Faults:

Stop lights went off. 3 times.

Brake pads replaced at 35000 km.

Tyres replaced at 25000.

Engine mount replaced at 40000.

General Comments:

The car has great fuel economy. But it should be known that the average given by the onboard computer does not calculate consumption below 30 km/h speeds. Thus at least 10% should be added for city driving.

I have the 85 hp model. It is more than enough if you are not buying that small city car for racing purposes.

In fact it was surprising that the car has really wide space of its size, especially the boot. But you shouldn't be asking for comfort. It has cheap plastic all around creating sound.

The issues that went wrong are given above. I expected it would not start to require service so early. The car cannot be rated high for reliability in my experience.

Faults:

I bought this car two weeks ago. My previous one was a Clio RXT 1.4 16v 98hp automatic transmission. I'm interested in driving an automatic or semi automatic car, that's why I'm on it now.

This new Clio of mine has a 1.2 16v 80hp engine. In city driving, it is really fun to drive this car because of its low consumption. The average is 7,2lt/100km in city driving. Comfortable and roomy enough, especially after the Clio 2.

On the motorway this engine has disadvantages in consumption and performance. Going up the hills is challenging for this car, it needs to shift down to 3rd, even sometimes 2nd. And also if there are 4 people in the car, you need to keep a long distance for overtaking.

Rear visibility is challenging. A parking sensor needed.

The car is black, but the cockpit has blue lines, which I couldn't understand.

General Comments:

After driving a 2001 Clio 2 for four years, this Clio 3 replacement fulfills my demands, which were lower petrol consumption, a larger inside, new, less need for service. The cruise control works great on highway. I rarely use the gas pedal. And also the gear pads on the steering wheel (I call them "the ears") are very easy to use. The gearbox doesn't allow you to make a mis-shift while driving.

Handling is better than Clio 2, with larger tyres and higher weight. The steering wheel responds to the driver reactions easily.

Braking is good, gives confidence.

The dashboard looks sporty, even it is miles away from working sporty.

The seats are comfortable enough that after driving 7 hours in a day, I didn't feel any backache.

I highly recommend this car if you aren't interested in racing, but low consumption.

Faults:

I bought it at 78000 kms. The brake pads were bad and had them changed first, and the first trouble I had with this car was the magnetic sensor. The engine denied starting on the day I bought.

After a big accident I had, the nightmare started. Thought I could have it fixed as it was before the accident, but no. The biggest mistake in my life was trying to have it repaired.

The dealer service is very expensive and they seem like they don't want to repair your "fixed by other service" car. I waited for a cable from the headquarters for 2 weeks. This made me go crazy, I walked to work on rainy days.

On the other hand, the maintenance can be done outside at a special mechanic; costs one third compared to dealer service.

General Comments:

It was full of specialties such as electric sunroof, auto locking doors, the consumption checker, comfortable front seats (I don't have a large family, no comment about the back seats), auto operating back wiper on Reverse gear etc.

The petrol consumption was fine, especially on the motorways. A full tank goes about 650 kms if you drive economically.

The engine surprised me first after my 72 hp Renault 11. When you kick down, you will be satisfied with the acceleration you get. It was not as rapid as a 1.6 16v 110 hp, but also not much slower than the 110 hp.

The brakes were also satisfying, at 140 kmh, when panic braking, the car doesn't go out of the way and the ABS does its job well.

I don't have a car now, and I want to buy a 2002-2003 1.4 16v Privilege.