This F1 inspired hot hatch is the real deal
Model Tested:
- 2009 Renault Clio RS F1 Team R27; 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, petrol; six-speed manual; three-door hatch – $39,990*
Options Available:
- Metallic Paint $800; Six-CD Changer $800; Sunroof $1890; Xenon Headlamps $1,750
Performance; handling; braking; stand-out looks
Price; tricky entry/egress; weak air-conditioning
CarAdvice Rating: 
It’s a mouthful I know, but make no mistake, this F1 inspired hot hatch is the real deal: that’s four-pot Brembos, world’s best Recaro seats and handling that left my high-end mechanic mate, literally speechless.
Just ask the suit in the 997 Carrera 4S who probably never gave the diminutive Renault Clio a second thought, until it positively caned him on a poorly surfaced, tight, and twisty section of road a few weeks back.
This humbled Porsche driver now knows full well what a Renault Clio Sport F1 Team R27 is capable of, when he pulled up beside me and lowered the driver’s window to ask, “what is that?” to which I replied “Renault Clio F1, 2.0-litre, no turbo”.
As I drove away, I could see him staring at the bright red Brembos and no doubt, feeling a little sorry for himself.
But he won’t see many of them around these parts; rare as hen’s teeth you could say. Only 40 Clio Renault Sport F1 Team R27’s were allocated for Australia, and I’d be surprised and disappointed if there is any remaining on the showroom floor.
This thing is so adept through the bends, that I would be remiss if I didn’t say it’s the best handling hot hatch I’ve ever driven, with race car like dynamics and grip levels nothing short of supernatural.
And while the leather bound steering wheel is a nice bit of kit with body coloured stitching and loads of tactility, Renault’s variable electric power assist steering is a masterpiece. The feedback, accuracy and responsiveness of this unit feels every bit as good as that of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 supercar.
Did I mention that the car comes shod with narrow 215mm width tyres? It’s not always about extra-wide rubber on the rears, more about a holistic approach to handling, and Renault has a PhD in that department.
If you happen to see a Renault Clio in this livery (it will either be Torso Red or Victory Yellow) best you leave it alone and don’t go trying anything silly, like taking it on across anything that remotely resembling a bend in the road – you won’t stand a chance and your ego will take a hammering.
Driving this special edition Clio as your daily ride, may just be the best marketing exercise Renault could ever hope for, that’s provided you give it a little poke now and again.
You would think that a simple “Renault Clio Sport F1” badge would suffice as the proper model identification for this hatch, but for one thing, it wouldn’t do justice to Renault’s brilliant Formula One World Championship wins (Constructors and Drivers) in 2005 and 2006 with the R27 chassis.
More than that though, just a few minutes behind the wheel of this supercar-slaying hot hatch on a twisty stretch of tarmac, and you too will know that some of that Formula One know-how has gone into the development of this car.
Built at the famed Renault Sport factory in the Haute-Normandie town of Dieppe France, this version of the Clio gets some extra special treatment above and beyond that of is close sibling, the already bench-marked Clio Renault Sport 197.
What stands out in the handling department of the F1 Clio is the ‘Cup Chassis’ suspension settings. When I say there is no body roll, I mean zilch, none, not a millimetre. And that’s at nine-tenths with some extremely fast turn-ins.
Put that down to a substantial stiffening of the springs, 27 per cent up front and 30 per cent at the rear, as well as stiffer dampers all round, for a totally flat cornering experience.
I’m almost certain that this particular Clio could out-gun some purpose built race cars without the need to change a single nut or bolt.
And then there are the Recaros. There are some high-end super cars costing five times the price of this car, which don’t have sports seats as good as those fitted to the F1 Clio.
The design of these pews means they will support a variety of body shapes, but at the same time, offer levels of bolster that I would liken to wearing a Velcro bodysuit. They also shed six kilograms per seat.
They are both supremely supportive and yet entirely comfortable at speed, and over some of the worst maintained roads in NSW (that’s an awful load of road).
That’s got plenty to do with the car’s suspension set-up, even though this Clio variant is lowered by 7mm over the stock Clio RS 197, bumps and potholes are completely ironed out.
