Renault Clio review - updated supermini still a fine choice - Renault Clio MPG and running costs

MPG and running costs

All Clios are economical, though if you need any more excuses to avoid that naturally-aspirated 1.2-litre entry car, its that its 50.4mpg combined economy - a slight improvement on the pre-facelift car - is only about 2.5mpg more than the Renault Sport models can manage. CO2 emissions of 127g/km are nothing to write home about either.

The turbocharged units are much more impressive and nowhere is this better epitomised than by the dCi, which – in all its incarnations (manual dCi 75, dCi 90 in manual and auto forms, and manual dCi 110) – never emits more than 92g/km, making it exempt from VED. Most efficient of all is the manual-equipped dCi 90 (though at the time of writing, the dCi 75's figures haven't been released), with combined economy of 85.6mpg and CO2 of 85g/km. In the real world, mid-60s is a perfectly reasonable expectation. 

The 0.9-litre has, on the face of it, commendable stats of 94g/km and 60.1mpg, but if you do a lot of motorway work, it needs quite a lot of revs to keep up with traffic so is less likely to get near its parsimonious official figures. The TCe 120 should be slightly better. Officially it'll do 53.3mpg and 118g/km as a manual car (52.3mpg and 120g/km as the automatic). Expect figures in the 40s.

Renault Sport models meanwhile do 47.9mpg officially with 133g/km of CO2 for the regular Turbo and 135g/km for the Trophy. Don't expect to get that if you're pressing on, but in our experience the latest generation of turbocharged, 1.6-litre hot hatches can be surprisingly economical in mixed driving.

Running costs otherwise should be negligible, as the non-RS Clios are in insurance groups 7-12, they come with the superb 4+ after-sales package (four years’ free servicing and a 100,000-mile warranty) and the servicing intervals are 12 months or 12,500 miles, whichever is sooner.