Renault Clio Spares
Several Clio generations have been sold new in South Africa, but not the very first — the nameplate only started here with the Clio II in 1999. Clio IV ran from April 2013 with four petrol engines and no diesel at all, because the 1.5 dCi sold overseas never came here. Clio V was a Slovenian-built, turbo-only, manual-only car. Almost every parts question turns on which of those you are standing next to.
Local engines: 1.2 naturally aspirated 4-cylinder, 0.9 turbopetrol 3-cylinder, 1.2 turbopetrol 4-cylinder, 1.6 turbopetrol 4-cylinder (RS) and 1.0 turbopetrol 3-cylinder, HR10DET (Clio V).
Renault Clio engines
Petrol engines
- 1.2 naturally aspirated 4-cylinder
- 0.9 turbopetrol 3-cylinder
- 1.2 turbopetrol 4-cylinder
- 1.6 turbopetrol 4-cylinder (RS)
- 1.0 turbopetrol 3-cylinder, HR10DET (Clio V)
Clio Spares: the things that actually decide fitment
What shifts across the years
Any spares question for a Clio starts in the same place: which of the Clio II from 1999, the Clio IV from April 2013 and the Slovenian-built Clio V from February 2022 are we dealing with?
No Clio sold new in South Africa has ever been a diesel
No Clio sold new in South Africa has ever been a diesel. cars.co.za states it plainly — the 1.5 dCi offered in other markets never made it to local shores — so a dCi listing is not a Clio part here, whatever the seller says. On the petrol side the 0.9 three-cylinder is the one with a history: worn and outright failed timing chains, oil sludge reaching the chain tensioner, and a plastic thermostat housing that warps into a coolant leak.
The Clio IV timeline is long enough to catch people out
The Clio IV timeline is long enough to catch people out on its own. It opened in April 2013 with the Authentique, Expression and Dynamique, gained the RS 200 Lux and RS 200 Cup in February 2014, the GT-Line in January 2015, the Blaze and an Expression EDC in October 2015, was facelifted in November 2016, then took the RS 200 Trophy in May 2017 and the RS 18 F1 in May 2018.
Gearboxes ran to a five-speed manual, a six-speed manual on the GT-Line and a six-speed EDC dual-clutch. The RS cars want treating separately again: cars.co.za notes gearbox damage on examples where the launch-control system was used hard, which is not a fault so much as a warning about what you may be buying. The Clio V is a much simpler proposition — Slovenian-built, sold here from February 2022 in Life, Zen and Intens, turbo only and five-speed manual only, with no automatic ever offered locally.
The Clio lent its B platform to the J87 Captur
Useful to know: the Clio lent its B platform to the J87 Captur, which is often the next catalogue we open when a Clio IV item has dried up. At the other end of the range the Clio V’s HR10DET turbopetrol is, on cars.co.za’s account, the same engine fitted to the Renault Kiger and the Nissan Magnite — so a late Clio and a small Indian-built crossover are closer relatives under the bonnet than anyone expects.
Neither of those is a promise that a given part swaps over; they are the two places we look first.
What we check on spares
- •The generation code — the Clio parts list splits on it
- •Which engine you have; this one was sold with 1.2 naturally aspirated 4-cylinder, 0.9 turbopetrol 3-cylinder, 1.2 turbopetrol 4-cylinder, 1.6 turbopetrol 4-cylinder (RS) and 1.0 turbopetrol 3-cylinder, HR10DET (Clio V)
- •The engine code off the plate, or the VIN if you cannot find it
- •Where the car sits either side of its facelift
Locally, the Clio is mostly a small hatch kept well past its warranty, with the pre-2015 cars now squarely in the used-parts years. It is also the Renault with the widest age spread on the road here, so the same phone call can be about a twenty-year-old Clio II or a car still on its first set of tyres, and we cannot assume which until you tell us. That is the wear pattern we source against, and it is why we ask what the car does rather than only what it is.
If you are not certain which Clio you have, send the VIN off your licence disc and we will work it out.