Renault Clio

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At a glance

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Two travellers with cabin bags staying around Porto Montenegro or Tivat town, taking the odd day out to Kotor or Perast. The default workhorse of the Tivat rental fleet.

• Marina-based couples
• Short-stay Tivat trips
• First-time Boka visitors

The Renault Clio on Tivat roads

Behind the wheel

The current Clio is the sensible backbone of the LocalRent Montenegro fleet and the car most Tivat arrivals end up driving whether they intended to or not. The 1.0 TCe 100 hp triple is the common petrol spec — a little thrummy at idle, noticeably smoother above 2,500 rpm, normally paired with a long-throw five-speed manual that is honest rather than sporting. Some stock comes with a seven-speed EDC dual-clutch auto and that version suits the stop-start traffic through the Tivat town grid especially well. The cabin is surprisingly civilised for the segment: soft-touch upper roll, a portrait screen that responds on first tap, and a low-slung driving position that makes it feel a size larger than the 4,050 mm stated.

On Tivat roads

Around Tivat the Clio's party trick is how small it feels in ways that matter. Porto Montenegro's paid lots swallow it without the mirror-folding ritual that bigger rentals demand, and the metered bays along Šetalište Pet Danica — the Pine Walk promenade — accept it straight in. The bay road out past Donja Lastva toward Lepetane flows nicely at 60 km/h, the little petrol never working audibly. The Vrmac tunnel to Kotor is dispatched in fourth gear with the cruise set, and the Sozina road approach toward Budva rewards the composed damping. It loses a little charm on the sustained climb to Njeguši via Cetinje, where the three-cylinder is genuinely working, but that's a day-trip corner case rather than a daily issue.

Space and load

The 391-litre boot is a proper class-best and the square shape matters more than the headline. Two medium hard-cases and a couple of duffels fit flat without Tetris, which covers most couples basing in Porto Montenegro for a week. Fold the 60:40 rear bench and a beach morning's kit for Plavi Horizonti — two towels, a parasol, snorkels, a small cool-bag — fits without the rear seats getting buried. It will not take full family-of-four luggage the way a 308 or Megane does, but for two adults at the marina it handles any realistic Tivat week.

Best journeys for this car

The Clio belongs to the first-time Boka visitor whose week is anchored at Porto Montenegro and built around marina dinners, Pine Walk coffees and a couple of day trips — Kotor on Tuesday, Perast on Wednesday, maybe the Lepetane ferry across to Herceg Novi on Friday. It also suits the returning customer who already knows what to expect and wants a car that disappears underneath them. Business travellers arriving at TIV for two nights use it as a parkable, cheap-to-fuel shuttle between hotels on the marina and meetings at the superyacht servicing yards. It's less compelling if four adults with real luggage is the brief — look up a size.

Practical notes

Real-world petrol consumption settles near 5.8 L/100 km in the mixed bay-and-town driving most Tivat weeks involve, and the 42-litre tank delivers genuine range — Tivat to Herceg Novi via the Lepetane ferry and back through the Vrmac tunnel on less than half a tank is routine. Jugopetrol on the Tivat–Budva road handles refills painlessly. Parking is the quiet victory: Kotor's bastion-gate bays accept the 4.05 m length with room to spare, Porto Montenegro's valet takes it without upcharge, and the free bays on the residential grid behind the Tivat bus station are sized for exactly this era of French hatch. Summer AC is strong enough to cool the small cabin fast even with three on board.

The verdict

Pick the Clio when you want a car that does every Tivat routine adequately and gets out of your way. Skip it only if your brief specifically requires more boot, more height, or the diesel torque of a mid-size auto for the Dubrovnik or Podgorica run.

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• Bluetooth Audio
• USB Charging
• Central Locking
• Touchscreen Display