Renault always manages to turn out some snappy cars, whether they’re at the smaller end of the spectrum or bigger commercial vehicles. The Renault Clio RS 197 is at the smaller end of the spectrum, being a very worthy addition to the Renault Clio line-up.

The Renault Clio RS 197 is a three-door sports hatchback that incorporates touches of F1 brilliance and design into a city car. The RS in the Renault Clio RS 197 stands for “Renault Sport”, a title given to only two cars in the Renault range – the other is the Renault Mégane RS. Somewhat like a chilli pepper (especially when it comes with the bright red exterior paint), the Renault Clio RS 197 packs an awful lot of punch into a small package. With a bit of imagination, the Renault Clio RS 197 even looks something look like a jalapeno pepper on wheels, what with the gentle tapering profile and the lines sweeping from nose to tail. Except a jalapeno pepper doesn’t have wheel arch air extractors or a rear air diffuser with twin outlets – some of the F1 touches incorporated into the Renault Clio RS 197 to give it an extra performance edge and keep the wheels firmly on the road where they belong.

How much pepper does the Renault Clio RS 197 pack? The 2.0 litre CVVT petrol engine has 197 horses (145 kW) that churn out 215 Nm at the peak, which kicks in at 5500 rpm – plenty to please any driver handling the leather sports steering wheel and leather gear stick (the Renault Clio RS 197’s a 6-speed manual). This puts the little hatch through its 0–100 sprint in 6.9 seconds. This speed is reined in by the Brembo brakes (at the front) with EBD and ABS, while the sports-tuned ESP combines with the air diffusers at the rear to improve handling and stability. Maximum speed in the Renault Clio RS 197 is 223 km/h. From another perspective, the Renault Clio RS 197 is pretty pleasing in that it meets Euro 4 emissions standards, has scored five stars in the Euro NCAP safety test and a combined economy figure of 8.4 l/100 km.

F1 cars tend to be a bit Spartan on the inside, so it’s pleasing to see that, apart from the sports seats (the driver’s seat is height and lumbar adjustable; the front passenger’s seat is height adjustable), the drilled aluminium pedals and the steering wheel, the Renault Clio RS 197 is a lot more palatial. Not that this writer has ever had the privilege of piloting a F1 car at full speed, but as far as I know, F1s don’t come equipped with adjustable head support for the rear seats (because there aren’t any rear seats in an F1 car, but the Renault Clio RS 197 has three, enabling it to take five people), a four-speaker CD audio system, or lights in the glovebox and boot space. The Renault Clio RS 197 also has a climate control and a multifunction trip computer with a digital display.

Naturally, the Renault Clio RS 197 has all the passive safety features under the sun as well as the active features that improve the handling and keep the hatch on the road. Front, side and curtain airbags are all there, as are pretensioned seatbelts for both front seats and the two outer rear seats and anti-submarining airbags.

The current model series includes the:

• Renault Clio RS 197

For any more information on the Renault Clio RS 197, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Renault dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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