Renault Clio

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At a glance

Who is this car for?

A pair settling in Podgorica 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 the road

Behind the wheel

Clios on Podgorica Airport rosters are usually the 1.0 TCe petrol with a five-speed manual, and that is the calmest combination to take possession of after a long flight. The three-cylinder is breathless if you push it, but the brief here is short hops at first: the 200 m walk from arrivals to the long-term lot, plate paperwork done at the kerb, then easing onto the airport perimeter with luggage still warm from the carousel. The light clutch forgives jet-lag legs, the seats hold up over four hours of inland touring later in the week, and the cabin reads clearly under the white glare that hits the M-2 in the half-hour after a midday landing.

On Podgorica roads

From TGD the Clio is straightforward to settle into. You leave the long-term lot, swing south onto the airport access road, and within four minutes you are on the M-2 motorway with Podgorica signposted 13 km north. Most renters do that drive in 15 minutes and arrive at a city hotel before the suitcase has finished cooling. The Clio's natural week-long roster from the airport runs Skadar Lake and Virpazar 25 km south down the same motorway, Ostrog Monastery 70 km north on the M-9, Bar coast 60 km via the Sozina tunnel, and Kolašin 85 km up the Smokovac motorway, all on a single tank.

Space and load

The 391-litre boot swallows a family-of-four arrivals load without folding seats: two large checked cases, two cabin bags, and a backpack. That matters when handover is kerbside in front of the arrivals door and you are loading in the 40 °C July heat with the queue building behind you. For the rest of the week the square shape works for the supermarket run to Voli on the Cetinjski put or the cool-box and folding chairs needed for a Skadar Lake afternoon. Coming back to TGD on departure morning, the boot still closes over the souvenir overflow that never quite fits the cases that flew in.

Best journeys for this car

The Clio's natural TGD customer is the just-landed couple or small family booking a five-to-ten night stay anchored on Podgorica with day trips out. It also suits the solo business visitor flying in for two or three nights, who does not need a sedan but does need a car that copes with the airport-to-meeting run on the M-2 and a single inland excursion at the weekend. Local rental providers handle the kerbside pickup at TGD and city delivery into Podgorica hotels, and unlimited mileage is the right option to ask for when your week is built around inland day trips.

Practical notes

Petrol economy hovers near 5.8 L/100 km once the Kolašin or Ostrog runs are folded into the mix, and the 42-litre tank delivers around 700 km between fills. The Jugopetrol station two minutes from the airport access road is the standard fill-up point on the morning of a return flight; INA stations dot the M-2 at every interchange. The 4.05 m length slips into TGD long-term parking (€5 per day) without effort and into Podgorica's central pay bays at €0.60 per hour. Free cancellation and full insurance are standard on local provider bookings, low or no deposit options are widely available.

The verdict

Pick the Clio if you are landing at TGD for a five-to-ten night stay with a loose schedule of day trips and you want fuel and parking to disappear from the holiday budget. Skip it if your week is weighted toward four-adult motorway cruising up to Žabljak, a 308 or Golf is a better fit for that brief.

Inside the car

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