Who said that station wagon models have to look boring and forgettable? Well, we can think of a few manufacturers, but Renault isn’t one of them, at least not with the new Clio Estate that was unwrapped today at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.
The station wagon version of its chic Clio Mk4 series will appear in European showrooms from the first quarter of 2013, depending on market, though the UK will miss out on this model.
“Thanks to its athletic proportions, New Clio Estate is not only practical, but also extremely elegant,” says Yohann Ory, designer of New Clio Estate, and we will probably agree with him.
While the Estate’s wheelbase is identical to that of the new Clio hatchback, the rear overhang has been extended by 201 mm to 823 mm, increasing the overall length of the car to 4,262 mm.
This helps boost the Estate’s loading capacity to 430 litres with the rear seats up, or 130 litres more than that of the five-door hatchback.
Renault has also lowered the loading sill with the Estate offering the ability to fold down not only the rear seats, but also the front passenger seat to create what the company describes as a “record maximum load length”.
The styling of the Estate follows that of the hatchback up to the B-pillar and keeps the hidden rear door handles adding blacked out C- and D-pillars to create the illusion of a continuous glasshouse.
The Estate will be offered with the same engines found in the hatchback and which include the 89Hp (90PS) 0.9-liter three-cylinder and 118Hp (120PS) 1.2-liter turbocharged gasoline units, the latter available with Renault’s new EDC twin-clutch transmission.
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