Whilst there are Renault parts in the K12, the current Clio owes more to the K12 than vies versa.
You may not like the K12, but stop slagging them off! Not only are there more K12's than 11's now, but they are a much more sophisticated car, and as such, there are going to appear to be more faults! However, I've also noticed more K11's are starting to appear stopped at the side of the road now as they are getting on a bit. Reliability etc was why we bought one, and whilst I loved our old K11, I wouldn't go back as I prefer the interior, feel and look of the K12. Also, ours is 5 years old & hasn't let us down once yet, and it's used to go across Europe several time a year!
As for modding, there are ALOT of trick Clios in Europe, and I've seen some very nice Micra's in Germany, but as cars evolve and become more expensive, you're seeing less and less modified ones with each new generation.
A Micra is a Micra whatever model and deserves your support!
(PS: I've modded the front grill on ours to more resemble the one on our old K11 -so you can't call me biased!