The first impression: Stylish design, good proportions, compact size. Only the small sign “E-Tech” on the tailgate raises questions. What’s different under the sheet?
The manufacturer says: “The Clio E-Tech could become something like the ‘Diesel for Germany’,” says Uwe Hochgeschurtz. He is the head of Renault Germany and has a problem: The automotive industry is under enormous pressure to meet the EU’s CO2 requirements. One way to reduce fuel consumption and avoid fines is to electrify the drive, ideally for a model that is sold in large quantities. At Renault this is the Clio. It even surpassed the Golf last month in European sales statistics.
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Renault has plenty of experience with the pure electric drive, for example with the ZOE. The classic hybrid drive is new territory for the French. Here the electric motor helps the petrol engine to accelerate, collects electricity when braking and can drive the car alone if little power is required. Toyota has been successfully doing this on the Prius for over 20 years.
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Renault promises that the Clio E-Tech will be electric around 80 percent of the time in typical city traffic. The French state the fuel saving effect at 40 percent. The hybrid Clio – at least 103 kW (140 hp) strong – should emit far less than 90 grams of CO2 per kilometer. In the best case, this corresponds to a consumption of 3.6 l / 100 km. This would actually put the Clio at diesel level.
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We noticed this: The smoothness of the hybrid drive. The Clio E-Tech – the test drives were still pre-series models – looks adult. The hybrid technology changes almost imperceptibly between the electric and combustion engine (1.6-liter four-cylinder), always trying to be as economical as possible. Electricity is generated when braking, and the developers have designed the braking effect of the electric motor in the same way that normal drivers of petrol or diesel are used to. If you want to generate more electricity and decelerate more, you have to pull the gear lever back into position B.
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The combined drive reacts spontaneously to the gas, pulls away cheerfully and remains pleasantly quiet. This is exactly what distinguishes the Clio from other hybrid models. The technicians managed to drive out the typical “whine” when accelerating a little harder, if the speed and driving speed did not sound exactly in sync. This was achieved with the help of colleagues from the Formula 1 racing department. There is a special, so-called multi-mode transmission, which Renault – unique in series production – modified and combined with two electric motors, a small one with 15 kW and a larger one with 20 kW output.
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What’s the point
The smaller engine has the task of starting the petrol engine, bringing it up to a certain speed in order to synchronize it with the gearbox that is currently needed. A coupling for the separation of engine and transmission can thus be omitted. The large electric motor is responsible for the actual drive. The entire unit is very compact because it has to fit right under the hood.
You have to know: The Clio E-Tech can cover up to three kilometers in electric mode. In the best case, up to 75 km / h are purely electric. Despite all its hybrid components and the large battery in the rear, it weighs, at least Renault says, only ten kilograms more than a Clio with a diesel engine and automatic transmission (this version does not exist in Germany, however).
When the E-Tech comes on the market in the second half of the year, it will be offered at the price of a Clio diesel. “We want to make the hybrid drive attractive and accessible to a wide audience,” said Uwe Hochgeschurtz. In any case, there is no reason to buy a diesel in this class. Especially not when a petrol hybrid is just as economical, doesn’t cost more, but drives more quietly and comfortably.
We will not forget that: Farewell to the old concept of performance – and the high-tech fetish that is otherwise common in the industry. To save costs, the Renault developers have installed a profane naturally aspirated engine in the Clio E-Tech. Turbo? No thanks. The 1.6-liter four-cylinder usually drives various Renault models in India and China and has just 67 kW / 91 hp. The lack of charging and the associated poorer start-up easily compensates for the electric motor – and in the end the most convincing package is the combination of the different drive technologies.
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