New 2025 Renault Clio in line for clean-sheet design and hybrid power

The all-new Renault Clio, due later this year, “won’t be retro” according to design chief Giles Vidal, despite the brand’s initial success with the seventies and eighties-inspired Renault 5 E-Tech.

Speaking from the Brussels Motor Show and alongside the recently-updated Renault Twingo concept, Vidal said: “I can’t say much, but [Clio will] be a fresh new design. There is no looking back like [Renault] 5 or 4; it will be no reference to anything. It will be a complete knock-out.”

We’ve already spotted the new car testing, and while the familiar overall shape somewhat contradicts Vidal’s comments on it not referencing the current car, peeling back the cladding starts to reveal new elements not seen previously. 

Under the camouflage we can see a new-look headlight and rear light design, a truncated rear hatch layout, rear door handles hidden within the C-pillar and a much larger, almost BMW-like front grille. The short rear overhang has a whiff of Vauxhall Corsa about it, contrasting with the new Clio’s long nose, which hides the new car’s hybrid powertrains. The side-exit exhausts are for testing purposes only.

We’re yet to see inside the new Clio, but expect it to take inspiration from Renault’s newer internal-combustion-engined models such as the Rafale and Symbioz, rather than the eye-catchingly retro shapes of the similarly sized 5 EV. 

Our recent experience of the new all-electric Renault 5 suggests the French firm’s retro-inspired EV will be a hit here – but if you’re not quite ready to make the jump to a pure-electric car, Renault will continue to provide an alternative with petrol power in the Clio.

5

Previously, Chief Technology Officer (now CEO advisor), Gilles Le Borgne, told Auto Express: “We are working, as we speak, on the next generation of Clio. That car will have some ICE engines because it will be on sale before 2030.” 

Despite previous suggestions that the CMF-B and CMF-BEV platforms are closely linked enough to support both petrol and electric powertrains, it’s now understood that Renault will push ahead with its plan to offer distinct ICE and EV models, helping create clean air between the electric 5 and its petrol Clio alternative.

The ICE supermini market has been hit hard in the past few years, with the Ford Fiesta its most notable casualty. Renault isn’t backing down, however, and this next Clio is expected to feature E-Tech hybrid-only power, doing away with the entry-level, pure-petrol TCe. This will help it rival the likes of the MG3 Hybrid+, Toyota Yaris and the aforementioned Corsa, which has recently gained hybrid power for the first time. 

At this time, there’s no guarantee the new Clio will arrive in the UK because of the ZEV mandate. By the time it is expected to arrive in late 2025, it will have around three years of sales in the UK ahead of the mandate requiring manufacturers to sell 38 per cent pure-electric cars. The current car is Europe’s second-best-selling vehicle, however, and remains popular in the UK, so we’d be surprised if the new model doesn’t arrive here in time.

Click here for our list of the best superminis on sale in the UK...