1995 Renault Clio OASIS from UK and Ireland - Comments

The car has only done 23,000 miles and one of the speakers has gone.

Fuel warning light does not work.

Sunroof judders when its being opened.

The car handles well given the small tyres 155/70 R13.

There is only just enough head room for me and I'm 6ft 1.

Ergonomics could be better.

Very little storage space, but its only a small car.

The engine is quiet when cruising.

The fuel cap is fiddly to put back on.

Spare wheel isn't particularly safe, anyone could yank it off from underneath (someone has already.)

Steering is heavy until on the move (30mph and above).

Decent pulling power and pick up for a 1.2.

Not exactly quick, but above average for a 1.2.

Gets a tad noisy above 70mph.

Extremely economical, £20 of petrol priced at 75.9p round town will do about 230-240 miles!

Pleasant interior and dashboard.

Exterior quality is poor, with plastic trims coming loose and front bumper rubber piece at the bottom also coming loose.

Body shell seems fairly robust.

Little features which are handy, for example the lights in the boot, glovebox, cigar lighter, ashtray (few other small cars have these.) Also, the separate compartments for the jack and screen wash in the engine bay are useful.

Other things that I've noticed about the car:

It doesn't have intermittent windscreen wipers, its either on or off.

When you open the back doors the interior light does not come on unless one of the front doors is open also.

Brake lights only come on when the brake pedal is pushed down a fair way, other cars I have driven come on the moment it is depressed.

It is slow, a 1.0 yaris and micra are quicker, but they do use 16-valve engines I suppose.

Fuel warning light now works, but flickers when on, every time you go over a bump!

Dull exterior styling (but I'm forgetting it is a 1995 car.)

Otherwise it's a good little car. Nice to drive, big car feel.

Have got one myself, and I have to agree with everything that has been said.

I have a 1.2 clio with E-type engine. It's a little beauty. Bought it 2 years ago and the timing belt broke 2 weeks later. The water pump leaked from the gasket and all the tyres were mis-matched. A bit of tinkering later and a hefty £500 bill for engineering work to the head and 6 new valves and she has been trouble free for the last 35,000 miles. A tank of gas gets 400 miles on the motorway. With regard to the people who are complaining about insignificant things like the brake lights not coming on, get under the pedals and adjust them. Everyone should have a workshop manual for their chosen vehicle. I am not a mechanic by a long shot and have no formal training whatsoever, but I do all my own maintenance like oil changes, valve clearances and anything else one can handle with a basic tool kit. Anyway, the clio is a reliable little car and you can always find a few in any scrap yard. I drive it hard, but it uses no oil or water and I am about to hit 80,000mls. I have yet to see a high mileage clio, ie, 110,000mls+ but mine may be the first. All in all, they are a very cheap, no frills design that gives reliable service and are easy to maintain and repair. Non power-steering is heavy until your arms get used to it and my only concern is the method to tension the alternator drive belt. An adjuster like on the small citroens would be better than having to use a lever. I like anything with an engine so am not bothered about what I drive. I just like drivin.!!!

I have a 1996 1.2 Clio Oasis, E-type engine, in dark blue. For a small car it isn't bad at all, especially if you consider its age. I really like how spacious the interior is, compared to most small cars. For the passenger there is a lot of leg room, and there is a nice bit of space between the driver and the passenger. (unlike a vauxhall corsa, where you sit shoulder to shoulder)

It has done over 100K, but still it runs fine. Since buying it 3 months ago I have had to replace a gasket, but that was fairly cheap (35 GBP). As a result I also had to change the oil and filter, a 30 minute job for an unskilled mechanic like me.

No other problems with it so far.

One small thing I don't like is that because of its small engine it doesn't do well accelerating if you are going up even a mild slope. It really crawls when you need to accelerate and the hill is steep.

Fuel economy is good, with over 300 miles on a full tank.

