You can’t drive this excellent small car yet – but I have and here’s why it will be worth the wait

Look at the best-selling cars in the UK and you could be forgiven for thinking the humble small hatchback is going the way of the dodo. It’s SUVs as far as the eye can see, but I’m happy to see that the Renault Clio lives on with an all-new model, joining the likes of the Fiat Grande Panda in proving that small cars are generally better as a stylish hatchback.

Well, I stay stylish. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but the new Clio is certainly the aesthetic equivalent of an acquired taste, with its aggressive, sharp lines and pointy front end. Which is a shame because the current Clio is French chic at its finest.

However, having spent a couple of days driving the new version in Portugal at the car’s international launch, I have to say that the design is just about the only question mark against it.

When the new Clio goes on sale in the UK in 2027 – more on why you have to wait later – you’ll have a choice of a petrol engine with a manual gearbox, or a hybrid with an automatic. I tested the latter in Portugal and it’s really economical – I managed 56mpg with a mix of fun twisty roads, motorways and tight city streets.

That said, the hybrid is occasionally confused and the petrol engine can be screaming away despite you pootling along at 30mph. It happens rarely enough to be a quirk you can put up with for those low running costs, though the pure petrol model will be cheaper to buy and not much worse on fuel.

UK prices haven’t been confirmed, but this being a Renault means it should be really affordable. Renault says it will be in line with the current model but adjusted for inflation, so expect about £20,000 for the petrol and under £25,000 for the hybrid, putting it right in line with the Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Corsa.

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As with the current Clio, the new model really impresses in terms of its practicality. At 391 litres, the boot is considerably more spacious than the likes of the Corsa or another affordable hybrid, the Toyota Yaris. Myself and another journalist chucked our travel bags in the boot and barely made a dent in the space on offer.

This does come at the sacrifice of rear seat space, but up front I found that my six-foot frame could get a comfortable driving position.

Much like the exterior, the interior has been given a punchy modern design, though this is a lot easier to get on with than the outside. My test car had a cool fabric trim running across the centre of the dash, though the plastic ‘blade’ with integrated ambient lighting attached to the end of this is a touch tacky.

No complaints about the infotainment, though. Renault’s system is one of the best in the business thanks to being based on Google tech. It’s quick and intuitive to use, and is getting Gemini AI integration so you can ask for recommendations, such as which restaurant to visit, using natural language.

One of the things I like about hatchbacks over SUVs is that they tend to be better to drive, and so it is true with the new Renault Clio. It’s comfortable and deals with bumps really well, while motorway cruising is impressively hushed for a car of this size. It’s pretty good fun to chuck down a twisty road, too.

Although I found the hybrid very economical, if you do a lot of city driving then the Toyota Yaris and Yaris Cross are worth a look. The hybrid system is smoother and spends more time on electric power, and I’ve seen well over 60mpg in those cars without even trying.

Overall, though, the new Renault Clio takes everything I loved about the old one – small dimensions, big practicality and a (predicted) low price – and packages it up in a more modern package.

If the quirky styling doesn’t put you off you might be wondering when you can buy one. Well, there’s a bit of a wait. Renault says it couldn’t commit to converting the Clio to right-hand drive for the UK until our rules around banning petrol cars became clear. As a result, we have to wait until 2027 while the rest of Europe gets it next year.

Whether it’s worth the wait is ultimately up to you and your circumstances, but in the meantime you can get a fantastic deal on the outgoing model, which is still one of our favourite small cars.