Renault Clio review - Reliability & safety

The fifth-generation Clio is based on a new platform, so reliability won't become clear for a few years to come but Renault is in the midfield when it comes to customer satisfaction. Safety is more clear cut, with a five-star rating from Euro NCAP providing lots of reassurance for families.

Renault Clio reliability

The last time the Renault Clio appeared in our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey was in 2021 when it came in 29th place, which was a pretty strong result, but it hasn’t featured since. The best indication we have of the Clio’s likely performance is from the closely-related Renault Captur, which finished 34th out of 75 cars in 2023. Renault offers a five-year warranty, which shows how confident the brand is about reliability.

However, Renault as a brand came in 29th place out of 32 manufacturers in that section of the poll, which suggests some parts of the ownership experience aren’t quite as good, and 25% of respondents reported a fault within the first year.

Safety

Renault has significantly increased the amount of safety technology fitted in the Clio, giving it lots of big car features. The result was a five-star Euro NCAP score, thanks to standard kit such as autonomous emergency braking (that can detect pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles) along with lane keeping assist and traffic sign recognition. Standard LED headlights help improve visibility at night and there's also a list of optional equipment including the first 360-degree camera offered in a Renault and Traffic Jam Companion, providing semi-autonomous driving.