RENAULT CLIO

Trip down to Spa reveals its talents aren't diminished with another two men aboard

- KRIS CULMER

MILEAGE 10,870

WHY WE'RE RUNNING IT

To see if the Clio is the heir apparent to the Ford Fiesta's 'default buy' throne

Do you want to attend a major motorsport event but have never got round to doing so? If so, please, don't go to the British Grand Prix.

Why? Well, if you buy a ticket today, it will be at least £309, or £479 if you want to sit in a grandstand, plus £40 to park, plus the fuel and hotel bills.

Alternatively, you could spend £171 on tickets for you plus two others to sit wherever you please at the 6 Hours of Spa, plus £28 to park, £114 for the tunnel and fuel and hotel bills. In short, the trip would cost the three of you a fiver less than it would for one to do the Formula 1 at Silverstone. Furthermore, the racing will be far more exciting and between a greater variety of cars.

So, that's exactly what my mates and I did. What a way to see off my Clio too (final report next week). I've properly fallen for this innovative hybrid supermini over these past few months. Twelve hours at the wheel in three days? Lemme at it.

Ben and Harrison are over 6ft tall, but I knew room in the Clio wouldn't be an issue, as it can simultaneously provide 80cm of leg room front and rear, plus 100cm and 90cm of head room respectively. That's in addition to almost 400 litres of boot space far more than weekend bags and camping chairs could ever need.

Preparing for our departure, I was delighted to find that I didn't need to buy headlight stickers as well as UK stickers, because my Clio features a digital switch to change the direction of the LED beams for driving on the right - something I'd seen before only on premium cars.