Ford Fiesta ST for speed, hitting 30mph from rest in just 2.7sec.