It simply doesn’t matter how quick you peddle through the twisty stuff, the Clio F1 somehow remains rock solid stable and entirely composed, regardless of how tight the turn in is, or how bad the road surface is. In fact, the harder you push it, the better the car performs. It almost begs for more throttle.
And despite the lack of tyre width, the grip from the Continental ContiSportContact3 rubber is outstanding and worthy of a good old-fashioned plug in this review.
You would need to dial up ten-tenths on a race track to have any hope of forcing tyre squeal with this particular 17-inch wheel and tyre set up.
The large and super-stopping bright red Brembos are also part of the A-list kit on board the Clio, along with perfectly weighted brake pedal pressure, which inspires supreme confidence in a variety of driving conditions.
It’s not often you find a braking system of this calibre on a car costing under $40,000 ($39,990 to be precise), but Renault have proven that it’s more than possible with the Clio F1.
But the most telling sign of this car’s motor sport lineage is the serious looking rear diffuser, which channels airflow around the car to increase down-force on the rear end, thereby reducing lift. Judging by how stable this thing is at speed, it works.
You also won’t miss the side extractor vents on the front wings, which while adding to the race car look of the car, is all about reducing turbulence and removing unwanted heat from under the bonnet.
You don’t need a whole lot of power and torque in a car that weighs just 1,221kgs, and the naturally aspirated 2.0-litre powertrain does the job nicely.
But that doesn’t mean that the cup chassis couldn’t handle more than the rather uninspiring 145kW and 215 Nm of torque this vehicle develops. Punch the throttle, and initial acceleration is less than what I expected, but it’ll rev out to over 7,000 rpm and go from standstill to 100km/h in 6.9 seconds.
High performance front-wheel drive cars often suffer from torque steer, but not the Clio, the chassis is too well balanced for any of that to interfere with the fun that can be had behind the wheel of this hatch.
For those of you obsessed about fuel economy in a light hatch (its always going to be frugal when compared with larger cars and SUVs) I ended up with a combined average of 11.9 litres/100km but that was driving with complete disregard for economic rationality.
Inside the cabin is where the Clio R27 looses a few points, the exception being the Recaro seats and superb leather steering wheel. It’s pretty basic and grey inside here, despite climate control air conditioning and electric windows (front only).
It’s just not up to the top shelf standard of Volkswagen’s Polo GTI and frankly, there’s no excuse for Renault not to lift their game in this area.
That said the moment you see a quiet twisty bit of road and squeeze that right pedal in the Clio, all sins are forgotten, as the countryside becomes a blur, and you shift up and down through the six forward ratios. If at this moment in time you don’t have a great big smile on your face, then you’re probably on medication for depression.
It might be small, but there’s no shortage of space and practicality with this super Clio. Rear seat legroom is sufficient for adult passengers on local trips to restaurants or the beach, and if you lower the split fold rear seats, up 1,038-litres of load space will open up.
And with the rear seats upright, there is still plenty of space for four people and the weekly grocery shop, due to a reasonably generous 288-litres of load space.
But you’re not going to buy a Clio Renault Sport F1 Team R27 for its grocery carrying capacity, you’ll buy it because it handles better than any other hot hatch on the market and because it’s exclusive.
If you’re a bona fide motoring enthusiast and don’t have the kind of funds for an M3 or even a Golf R32, then do yourself a favour and test drive a Clio F1. You won’t be disappointed.
Ratings:
CarAdvice Overall Rating:
How does it Drive:
How does it Look: 
How does it Go:
Road Test the Rivals:
- Alfa Romeo MiTo Sport (from $37,490*)
- Fiat 500 Sport (from $27,990*)
- Peugeot 207 GTI (from $34,490*)
- Volkswagen Polo GTI (from $26,990*)
*Pricing is a guide as recommended to us by the manufacturer.
