Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 3-door hatchback body style within the same 'City car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the Renault and front in the case of the Rover). The first one has a Renault-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 230hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 145hp engine designed by Rover.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the Renault being a slightly better choice apparently. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the city car segment, which is generally not a very good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the French car offers a considerable difference of 22% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, when all the models are taken into account. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Renault with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Rover badge with 4.5 out of 5. The same official information place Clio as average reliability-wise, and 25 is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the French car rank it on average as 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Renault is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.9 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 235 kilometers per hour, 30km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the British car, averaging around 7.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (38 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 49% difference compared to the French car!

Renault appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the French car beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. It all continues in the same direction, with Renault outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... I believe that, when we take all into account, we have only one winner here - the Renault. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.