2002 Renault Clio V6 (Phase 1)

First registered in September 2002 and showing just 11,600 miles on the odometer, this lovely Silver Renault Clio V6 is number 460 in the run of Phase 1 cars, only 256 of which were sent over here.

Finished in Iceberg Silver, it’s been in storage since 2006 when it was just four years old and it’s racked up only a thousand miles or so since then.

Freshly serviced and MoT’d in March, it’s running well and looks terrific. Now for sale with a very sensible guide price, this is a rare opportunity to buy one of the lowest mileage Clio V6s in the UK.

Let’s get the mundane, boring bits out of the way first, shall we? That means all the panels line up nicely, and have consistent panel gaps and straight flanks. The doors, bonnet, and boot all open and close as they should too, and they fit nicely in their respective apertures.

Yada, yada, yada.

But, boring or not, this stuff matters because the Clio V6 can be a handful if it’s driven badly, so alignment like this speaks volumes as to its history before it was tucked away 16 years ago.

The Iceberg Silver colour gives it a hewn-from-solid look that suits its chunky, purposeful lines to perfection; no-one could ever accuse the Clio V6 of being beautiful but there’s Group B vibe there we find irresistible; if the standard Clio is Nicole, then the V6 is Gerard Depardieu after a skinful.

The glazing is all good, even if the rubber trim around the offside door has gone a bit ripply. The lamp lenses are all good too, as are the badges.

The 17-inch alloy wheels are in great shape, and they’re fitted with matching Dunlop SP Sport 9090 tyres, delicate little 205/50ZR17 on the front and 234/45ZR17 on the rear.

Flaws are minor. Very minor. So minor in fact that we’re only listing them because otherwise you’ll think we’re guilty of hyperbole.

Apart from the usual stonechips that every car collects along the way there is a tiny scratch on the nearside front corner of the front bumper (#85), a small touched-in scratch on the trailing edge of driver’s door below the window (#179), and a small scratch (about 3cm long) on the rear wing just below swage line. There is also a small scuff on the rear bumper about 4cm long above the righthand exhaust pipe (#18). The windscreen has picked up a stone chip. There’s also a tiny mark on the offside front wheel (#53 and not kerb damage, more likely just some paint pitting) and two tiny marks on a couple of the spokes.

Oh, and the two rear tyres are date-stamped from 2005 and the fronts look to be in a similar condition. It’s fair to assume, therefore, that all four are the ones it was wearing when it went into storage and are therefore due for replacement on the basis of their age.

With only minor creasing to the Renault Sport seats, the sort of creasing that comes with fewer than 12,000 miles of use, there’s little to worry about in the front – and the back seats are in an even better condition…

Only joking; if you’re looking for rear seats then this ain’t the car for you because there’s a 227bhp, 3.0-litre V6 engine where the kids would normally sit. This probably rules it out as a family car but by hell it makes for great fun on the road and track.

The headlining, door cards, and carpets are all good, as is the dashboard.

The rest of the interior is pretty standard Renault fare and none the worse for that because it’s durable and attractive and does what it needs to do without fuss.

The frunk is full of pipework and mechanical bits so there’s barely any space inside the black plastic tray that tidies it all up. The rear boot isn’t much better, being tiny and, presumably, hot.

Still, that’s why God invented supermarket deliveries and if you’ve got a credit card, a toothbrush, and a change of underwear then you’re all set for anything up to and including a European tour, surely?

The windows all open and close at the press of a button, and the central locking, switches, and instruments all do what they’re supposed to as well.

If we’re being picky – and we do try – the air-conditioning doesn’t feel as cold as it should, so probably needs re-gassing.

The silver trim in the centre console has gone a bit sticky, there’s some colour loss to the lower edge of the steering wheel (#8) and the switch panel on the offside door (#68), and the broken nearside door handle you can see should have been fixed by the time the auction ends.

As you can see, the engine is a bit slow to start and has a slightly rough idle. It hasn't seen much use for a long time though so the vendor believes after a good run it should clear its throat, so this may help explain it. Got a bloomin’ lovely exhaust note though, hasn’t it?

An engine warning light is showing, though this did go out after out short drive for photography & then reappeared after a few days parked up. The engine itself could do with a bit of a clean to bring it up to the same standard as the rest of the car, but we really are being picky.

The Clio is MoT’d until March 2023 with no advisories, something it’s made a bit of a habit of over the years.

As far as paperwork goes, it comes with a wad of old invoices and MoTs plus the original book pack and wallet.

The Renault Clio V6’s time has well and truly come; after years in the doldrums, they’re now rightly highly collectable – and their price reflects that.

How much is that price now? Well, we’ve sold a lot over the past three years and experience shows that this one will probably fetch somewhere between £45,000 and £55,000.

Yes, that’s a lot of money for a Clio but the V6 is a very special piece of kit, something a lot of lucky owners realised early on in their car’s life, which meant they treated it accordingly.

Cars like this. With fewer than 12,000 miles on the clock in its two decades on this planet, you could buy it and drive it long and hard on barely run-in components - or continue to pamper it as an investment.

Your call, but no matter what you choose, we envy your ability to do so.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.