Specifications:
- Engine: 1998cc DOHC four-cylinder (16 valve)
- Power: 145kW @ 7,250rpm
- Torque: 215Nm @ 5,550rpm
- Induction: Multi-point
- Transmission: Six-speed manual
- Driven Wheels: Front
- Brakes: Discs with ABS & EBD
- Top Speed: 223km/h (Claimed)
- 0-100km/h: 6.9 seconds
- CO2 Emissions: 199g/km
- Fuel Consumption: 8.4L/100km (ADR)
- Fuel Consumption: 11.9L/100km (As Tested)
- Fuel Tank Capacity: 55L
- Fuel Type: 98RON Premium Unleaded
- ANCAP Rating: TBC
- Airbags: Front, Side & Curtain
- Safety: ESC with Traction Control
- Spare Wheel: Full-size (Steel)
- Suspension: Strut (F) / Torsion Beam (R)
- Cargo Capacity: 288/1038L
- Tow Capacity: N/A
- Turning Circle: 11.4m
- Warranty: Three Year / 100,000km
- Weight: 1,221kg (Tare)
- Wheels: Alloy 17 x 7.5-inch
Love these cars, its a lesson in how hot hatches should look,drive,handle,gearbox and be fun to drive!! give me one in yellow though please..
This thing must be astonishing to drive, however, I can’t help but feel that it’s way overpriced for what you’re getting. There are many other more viable options for the ultra-competitive price point of $40k.
Expensive yes, but those brakes, seats, wheels and tyres would add up to a fair chunk of the cost.
PS I love the look of this thing.
(click to show comment)
Any idea when similar cars (thinking the Focus RS) are coming to Australia? For that matter, are they?
A post over http://www.caradvice.com.au/23.....pressions/ says no since Ford will be manufacturing the Focus (and presumably a FPV model) but still no word on the RS. They already import the RX5, no harm in bringing the RS in also.
Anyway, back to the Renault..
Your comments on Renault having to lift it’s game on the interior are (in my personal worthless opinion) a tad misguided. See I reckon they are on the money in their fitout of this car with more emphasis on the drive rather than the niceties. Recaro’s because they are amongst the best for holding you in place, a simple clean interior without much happening to distract you, simple (if Basic) controls so you again can get on with the job at hand… All that is NEEDED in a car with strong driver enjoyment credentials… This, as you pointed out is not a mass market exercise it is for the drivers. If you find it to austere, for similar coin buy the XR5 still a great drive, arguably equal in it’s handling (particularly if you don’t go trackside) and with a more liveable interior and be happy with more buttons to play with betweeen track days because the Clio will probably eat you up then.
true SF, but its the same (very similar) interior across the range of clios thats sub par, compared to VW and Peugeot and others it just isnt as nice, and while as you put it, it does work well when you throw the big recaros in and you have a race car feel, if you just had a standard clio your be pretty disappointed with the interior.
be interesting to see how it sizes up against the new breed of turbo cars in its class,
Is there any 400m times, considering the pictures were taken at a drag strip?
Safety First – a worthwhile opinion for sure, I was thinking along the same lines but, if you live with a car every day, including the peak hour crawl all week, then a slightly more up-market interior would surely be appreciated.
Interesting review. But considering that much of it is spent praising the Clios cornering ability, why were the photos taken at a dragstrip? I would have liked to have seen a photo of the car cornering at speed, to see whether there *really* was no body roll as the author describes.
Did you get any 0-400m times while you were there, CA?
Test drove one of the Clio 197, great car to drive if you keep your eye on the road. Not matter how fun it is on cornering, the low interior quality will still linger at the back of your brain, it is fun if you have extra $ to spare.
Clio RS 200/Megane RS 250 are out in the UK, hope there are more improvement and value for $.
Awesome review guys, though I gotta say, Interiors in cars like this are meant to be sparse, I mean what else do you want more than air-con and a radio? You can’t buy simple cars like this anymore.
If I had one, i’d be tempted to rip out the rear seats too.
Any clue as to when the new Clio 200 is going to come out here?
That thing runs exactly the same suspension set up as this thing but its got more power and torque.
The car is well priced out of its range though, its overpriced by about 5 grand, well in Golf GTI territory, even though it lands somewhere in between the Golf and Polo. Hell you can get an XR5 Turbo for 35 grand at the moment.
The new Clio 200 wont be coming down under
And we wont see the Megane 250rs till 3rd quarter.
how do you know we wont be getting it?
