Renault Clio Hatchback (2001 - 2008) 1.5 dCi Extreme (65bhp) 3d Owner Review

I work as a delivery driver ( takeaway food ) and have a good insider knowledge of many cars, I also buy and sell them and have done for many years. I'll start with the bad stuff then on to the good. It's not built like a German car, so expect squeaks and rattles. Not the most supportive seats but not bad. Sunroof can leak ( not on my current one, but they can). Turbos and injectors are a week spot on them and can cause issues. No rear legroom if you are a long legged driver like me. Heater not as hot as some rivals but it does the job. Relay box next to battery is of a poor design and this can cause ingress of damp resulting in fog lights failing amongst other things. Screen wash pumps are prone to fail but easy to pull apart and modify to fix, ( YouTube videos will show you how ) rear engine mount prone to fail, easy to spot, gearstick moves all over when you pull away. Switch that controls light in boot prone to fail. Heated mirrors prone to fail. Passenger mirror has thermometer probe hanging out the bottom, always fails and tells you it's 50,c out when its minus 2! CD players can fail.....but a cheapy bluetooth one for handsfee! Good stuff. French chassis so you can kick its head in at insane speeds in the wet or dry and it will stick like glue. Punchy little engine that has wiped the smile off a few people's faces in regards to performance. Forget 0/60 times, they are for race tracks, real world toodles is delivered in spades. Good looking little car too if that bothers you. Millions in scrapyards so parts are plentiful. Excellent drivers car, and I've driven some very expensive stuff that comes nowhere near the smile factor this can. Not to bad in the snow. Amazing mpg. Seriously, I cane this and get about 55 on country roads, I also did a motorway trip (300 miles) at 70-75mph and was getting just shy of 70 mpg. £30 quid a year to tax, woohoo! Insurance is cheap as chips too. Boot size is good and great with seats down. If you are mechanically minded they are pretty simple to work on to. Best thing overall is you can buy them for nothing ( this one was £130 ) deliver pizzas, park it on its roof, then buy another! If you can tolerate the little niggles, go out and get one. Take a mechanic friend to look it over with you though, never buy an ex pizza delivery car though as it will have had its head kicked in. On a final note, yes I've pranged a few ( purely in the interests of science ) and I'm still here. Safe, quick, cheap and fun! Enjoy.