Yaris vs Clio
| Toyota Yaris<br>2024 | Renault Clio<br>2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £24,900 | £19,995 |
| Body type | Hatchback | Hatchback |
| Fuel | Hybrid | Hybrid |
| Engine | 1.5 hybrid petrol | 1.6-litre E-Tech full hybrid |
| Power | ~116hp | 145 PS (107 kW) |
| 0-60 mph | ~9.7s | 9.3 seconds |
| Transmission | e-CVT automatic | Multi-mode automatic |
| Fuel type | Hybrid | — |
| Fuel economy | ~68mpg combined | 64.2 mpg (WLTP combined) |
| CO2 emissions | ~92g/km | — |
| Seats | 5 | — |
| Boot space | 286L | 301 litres |
| Insurance group | 13 | — |
| Top speed | — | 112 mph |
| CO2 | — | 100 g/km |
| Length | — | 4,053 mm |
| Drive | — | Front-wheel drive |
| Owner rating | — | — |
For a quarter of a century, if you wanted a hybrid supermini in Britain, there was really one answer: the Toyota Yaris. Toyota invented this game and has been refining it longer than anyone. So it is genuinely startling to find the Renault Clio 2024 hybrid not just competing with the Yaris 2024, but undercutting it by £4,905 — £19,995 against £24,900. The establishment has been ambushed on price, and the numbers deserve a careful look before loyalty decides anything.
The Clio's value story gets better. Its hybrid system produces 145 PS and reaches 60 mph in 9.3 seconds, beating the Yaris's roughly 116 hp and 9.7 seconds. The Yaris claws back ground where Toyotas always do: economy. At around 68 mpg versus 64.2 mpg, the Yaris costs £776 a year in fuel for 8,000 miles against the Clio's £821 — a £45 annual saving that is real but small. Insurance is £599 for the Yaris versus £560 for the Clio; maintenance £450 versus £430. The Yaris is the sipper; the Clio is the sprinter with the smaller bills everywhere else.
Five-year true cost: £25,762 for the Yaris, £22,602 for the Clio. That £3,160 gap is enormous in the supermini class — it is more than a year's fuel, insurance, and servicing combined. Monthly, £429 versus £377; on 48-month finance, £567.30 versus £455.55, a difference of over £110 every month. The Yaris's £45-a-year fuel advantage would need roughly seventy years to close that gap. This is not a close contest on value; it is a rout.
So who still buys the Yaris? The Toyota loyalist who has owned three of them, values the marque's legendary reliability record, and wants the absolute maximum mpg figure to quote. There is honour in that — Toyotas do tend to just work, year after year. The Clio suits everyone else: the first-time buyer stretching their budget, the commuter who wants hybrid economy without the Toyota tax, and anyone who enjoys a car with a bit more punch. A third buyer — the style-conscious — may simply prefer the Clio's sharper looks.
Our pick is the Renault Clio, decisively. It is £4,905 cheaper to buy, faster to 60, nearly as economical, and £3,160 cheaper over five years. The Yaris remains a fine car with an unmatched reliability reputation, but reputation is not worth three grand. Buy the Clio unless your heart is set on a Toyota badge — in which case, at least go in with your eyes open.
Toyota Yaris review → Renault Clio review →