1994 Renault Clio RN Liberte review from UK and Ireland

The head gasket blew at about 150000miles, probably my own fault as I tried to doctor the antifreeze mixture with some calgon scale remover. The blown gasket resulted in loss of coolant, but I was most impressed that the Clio still ran OK for some 200miles before a repair.

The cabin heater matrix failed after about 150000miles, just got clogged up. Winter driving was dicing with ice!

The water pump went at about 250000miles.

Damp affecting distributor at about 200000miles. This required occasional stripping and spraying with WD40.

Clutch cable ratchet mechanism playing up at 280000miles.

A superbly reliable and cheap car to run. My 1.2lt petrol model did over 281,000miles and returned 50.6mpg.

It was practical, the hatchback allowed superb amount of boot space for all sorts of luggage/baggage.

The front tires usually lasted some 50000miles and the rear at least twice as much, apart from puncture repairs/replacements.

I changed the oil and filter religiously every 6000miles and this must have contributed to its phenomenal longevity and reliability. It was still on its original clutch, although the actuating cable mechanism was starting to play up.