Forget the blab about F1 inspired technology. It might be there and working, I don’t know. But who cares? The ClioSport should market itself because it is a good motorist’s car. So good in fact that even with a handful of the best performance cars at my disposal, I chose the Clio as my car to drive home each night.

I found myself examining my moth to a flame affair with the French number. And it is simple. It looks the part, goes well makes every journey a thrill and it doesn’t look like I hijacked my dad’s car.

Measuring in at 209 grand, the Renault ClioRenault Sport is definitely an achievable entry-level performance hatch. It also helps that the car meets my windgat needs by sporting chubby arches, air vents, a rally-look steering wheel, aluminium pedals and arch-fitting alloys.

Without taking the easy way out by slapping in a turbo, engineers have managed to make the 2-litre lump deliver figures similar, and often better, than the force-fed competitors. Sure, you have to wind up the tacho to make it work, but it really does get going and it makes an awesome engine noise. Look at the Kyalami Hot Lap time and you’ll see that not does the RS dish out a few heavy blows.

The chassis, which is longer, wider and squatter than a normal Clio, is a winner and keeps all four wheels firmly planted. Every action the car completes is passed back to the driver and the whole package is confidence inspiring.

It all sounds really rosy for the Renault, but unfortunately it has its downsides. However pokey the normally aspirated engine is, there is no denying that bolting a turbo on would have put it in its own league up here in Jo’burg.

The steering and gear change have that typically French lightness to it and the interior plastic looks a bit like it comes from the sub-R130 price bracket. Renault offers a three-year or 100 000km warranty and five-year/60 000km maintenance plan but there is still a reliability and backup stigma attached to all French manufacturers. I’m no expert in that so I’ll leave that off my scorecard.

The Renault Clio RenaultSport is a worthy contender in this line up and proves that thankfully you don’t need to own a strip joint to have an enjoyable and passionate car.

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