RENAULT has owned the hot-hatch market for 15 years, ever since the baby Clio RS172 swerved into Australia back in 2001, standing on its nose and cocking its inside rear wheel when cornering all playfully silly.

Perhaps not ‘owned’ in terms of sales but certainly the various Clio and Megane RS models since have most appealed to a particular enthusiast sector.

The exception to the rule is the fourth-generation Clio RS200 launched in 2013, which listed a trio of firsts for the nameplate: five doors, a turbocharged engine and automatic transmission were the only choices, too. The difference to the preceding three generations of three-door, high-revving naturally aspirated manual Clio RS could not have been starker.

Now, however, Renault is attempting to chase back an enthusiast audience with a flagship Clio RS220 Trophy that is lower, harder and faster. So have the changes worked?

Note: some images in gallery show the international model.

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