At around 4000 miles the Clio's V6 seemed to loosen quite noticeably. Where it had previously felt a bit strangled at high revs, the needle now flies around the tacho accompanied by a truly awesome howl. The flip-side is that as journeys get swifter, the fuel consumption, which I mentioned a couple of months ago, gets worse. The price you pay for having fun, I suppose.

Incidentally, I now have absolute proof that this is a genuine supercar ΂- it's a real swine to check the oil. The exercise involves yours truly diving head-first through the rear hatch and ΂- having first removed two engine covers ΂- fumbling in the farthest, darkest recess of the engine bay (okay, okay, I know ΂- one dipstick looking for another). The feeling of triumph at extracting said dipstick is soon overtaken by the realisation that it will need to be replaced by feel alone. There, didn't I tell you it was more exciting than a Porsche?