Renault Clio...too small for 2 w/luggage?
 

We just received a quote from CarJet for a Renault Clio 5dr a/c manual (KS07) for 16 days July 19 to Aug. 4 for 332 Euros or $ 532.00 Cdn.

Does this sound like a good quote? Is this car a good size for 2 adults who will have one med. size luggage and one medium size duffle bag?

We're planning to pick it up late on July 19 at CarJet Seville downtown (near the train station I think)so that we can leave relatively early on the July 20, as we'll be headed for Merida and then Trujillo where we'll be staying. Any suggestions for driving and using maps. I mentionned we should pick up Michelin maps but my spouse is not sure we'll need that.

That's what we always have for France because you need a small car to pass through villages and some roads but we are light packers, two 22"each a a backback each to carry our olive oil and wine or something else bottled.

I had a Renault Clio in Scotland a couple of weeks ago. Fun little car to drive on the narrow back roads and will hold its own on the freeways. If, by medium suitcase, you mean a 26 incher, you won't get it plus a duffle bag in the trunk. But there is always the back seat.

We had a Renault last year in England and it was fine. Although I would've preferred a Hummer on the Motorways.

My wife and I had a five door Clio in Italy and France a few years ago. It was a great car. Fitted two sizeable bags in the back (one full size samsonite and one full duffel) with a few things on the seat.

You will find it great when you get into the narrow streets of the villages you visit.

We stayed in a village called Venasque in Provence. The street we were staying in had a corner at the end that would have been too tight for a car any bigger than a Clio. I am sure the streets are no bigger in Spain.

On the motorways it was great. Cruised at 140kph no problems.

Have fun

Steve

Go to www.renaultusa.com. You can get a good sense of how much luggage the trunk will hold from their description. We always choose that size car, whether Renault, Peugeot or an off-brand; one year we were driving a lime green Korean car.

I own a 5-door Clio. If you fold the back seats, you'll have plenty of space for luggage.

An additional thought: I suggest that whatever car you get gives you the capability of placing ALL your luggage out of sight. This is an important step in avoiding breakins.

We also have rented a Clio and found it quite adequate. We always specify a diesel engine, much cheaper to run.

The quote from CarJet sounds pretty good for the a/c equipped Renault Clio, but you might want to try the next size up for the drive to Merida and Trujillo. We just returned from a quick10 day tour of Extremadura. The roads where excellent, but you'll be driving through the mountains, as well as doing some good long distance, high speed driving on the E90 and you'll want something a little more comfortable. We had a Citroen Xsara from Atesa (through Petrabax), which was able to handle the roads fairly well and got great mileage with the diesel engine. Don?t worry too much about the small village streets. The 5-speed Xsara was able to handle them easily and has the power to climb hills in forth gear.

It?s about a 2-1/2 hour drive from Sevilla to Cáceres for someone from Sevilla, so plan on taking a little longer with a smaller car. The main roads are excellent most of the way.

You should be able to get by with the Michelin Regional maps # 576 and 578, which covers this area completely. Contact the Tourist Office of Spain (the LA office) for additional information on Extremadura.

Enjoy your trip and don?t forget about the outstanding cuisine of the region. Rocamador, outside of Almendral (Badajoz) was quite the find and Atrio in Cáceres, listed as one of the top restaurants in all of Europe, is well deserving of its reputation.

I've driven a Clio over the Pyrenees. Power is not a problem. Nor was driving 150 km/hr. I don't see a need for a larger car unless you have a lot of luggage. Three 22" soft sided luggage will fit in the trunk side by side, but if the circumference of the luggage is hard, you will not fit it in the trunk on its side because of the angle of the back seat. So only two suitcases plus smaller items will fit in the trunk.

We -- 2 Cdn M, incidentally -- had a Clio a few years ago. The model may have changed since then but we wandered all over Brittany with nary a care.

You are travelling light relative to many people. I expect we carried 3-4 items of luggage.

European cars seem to be more highly tuned than ours -- we never found power a problem with rentals, except for the time in 1984 when we rented a 2CV to go through the foothills of the Alps........ah, memories!

We are getting a Renault from www.renaultusa.com and it is much cheaper than going through the major car rental companies, like AutoEurope. We will pick up the car at the airport in Paris and return it at the Barcelona airport.
We decided against the Clio as we will have 6 weeks worth of clothes, not to mention some room for shopping! We ordered a Megane which is just a bit larger than the Clio. We also ordered the larger 1.9 engine, manual for all the hill driving, and deisel to save money at the pump.
We Canadians have to find ways to save extra money on European jaunts, and this is one great way. Have a look at the site, because their rate includes everything - two drivers, all insurance with NO deductibles, brand new car, the exact model you order (which doesn't seem to be the case quite often from Fodorites' stories), unlimited mileage, and more.
I noticed Michael had recommended the site to you earlier, and I think he was the helpful one who told me about the site a few weeks back on our France leg of planning. So just in case you didn't go there, you must go now for sure - it's really the best!

Blowfish, I think you will find the Megane more than a "bit" larger than the Clio, actually significantly larger and more comfortable. Although we drive a Renault Laguna, many people in the neighborhood have Meganes and Scenics (which is built on the Megane platform) and the difference between them and the Clio is very noticeable in terms of seat comfort, legroom (esp. in the back) and storage space. Happy motoring!

We found a Clio fine for a 44-day jaunt around Europe, but last time we opted for diesel for extra fuel economy. This meant stepping up to a Megane 1.9L to maintain the same zippiness as the petrol 1.4L. It was bigger, and we had to manually fold in the side mirrors to get down some narrow village streets, but otherwise it was fine.

Thanks for all the great info and suggestions. For 30 euros ($50.00 CAN)more we opted for a Ford Focus. It looks bigger than the Clio and I have at least seen them before. I have some more car questions, so I put them on a new thread - More Car Rental questions.