A few years ago, a highly-specified diesel supermini hatchback would have sounded like something out of a science fiction novel. Well maybe not quite that extreme, but definitely something out of the ordinary.

Five years ago when Renault's Clio first landed on local shores, it offered a small no-frills just above entry-level package. But, it took the market by storm, and even notched up a Car of the Year (COTY) win.

Today small cars in this category are leaving nothing to their bigger counterparts, and the game has moved to a new level. There is also a wider range of engines available and, in most cases, a diesel derivative is included.

Now you can't accuse Renault of leaving the Clio to rest on its laurels. It's been given a decent facelift and more standard features have been added, most notably the full complement of safety items ? it now has four airbags and ABS brakes across the board.

And now there's a diesel too. It's a 1.5-litre direct commonrail injection unit (hence dCi), similar to that found in the Megane, but with less boost. The Clio claims 48kW of power versus the Megane's 60. That might not sound like much, but consider that it offers both turbo and the diesel advantages, so it's not bogged down by Highveld altitude and it has lots of torque ? a healthy 160Nm on tap from just 2000rpm. Your average 1.8-petrol makes about that, often above 4000.

On the road, the Clio defies its modest-sounding power output. It's no Lear Jet, but it cruises very comfortably and doesn't lose its gut on inclines. Against the clock, it ran to 100km/h in a respectable 13.5 seconds, while the 4th gear run from 80 to 120km/h took an impressive 11.5 seconds; proving just how flexible the COTY-winning Megane's little sibling is.

In terms of engine refinement, it's up there with the best of its peers, and there are a lot of them these days.