Renault Clio

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At a glance

Who is this car for?

A pair settling in Ulcinj for ten to fourteen days, with regular day-trips out to Cetinje, Risan and the Lake Skadar shore, simple to park, forgiving on petrol.

• Couples on a two-week stay
• Day-trippers to Cetinje and Njeguši
• Shoppers at Risan Roman mosaics

On Montenegro roads

Behind the wheel

The Clio you collect on a Ulcinj plate is almost always the 1.0 TCe petrol with the five-speed manual, and over a fortnight that pairing earns its keep. The three-cylinder is asthmatic if you bury the throttle, but a Clio is not bought to be hurried; the reward is a clutch light enough that the slow crawl up Mala Plaza in July never tires the left calf, instruments that stay readable when the southern sun is bouncing off the Sailor's Mosque dome, and seats that still feel honest after a full day looping out to Shkoder and back. The cabin is quieter than a Yaris on the Sozina motorway and rides patched concrete better than a 208.

On Montenegro roads

From a Ulcinj base the Clio handles the day-trip rota without complaint. The 12 km drop south to the Sukobin border is flat and speed-limited, and the short first and second gears are a gift in the queue if you hit a Friday morning rush at the Albanian post. The 30 km push along the new Bar road sits in fifth at 1,800 rpm, while the climb up the Rumija serpentine answers third gear without fuss on the gentler bends. Stretch the schedule and the Clio reaches Podgorica via Sozina on a single tank with the air-con on; Shkoder and back is well inside half a day with a long fish lunch on Ada Bojana built in.

Space and load

Two adults with hard cases fit in the 391-litre boot without dropping the rear bench, useful when the plan is to retrieve guests off the Tirana airport bus at Sukobin and bring them straight to a Pristan apartment. Drop one seat and a kitesurf bag, a wetsuit and a roll-up cool-bag for an afternoon at Copacabana on Velika Plaza all travel together. Over a month-long stay the square-shouldered boot soaks up the awkward stuff that the litre figure understates, a folding sun lounger from the Mall of Montenegro, fishing rods bought at the Ulcinj Saturday market, a bike bought second-hand off OLX.

Best journeys for this car

The natural Clio renter in Ulcinj is the long-stay visitor who has settled into a kitesurfing apartment in Stoj for two weeks or more and wants the car to fade into the background. It suits the couple alternating mornings on Mala Plaza with afternoons drifting up to the Valdanos olive cove, and the solo traveller using Ulcinj as a launchpad for slow cross-border weeks in Theth or Berat. Free cancellation and a low-deposit booking through one of the local providers means the Clio is the easy yes for renters who fly into Tirana and pick up after the Sukobin run.

Practical notes

Real-world petrol consumption settles near 5.8 L/100 km once you fold the Rumija climbs into the weekly average, and the 42-litre tank is good for around 700 km between visits to the EKO station on the Bar road. The 4.05 m length tucks into the painted bays along the Pristan promenade and into the steep terraced parking behind the Pasha's Mosque without theatrics. Front-wheel drive on all-season tyres is fine for almost any Ulcinj trip you'd plan, though anyone driving up to Plav or Vusanje in shoulder season should ask the rental office for chains, since the Cakor pass enforces them once snow comes in.

The verdict

Pick the Clio if your plan is a long Ulcinj base with a loose tempo of daily wanders and you want the fuel and parking ledger to stay quiet. Skip it if the diary is weighted toward four-adult motorway runs to the Albanian Riviera or a serious Prokletije climb out of Plav, a 308 or Golf is the better-fitting tool for those weeks.

Inside the car

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