Renault Clio RS 200 And Morgan Plus 8

Would Vital, Early Rush-Hour Business Highlight Its Strengths Or Its Flaws?

Renault Clio RS200 Turbo details of France's quicker, lighter hot-hatch

You might remember my colleague Hilton Holloway referring to our Renault Clio RS 200 as “the ultimate urban supercar” a few weeks back. Until now, I’ve not been sold on the idea. How can the Clio, with its oft-slow auto transmission and lunging throttle response, possibly be a better car about town than other hot hatches, our own Ford Fiesta ST included?

The Clio RS 200 EDC looks absolutely brilliant in the metal.

I’ll admit, right now, to being a convert in favour of the Clio. Last week, I was involved in some amateur dramatics at a local theatre, meaning that I had to sprint to the venue from Autocar’s Teddington offices just minutes before the rush-hour traffic began.

Strangely, this is where the Clio came into its own, dodging and weaving through the free-flowing urban traffic and laying down all 197bhp from its 1.6-litre turbocharged engine. Although the Clio feels lumbered down in stop-start traffic, it’s a different car entirely when the roads are clear. With the engine finally given some breathing space, it flew along the back roads to the theatre.

The EDC transmission’s oddly judged ratios continue to baffle me, but I’m at least learning when to switch to manual mode and use the column-mounted paddle shifts to take over.

Plus there’s the Renault sport button on the centre console. Press it and the real potential of the Clio is realized. Its throttle response seems sharper, its soundtrack louder. Arguably, the Clio in RS mode is how the car should come as standard.

The overly firm ride occasionally meant avoiding the larger speed humps and potholes, but a combination of quick and accurate steering, decent brakes and plentiful power meant that the Clio got me to the theatre on time all week.

The dials are easy to read at a glance and those paddle shifters come in very handy

When I did arrive, just as the rush-hour traffic started to build, the Clio continued to receive admiring glances from the rest of the cast. Say what you like about its styling and colour, but to me this is still a cool car to be seen in. Perhaps ‘urban supercar’ is the right way to describe the Clio RS 200 after all.

Morgan Plus 8 - Front Angle, 2013

You’ll have noticed that it has been raining of late. Quite a lot. You may also have noticed the Morgan’s fabric roof arrangement. Bitter experience is telling me that these two things are only compatible if you align the roof’s sealing system very carefully.

If you don’t, you are liable to open the door and find a large puddle where you’d normally find a door sill. This manifests itself most often on the passenger side — and, I suspect, within that statement lies the root of both the problem and, probably, the solution.

Morgan Plus 8 - Interior, 2013

To make the door weather-proof, you see, requires a familiarity with the dark arts of Morgan. For other car makers, such a ritual would be considered ridiculous. For a car such as this, it is unquestionably charming… right up until the point where you plant your backside in the puddle.

To close the door correctly, you must align the first fabric lip, then the partially opened door, and then the second fabric lip. Sounds simple, but all this must be done with the door slightly ajar. You then need to firmly shut the door while balancing the fabric lips, and taking care not to shut your fingers in the door.

Do it several times and it soon becomes second nature. Do it only occasionally — as passengers are prone to doing — and you’ll fluff it and pay the price, either in the form of sore fingers at the time or the appearance of a small in-car lake the next day. Or, as one of the Autocar clan attempted, at the cost of sticking a rag in the window surround to catch incoming water as you drive along, thinking (incorrectly) that there was a fault. This is neither an elegant way to travel nor a particularly pleasant one, as the rag opened up a gap and allowed cold air to rush in, too.

Still, you live and you learn. And if you learn, you gain access to a privileged club. You’re not just a Morgan owner — you’re one who knows how to open and close a Plus 8’s door in the correct fashion.