Skip advert
Advertisement

Renault Sport Clio 220 Trophy review - Is the turbocharged Clio finally any fun? - Design

The new Clio gets a facelift, a new exhaust and the Trophy becomes a proper production model

Evo rating
RRP
from £22,425
  • Tenacious and grippy chassis, but one that’s still fun
  • Lacklustre drivetrain and lifeless steering make it hard to enjoy

The big, oversized diamond Renault badge at the front and the huge lights didn’t go down well when the Clio was launched. But even worse was the fact it was only available as a five door.

Now that we’ve had time to become accustomed to the new Clio it looks far better than it did. The updated styling and the new fog lights, that we first saw on the Renault Sport special project R.S.16 Clio, that comes with this facelift has seen the Clio evolve into a fine looking car. The lower, more aggressive stance of the Trophy certainly helps and the contrasting feature that runs along the bottom of the doors helps the Clio look smaller than it actually is.

Advertisement - Article continues below

> Click here to read our review of the Renault Sport Clio R.S.16

Sadly, the Trophy is still only available as a five door and we don’t think time will ever make that seem acceptable.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Cupra Leon VZ review – Spain’s Golf GTI is better than Germany’s
Cupra Leon
In-depth reviews

Cupra Leon VZ review – Spain’s Golf GTI is better than Germany’s

The choice of full-sized front-drive hot hatches now doesn’t include the Civic Type R. Can the Cupra Leon VZ take the top spot?
25 Aug 2026
Lotus Exige V6 (S3, 2011-2021) review – a mini supercar for Golf GTI money
Lotus Exige S V6
In-depth reviews

Lotus Exige V6 (S3, 2011-2021) review – a mini supercar for Golf GTI money

For the S3 generation the Lotus Exige got a lot brawnier, trading the four-cylinder engines it had hitherto utilised for a supercharged Toyota V6
21 Aug 2026
This Maserati wasn’t a very good car in many ways. Here’s why I loved it anyway
Maserati Ghibli Trofeo
Long term tests

This Maserati wasn’t a very good car in many ways. Here’s why I loved it anyway

The German rivals were arguably better, but our Ghibli Trofeo had us questioning why all those objective measures matter
24 Aug 2026