Renault Clio dimensions

The facelifted Renault Clio offers an impressive base for this sporty model, which adds a racy gloss black stripe to the car's nose. Exterior at the wide, squat back wheelarches and you remember its much-loved ancestor, the Renault Clio V6 Renaultsport. A diffuser mounted between the twin exhausts continues the sporting exterior but it isn't just for show. It reduces lift, pressing the tyres into the ground to generate grip. But you need to be doing 80mph for it to produce an effective load of 40kg, so it's something that's only really going to be of use on the track.

It's a hot hatch so you can have an enjoyable drive and you can also drop the back seatings and lug decent-sized loads around. The Recaro seatings don't fold as far forward as those in the regular Renault Clio, making life more difficult for rear bench passengers, particularly when it comes to getting out. But life in the rear is not so bad head space and leg space are both fairly decent given the small dimensions of the vehicle. There's only space (and seat belts) for two, however.

In order to keep the weight down and maximise performance, 