Having recently brought a 1995 Clio oasis 1.2, I have to say I am pleased with my purchase. It has done a fair few miles (105k) but the body work is still good, and it still sounds sweet.

It is a comfortable car to drive, and the seats are comfy, soft, no worn well. The only bad things I can say is: slightly slow acceleration, but it does make up for it with how good it is on fuel.

The light, near the sun roof does drip in very heavy down pours.

But over all a good car, cheap tax and insurance.

I have recently bought a Renault Clio oasis 1.2 year 1995 I'm 17 and have just passed my test can't wait to drive it. I have put a new CD player in it as the cassette player was crap I put 2"6x9 in the parsal shelf as well as a 1000watt amp,10" sub that plays my music very well. I have also bought lexus lights for the back and it looks very nice. i can't really say the up's and down's of the car as I haven't driven it yet.

I've not long passed my test and had my Renault Clio RL Oasis 1.2 1995 N reg in Red/black trims for just under a week.

Had just 43K on the clock... belonged to a little old lady.

I put just over half a tank in on day got it and been driving everywhere and anywhere and it's only just gone under half a tank now.

Quite a nippy little so and so and have to watch your speed as it picks up quite well.

Although I could feel I wasn't doing 30mph but the spedometer said I was, once I put the sat nav in I realised I was right and been a good 4-5 miles under the limit... good way to keep under the limit I suppose but annoying to other drivers.

Have to come quite far off the clutch to get the bite point, which in the 1st few days caused a lot of stalling as I'd been learning in a brand new Ford Fiesta and my bite point was just millimetres of the floor. In my clio it's good couple of inches.

Engine looks like new and got 4 new tires. Inside clean and tidy all in working order although I did buy some seat covers as didn't like the grey personally.

Steering rather stiff and have to turn the thing like hell when parking/getting in the drive but again it's down to experience as been used to the luxury of power everything.

Plenty of room for the kids on the back even with booster seats. Would be a squeeze for another passenger in there mind.

Boot space..mmmmm...suits my needs as I refuse to take my kids to supermarkets so have the back seat as well when I go shopping lol. Might cause a few problems when going away but will use footwells and front seat as well as the boot and see how I go with that.

I quite like the outer body work although simple things please simple minds. The paint work is mint apart from the roof (faded) which I'm getting re-sprayed at a mates rates.

So far so good and for a 1st car you can't go wrong.

Cheap to run, cheap to tax and for me was cheap to insure even without pass plus as I'm over 25.

As someone mentioned above, you either have your wipers on or off but not intermittent. Click the lever once gently for intermittent (about every 10 seconds) and all the way down for constant.

If you want your back one to go in time with the front push the lever forward and it will work to the front wiper's setting.

Enough for now.

I'm pleased with my purchase.

Emma.

I have one and I have done 105 MPH in it.

115. I win :)

Although my sunroof leaks on me. I lose..

I have had my 1.2 Oasis RL since 97 it is a 95M and has now done 176,500 miles, should do 200K no problem.

Cheap to run, cheap to service/fix and reliable.

Problems over the years, nothing major, as expected timing belt changed twice, also water pump, alternator, battery, rear brake shoes once.

Sunroof can leak needs re-sealing (sealant cost £2) every 3-4 years (will drip through light), some of the dash light bulbs have been replaced and blower motor has been replaced, rear demister wiring was replaced on purchase.

My average mpg over the last 12 years has been 45mpg (400 miles par tank) and I do mostly out of town driving but not much motorway.

Agree intermittent wipers would be good, steering heavy when parking (wife calls it the tank!). If spare wheel loose adjust tension bolt in boot. If dash lights aren't working (ie fuel light) bulb has blown (will flicker when level just on reserve then will become constant), easy to get to and replace.

Very little rust over the years, only on rear wheel arches.

Might have been lucky with this one but would certainly recommend buying a clio. A no frills car, cheap to run and easy to service/maintain yourself.