Renault seems really proud of its 2020 Clio city car’s interior as it’s been revealed separately and before the exterior. The French giant has all the right to be pleased with it because, at least from the photos, it looks fantastic through its design, combination of materials and textures, and its newfound techy feel.
2020 Renault Clio Interior Design
The plan for this new Clio, the fifth generation of-of the most popular city cars in the whole of Europe (15-million sold since it was launched in 1990, and 450,000 sold through last year alone), is to have an evolutionary approach to the exterior, but a revolutionary approach to the interior.
But since we still can’t see its whole exterior, we’ll focus on what’s inside where, according to Renault, the real revolution has taken place. At first glance, it looks miles more grown up and of higher quality than what’s inside the current Clio, a car whose interior never really won it any particularly high praise, not even when the car was new, back in late 2012 (yes, it’s nearly seven years old now and only just now being replaced).
The two interiors are so different that’s really not even worth mentioning what’s different, so this new interior will be examined separately. Firstly, it doesn’t look like the Megane’s interior, which in my book is a good thing because Renault’s larger hatch doesn’t really blow your socks off with its inside ambiance.
It will probably not have the greatest materials - the top of the door trim looks like hard, scratchy plastic, for instance, but it looks really nice, fresh, and ‘of the times.’ It still relies on a portrait-style infotainment screen (measuring 9.3 inches), but unlike in the Megane, here it’s raised considerably, and it really sticks out. Plus, it’s also curved. It doesn’t look especially good, but it should improve safety given that the driver doesn’t have to look down (at all, really) when operating it.
The controls for the single-zone climate control seem to be lifted straight from the Dacia Duster (which they probably are), as does the row of switches above it. But, apart from this and a few minor parts bin sharing details, the new Clio certainly has a nice vibe going on inside. Renault will undoubtedly offer a wide range of customization options to personalize the new Clio inside and out, so you'll be able to get it looking just right - apparently there are eight different interior schemes to opt for.
Van den Acker says “The fifth-generation Clio is very important for us as it is the best-seller in its segment and the second best-selling car in Europe, all categories combined. The Clio is an icon, and the latest features the very best of the previous generations. The exterior design of Clio IV won over our customers and continues to do so today, so we chose to keep that DNA while bringing modernity and elegance to the new model. The interior has undergone a true revolution, with a considerable improvement in perceived quality, greater sophistication and technology. It is the best Clio ever.”
On that note, we can’t wait to see the new Clio fully revealed inside and out - an event that should take place at the 2019 Geneva motor show in March. Renault probably won't reveal the hot RenaultSport version of it at the same venue, but a GT and/or GT Line model will definitely be present.
Further reading
Read our full review on the 2017 Renault Clio.
Read our full speculative review on the 2020 Renault Clio SUV.