Renault Clio review (19/06/2013)

THE European Car of the Year is a venerable prize. It began in 1964 and has had many honourable winners, and a few turkeys, such as the Fiat 127 and the Simca 1307.

However, the car I am writing about today, the Renault Clio, has a noble history in the competition and has won it twice. It won first time out, in 1991, the year after it was launched at the Paris Motor Show; its second win was in 2006, with the Mark III version, voted by motoring hacks from 23 countries across Europe.

The Clio is one of only two cars to have won the COTY (as it is fondly known) award twice; the other is the Volkswagen Golf — and that’s a decent endorsement of the quality of a car. That Renault has won the contest six times — the second most successful manufacturer in the history of the prize — is an indication of how prolific the French outfit has been in churning out populist motor vehicles.