Clio: the real 5-year cost
The Renault Clio hybrid might be the cleverest cheap car on sale in Britain. At £19,995 to buy with 64.2 mpg combined, its five-year true cost is just £22,602 — about £377 a month — the lowest of any petrol or hybrid car here. Annual fuel is £821, insurance £560, maintenance £430, road tax £190. That is supermini purchase money with fuel bills that embarrass cars costing twice as much.
Renault's E-Tech hybrid is genuinely sophisticated technology at a bargain price, and the Clio wraps it in a handsome, well-built package. On pure numbers, nothing with an engine touches it. We have totalled five years of fuel, insurance, maintenance and tax to show the complete ownership picture. The headline monthly figure is remarkable.
| Purchase price | £19,995 |
| Fuel (5 yrs) | £4,107 |
| Insurance (5 yrs) | £2,800 |
| Maintenance (5 yrs) | £2,150 |
| Road tax (5 yrs) | £950 |
| Minus estimated resale value | −£7,398 |
Like the Captur, the Clio's depreciation is sharper than Japanese rivals — which is a gift to used buyers. A year-old Clio hybrid is arguably the best-value nearly-new car in Britain. To keep costs minimal: the hybrid system thrives on smooth urban driving; maintain a full service history to reassure future buyers about the hybrid tech; and resist expensive options, which add little at resale time.
Our verdict: the Clio hybrid is the rational champion. Cheapest to run of all the petrol and hybrid cars here, cheap to buy, and genuinely pleasant to live with — the spreadsheet has a favourite, and it is French. In a world of rising motoring costs, the Clio hybrid feels like a small miracle. Buy one, run it cheaply, and smile every time you pass a petrol station.