Renault introduced a facelifted version for the Clio’s second generation in June 2001 and enhanced the vehicles in its main three areas: exterior, interior, and powerplants.
The small French hatchback received significant updates. Its customers started to ask for more, and Renault was eager to provide them with what they need. It was one of the best-selling small-sized vehicles on the European market, and the French carmaker wanted to keep it that way.

One of the most significant changes was at the front, where a new set of triangular, curved headlights replaced the previously used horizontal, rounded headlamps. As a result, both the bumper and the grille were changed accordingly, showing the same signature “Bird beak” design. Unlike the non-facelifted version, the 2001 five-door version featured body-colored door mirrors for intermediate and upper trim levels and black rubber strips on the front and rear doors. The taillights kept their shape at the back but received a new design, with clear lenses for the reversing lights.

Inside, the carmaker improved the quality of the materials and ditched the cheap-looking plastic from the dashboard. Renault also introduced a CD player on the options list and a new climate-control panel. Inside the instrument panel, the tachometer became a standard feature, and the main dials received silver surroundings around them.

Under the hood, the French carmaker improved the engine lineup. For the base version, it ditched the older, 1.2-liter eight-valve unit and kept only the 16-valves version. Renault also introduced a new 1.5-liter turbo-diesel engine range, retiring the older 1.9-liter units.