Word on OzReanultSport is we’ll be getting the clio 200 endo of q1 this year iirc.
my dealer has told me the local launch is mid-March
A future-classic no doubt, and a real looker to boot. But I worry for the future of Renault in this country, with staggeringly low sales and a small network system.
IF (and it’s a biggy) If Renault could actually reduce it’s models here to vehicles like this, the limited run Fun Factor cars, keep the premium price up and align their dealership (and warranty serice agents) more closely with Nissan then they would have a chance. However, as I have said many times over, in the general market Australia has “too many choices”.This general market nad the beliefe that you need to be in it will be everyones down fall. Given that their are over 250 different models (not counting trims such as CL / LX etc) then manufacturer have to find their niche to survive. Marrin Burella emphasised this the other day with his comments on building big cars or little cars, Renault would do well to consider their position.
bring the new megane and clio over and actually market them and you might sell a few
The air conditioning isn’t weak, it takes a while to get there however the euro versions (F1 Team) do not have air cond! or stereo! Awsome car to drive!
R27s all have climate control and a 6 speaker stereo. It’s the Cup versions that do without air or radio. The R27 is just a 197 with the Cup pack, Recaros and a numbered plaque. Still desirable though.
Great little car.I’ve seen a white version with a rear factory spoiler with the same decals as the red one.
As for the rivals list,the Clio would destroy them on the track and on the street.
If you have $40k, you can easily make a VW Polo GTI much better….
how?
haha, better than it was, but still not better than the Clio!
Yes I agree VW Polo is much better, on power, Nm at low rpm, Quality, resale value and relibility.
You are in fairy land! get over it and do not use reliability and VW in the same sentence!
Yes Australia is fairy land if I can not use reliability and VW together. Read ADAC report and then you change your mind. You remember Holden Camira? It had a very bad reputation!! I bought one in 1985 and it was the best Holden I had. It was the 1.8L engine. I did even club racing with it. Point is VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda all got the engine from same place. Anyway what you driving?
But why would you? Its only a Polo!
The true hot hatch , strip it down even more .
Although i love the golf gti , its a bit too grown up , seeking too many IT and real estate types , soft shoe shufflers .
This is all about track day guys .
I think the price should fall within Peugeot 207gti price range or less, not the recommended rip-off price (RRP) of 40k. That makes me think about the $ servicing/parts price if you bought the car.
If you haven’t actually see the car, check out the interior first, take it for test drive on the Clio 197 if possible on the F1 model.
I own a 197 (not an R27) and actually prefer it for it’s softer seats and suspension tune (I live in the country where the roads aren’t that flash). I admit to thinking twice about buying a Renault based on things I’d heard or read, especially when soem of the older stuff had a bad name for reliability but with nearly 30K on mine so far it hasn’t missed a beat. If you love hot hatches, at least take one for a spin – it constantly surprises with just how capable it is. I don’t consider myself a great driver but the Clio makes anyone look good!
The Polo GTI is an excellent car, one of my favourites but it’s just not in the same performance league as the RS Clio.
Australia is a fairy land! Where is your proof about bad quality on VW?????
You can fin dproblem with every car even Ferrari or Bentley. ADAC got a yearly report on relibility you should read it. VW is in top 5 in all classes with Audi in top 3. The engine comes from same place.
The ADAC Breakdown Statistics information is compiled by analyzing the 2.46 million qualifying call-outs of the ADAC roadside assistance team for the calendar year 2008. To be considered, a vehicle must have been manufactured between 2003-2008, registered in volumes of at least 10,000 in Germany and largely unchanged for at least the past three years – ruling out brand-new cars’ effect on the previous model’s statistics.
I was going to order the sensible choice Golf GTi (roomier, more torque, nicer interior) this week until I took the R27 for a drive – pick mine up in Yellow next tuesday!
What a cracker of a car! Took it for a 30 minute drive, wow! It’s just about the most fun you can have in a car with your clothes on. Leaves a GTi for dead on a twisty road.
As for the comments on the interior I agree generally, quality is not up to VW standards, with the exception of Audi who is?
Its nice but $10k to much
I would rather a WRX or EVO for ~$40k, this would be a dot in the mirror on a wet road too