2001 Renault Clio Authentique review from France

Very few things went wrong.

When I got the car there was a problem with the tail lights: it's the rear fog lights that would be turned on instead of the tail lights when switching them on. I didn't realize it right away, but after being told off by several people I took the car to the local Renault dealership. They didn't understand what I meant in the first place (not easy to notice the difference in daylight) but I insisted and they finally fixed it. Cost 50 euros.

Otherwise there was a recall from Renault. They had to replace something in the engine (don't know exactly what). I didn't pay anything for that, but I know it was quite a big repair though. It affected all cars of these series (early dCi models without air conditioning).

The battery went dead this winter. It had been below -10°C for several days and the car wasn't used to that.

I also had the windshield washer pump replaced at 78000 km, a simple repair for 19 euros.

This is an excellent car, probably the most versatile small car at the moment.

It's very pleasant to drive and the comfort is also quite good for a car that size: comfortable front seats, little road noise even at 130 km/h.

The engine is only 65 hp, but the turbo does the job and has the necessary oomph to insert in traffic smoothly.

Fuel economy is just awesome. Needs only 5 liters of diesel to cover 100 km (47 mpg).

The noise of the engine is nothing compared to that of a VW TDI.

This one is a basic version so there is no air conditioning or CD player and I regret it (especially in summer).

The backseat isn't roomy at all. It's very uncomfortable for adults to seat in the back.