One of the principle marketing stories with the Clio 200 Turbo, is that that you buy one, get one free. OK, so you don't actually end up with two Clios on your drive, but apparently you do get two cars in one. On the one hand it's a placid lap dog, content to effortlessly mooch around town with a lazy throttle and the gearbox in auto. But knock the gear selector to the left, depress the R.S. button and suddenly you've got a rabid dingo intent on raising hell. For someone who should have grown out of hot hatches years ago, I like to think of it as the 10-years-younger-button. Although I may have gone too far by sticking a photo of Mylene Klass' face over the top.
Highlands let Clio reveal more of its character
As most of my mileage in the Clio has so far consisted of suburban commuting and motorway cruising, I've been stuck in sensible mode rather more than I would have liked. Other than a few short blasts, opportunities for Nicole (all Clios are called Nicole, right?) to let her hair down have been few and far between. At the end of May, however, an opportunity arose to finally redress the balance. A last minute entry to a mountain bike race in the Scottish Borders gave me the chance to spend a few days blatting to and from the venue on the brilliant roads south of Edinburgh. Plenty of time, then, to find out just how much of a B-road wild-child the 200 Turbo can be.
The Clio has already proved to be a relaxing companion on mundane motorway hacks and the long journey north it was no different. Hooking up to the Bluetooth is simple and reliable, and with the cruise control set, I could just hunker down in the excellent seats, catch up on some 6 Music shows and watch the miles tick by.
Hopefully a few midges bagged along the way...
Would that have been the case in the old Clio 200? Well, the cabin is definitely a more comfortable place to spend a long drive. And the 200 Turbo also has a mellower ride and less intrusive engine note on the motorway. As an overall package, there's no doubt it takes less out of you.
All of which leaves more energy for enjoying the back roads. And the one I was aiming for certainly requires plenty of focus and concentration. I'm talking about the stunning A708 from Moffat to Selkirk; a road that includes one of the most bent and buckled stretches of Tarmac in Britain. It's a section that ruffles up the road into mile-after-mile of sharp crests and sudden compressions. There are short straights and slight kinks, and although the Tarmac is smooth and fresh, already there's a chilling array of sump marks scarring the surface. With good damping and a talented chassis, it's a thrilling roller coaster. If there are deficiencies in either department, it's terrifying rodeo.
Well, the Clio's suspension simply monstered the whole thing. It may be missing the fancy Perfohub front linkage of the last Clio 200 - and suffers from moments of torque steer as a result - but the new Hydraulic Compression Control damper does wonders for the chassis control. Delving deep into the travel, as it drops into dips and settles after crests, brings seamless progression rather than untamed deflection. Mid-corner bumps are also met with a Gallic shrug and an air of disdain. And yet there is compliance that the previous Cup Chassis would have given its right ball joint for.
Danny's certainly been racking up the miles
Even those desperate moments where I'd carried a bit too much speed into a yump and expected the sickening sound of metal scraping asphalt were met with little worse than the sense of going over a speed bump a little too quickly.
As impressive as the chassis is, though, the complete package still has its frustrations. And yet again it's the gearbox that's below par. My default setting for back road fun is to put it in Sport mode and use the shift paddles. There's improved throttle response, manual control of the gears and faster shift times, but the stability control stays on so you still get a bit of a safety net. However, four days of B-road blasts revealed a flaw in that combo. Entering a corner I'd brake, pull the left hand paddle, turn in and go to apply some throttle to stabilise the front end, only to find that the gearbox was still doing its stuff. I'm only talking fractions of a second here, but the end result would be a small window of disconcerting front-end ambiguity.
As soon as I put it in Race mode (which gives the fastest shift times), the problem disappeared, but this also switches off the stability control. Now I'm sure the 200 is not going to bite back like a 306 Rallye or a 172 Cup, but on a wet public road I'd like to be able to choose the best gearbox mode and keep all the electronic aids engaged.
So, quick and fabulously damped though it is, I still can't help feeling that the old Clio 200 would have been a more engaging companion on those Scottish roads. However, it's such a relaxing, comfortable place to be when you're not in the mood, that at the end of each long day in the saddle, I was definitely glad to be stepping into the new car. Indeed, there's a lot to like about the Clio's split personality, I just wish Renault would make the dark side a bit darker.
FACT SHEET
Car: Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo EDC LUX
Run by: Danny Milner
On fleet since: April 2014
Mileage: 3,943
List price new: £21,535 (Basic list of £19,995 plus £650 for Cup Chassis including revised spring/damper rates, gloss black 18-inch wheels, red brake calipers and Dunlop Sport Maxx TT tyres, £595 for Flame Red i.d. metallic paint, £295 for Renaultsport Monitor)
Last month at a glance: Spa swapped for Scottish B-roads, chassis begins to show its class