At long last, the sun is starting to show itself more, the roads are rinsed of the salt and grime associated with a UK winter, and the chance has come to exercise the fresh (and very summer oriented) Nankangs I had fitted a few months ago. I concede that I may seem hypocritical in that I’ve done under 2000 miles after almost a year of Clio ownership, despite being an open advocate for people using their ICE cars while it’s still accessible, but there are reasons for this.

First off, there were the inevitable teething problems with buying a used car, so over winter there were periods of time that it was out of action due to various issues needing to be fixed. Secondly, the NS-2R tyres I chose at the start of January aren’t the ideal tyre when it’s cold and wet, lacking the bite and aggression that you need to instil confidence in driving when cold - not pushing it either, just pootling.

They hadn’t seen any rain before my last entry, but I attended Goodwood’s Supercar Sunday last week and I got the chance to put them to work as the heavens opened on the way home. They were passable on the more arterial roads, where drainage is better and there is less standing water, but any roundabouts became a bit sketchy if you’re in a rush.

Stay off the power though, and you can play about a bit if the front digs in, as the lack of weight in the rear wiggles it round nicely and because you’re going wet roundabout speed, it’s easy enough to entertain with that feeling and adjust it as roundabouts come and go. All it requires is a glass half full perspective on the complete lack of grip and you can make it quite amusing. I did get a bit brave once though, and it solidified my dislike for understeer.

If you daily your car and use it all year round, I’d suggest a more road biased tyre. The rain did show off a brilliant quirk of Clios though. I don’t know if it’s something you can get on regular models, but some 182s have automatic wipers, and lo and behold, mine still work. It’s not something that would be a deal breaker in buying a car, or that it’s a huge selling point for myself, but I find it incredibly charming to the point of comedy, so I’m glad they work.

Beyond winter though, the warm roads and longer evenings have given me more time to get out for a blast, and the little nugget is really starting to shine. I’m lucky enough to live near a few decent sections of road, with some well sighted turns, a variety of more stretched out sections, and a healthy dose of challenging twisties.

These are where hot hatchbacks shine. Short gear ratios, agile front end and sticky summer tyres make it a complete riot, the stiff shoulder allowing you to pitch it in on the brakes, shifting all the weight to the front outside and effortlessly bouncing you round the apex like a golf ball off a marble floor. Tackling lower geared sections is a joy, and trying to keep it above the five and a half thousand rpm sw