Still, SMC Renault Woking's ever-helpful Mike Lawrence leads me between rows of Clios ΂- 1400s, 172 Sports, who can tell the difference? ΂- and there it is. You've seen so many pics of this car in the press that you think you're used to it. Believe me, you're not. Seeing it amongst ordinary traffic is something else.

First impressions, while restricted to an initial 1000-mile 3500rpm limit, are good. Lots of 3-litre V6 flexibility, gorgeous noise, surprisingly good ride and what are all those people looking at?

Two days later we're straight off for a week's break. All the hiking boots, walking clobber, etc, fit in the front boot which, we subsequently discover, leaks slightly ΂- witness the huge drainhole provided in the bottom! A couple of coats, small soft bags, maps, etc, are retained neatly by the netting behind the seats, two large bags are dumped on the engine cover, and my good lady is fairly happy, fiddling with the multi-CD and setting the air con. She becomes slightly less happy when, having been promised a gentle, 3500rpm-limited cruise for the first few days, we get comprehensively out of shape exiting a wet roundabout with less than 3000rpm showing. Hitting standing water at 'evo' speeds also proves buttock-clenchingly exciting. Downhill bends in the wet ΂- the front wheels might as well be casters.

However, when the roads are dry and the Clio shoulders its way through bends, sounding fantastic even at these revs, all is forgiven. And this is one car you can't just park and leave ΂- you've got to look back and grin (along with anyone else who happens to be around, it seems!).

One thousand miles later and after an ΂£85 oil and filter change ΂- not necessary according to Renault ΂- I'm using more revs, with mixed results. The V6 bark is even better but the early promise of low- down punch seems to translate into slight breathlessness higher up the rev-range, while top- end grunt is a little disappointing. The weird thing is that the speedo disagrees and whereas small cars usually seem to be going 10mph faster than they really are, this one is always travelling quite a bit quicker than you think. Perfectly illustrated when you accelerate down the slip road, join the motorway and then have to slow down! This car is small but no lightweight, which may have something to do with it.

Further exploration is throwing up questions about the handling. OK, TWR has left it soft at the rear, probably to achieve what is an excellent ride for such a short, wide beast, but when you start to press on it just ain't right. Into a corner, the front end does what you want and, just as you think all is well, the back end screws everything up. And it never quite seems to do the same thing twice. All very disjointed and disconcerting and I'm not convinced that it's purely down to having a heavy engine waving around behind you. Certainly slow in, load everything up and power out helps but there's no real level of trust established. JB describes the car as a 'sprung trap' and I know exactly what he means.

None of these sensations is mitigated by the fact that you seem to sit very high in the car. In fact, if you were to replace the standard, and incidentally very comfortable, Recaros with aftermarket race seats, you could drop yourself more than six inches lower in the car.

All of which might lead you to think that I'm unhappy with the Clio, but I'm not. As everyday A-B transport I love it. It's comfortable, surprisingly practical, reasonably quick, sounds and looks great and always makes me grin. And I'm also aware that my two previous cars ΂- the 330ci and an Impreza Turbo ΂- are hard acts to follow.

But since you are reading evo, you know there is more to life than A-B driving and for those moments it's love and hate. Love: all the aforementioned, plus excellent brakes and powering out of bends. Hate: committing to a bend, trying to find a balance in the bend, overall lack of trust and absolutely anything involving water!

I'm currently speaking to a 'man who knows' and he seems very confident that the suspension can be well and truly sorted. In short, in true evo fashion, I'm already considering spending money on the car. Meanwhile I'm off for a morning at the test track with car control guru John Lyon, which should be illuminating, and how I'm looking forward to my local Hampshire lanes during the coming icy winter months, ho ho!