Renaultsport Clio 200 Turbo - Great Expectations (Part 3)

Next morning, we head to the track. It’s frustrating that we don’t have the opportunity to drive the Cup car on the road, but it’s hard to complain too much when you have a Liquid Yellow Clio and the tricky twists and turns of Guadix at your disposal.

It’s hard to spot the 3mm reduction in ride height, but the 15 per cent increase in stiffness and quicker steering rack are easier to detect. It makes for a more energized feeling of alertness in the car, which is welcome, and you get a greater sense of bite from the front end. With RS Drive switched to Race there’s no ESC safety net, which almost proves my undoing into Guadix’s deceptive downhill right-hander at Turn 2. Cold tires, the wrong line and a closed throttle make for a rather extreme (nearly backwards!) corner entry and a heart racing off the limiter, but with the  throttle pinned the front tires somehow drag us straight and the gravel is avoided.

It’s hard to spot the 3mm reduction in ride height, but the 15 per cent increase in stiffness and quicker steering rack are easier to detect

Such exuberant handling comes as a bit of a surprise, as on the road the Sport felt poised and light on its feet, but also neutral rather than being prone to big slides from the front or rear. With space to play with and a damp, slippery surface, the Cup is hilariously, brilliantly lively. The brakes prove very strong as they did on the road, with progressive feel, terrific stopping power and impressive resistance to fade. Rather as expected, the engine is less compelling thanks to a modest 6500rpm red line (complete with infuriating warning buzzer) and a delivery that’s dominated by that big, fat plateau of torque. It thumps you out of the corners well, and it’s easy to see why this car would post a quicker lap time, but it doesn’t get your adrenalin flowing like the old rev-munching 2-liter. Likewise the gearbox is effective and quick (with sub-150ms shifts in Race), but it isn’t as satisfying as a snappy manual gearbox.

Cold tires, the wrong line and a closed throttle make for a rather extreme (nearly backwards!) corner entry and a heart racing off the limiter

I’ll admit that prior to a night’s sleep and a track session that allowed my thoughts to percolate, I was pretty lukewarm about the car. Now, with more miles driven and more questions answered I’ve warmed to it a lot more. It’s definitely a Renaultsport car in spirit and chassis set-up, but with an added layer of sophistication to the ride that doesn’t seem to harm the dynamics. But there is something missing: that final ten per cent of sensory connection and immersion you get from operating a machine that relies on the sweet co-ordination of hands, eyes and feet to make it sing. It’s an all-too familiar cry, and one that I’m getting increasingly self-conscious about making, but if you as I – regard driving as a skill, then it’s not unreasonable to believe that cars that erode the need for such hard-won knowledge and ability feel somewhat two-dimensional as a result.

The 200 Turbo’s driving experience is more than just a thin veneer, though. There’s genuine depth and breadth to the dynamics, and the way the engine and transmission up their games via the RS Drive modes is worthwhile and impressive. There’s no question that it’s a car that’s been honed by hardcore drivers, but in gaining bandwidth to appeal to drivers who until now have felt the RS Clio was too uncompromising, the style of performance is totally different. That doesn’t prevent it from being a very good car in many respects, but it’s not yet a great one, at least by Evo’s exacting and unashamedly singular criteria.

The 200 is unquestionably faster, more refined and easier to drive

Considering this new car is made to a fresh recipe using all-new ingredients, many of the flavors are reassuringly familiar. It’s just the seasoning that needs tweaking to add a little more heat. Knowing the skills that exist within Renaultsport, that will come. Renault boss Carlos Tavares has also hinted that the strategy to broaden the abilities of the regular RS models will give the freedom to create more extreme derivatives to cater for the head bangers. Whether that means more cars like the R26.R remains to be seen. We can but hope.

For now, the new Clio 200 is unquestionably faster, more refined and easier to drive to its limit in Sport specification, and genuinely expressive and exuberant on track with the optional Cup chassis. But we need to drive the Cup-spec car on the road (and try both in the UK) to definitively gauge how good the new car is, and we need to compare our favorite of the pair directly with the all-new Fiesta ST and Peugeot 208 GTI to learn where it fits in the new-age firmament of mid-sized hot hatches. Your inner Luddite will resent the arrival of flappy paddles and a softer-edged engine, but on this early evidence it’ll still take something pretty special to outperform the Clio.