First look: Modus previews next Renault Clio

RENAULT has unveiled the first new model off its next-generation, Mk3 Clio platform.

Virtually undisguised as the Geneva motor show Modus concept car, the production version is believed to be heading for a Birmingham motor show debut in May.

In show car guise, an 85kW 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine motivates the Modus.

Sharing some styling cues with the recently released Megane small car (namely the bustle-back profile), the Modus is an upright “tall-boy” design front-wheel drive five-door hatchback.

Its three and five-door Clio stablemates – to be presented at the biannual Paris motor show in September – will boast an all-new body that’s lower and sportier than the Modus.

Australian buyers won’t get a chance to sample the new cars until late 2005, while the Modus has not even been green lit for local consumption.

The Mk3 Clio is a total redesign and not the second facelift of the current 1998-vintage Clio Mk2 that is due in Australia in the third quarter of this year.

All Clio variants will be substantially more spacious than before.

The Modus’ main claim to fame will be the flexible interior that features a variety of rear seating permutations, including a centre rear pew that moves and removes independently.

A specially designed rack that lives in the boot can be assembled to carry two adult-sized bicycles.

The increasingly common centralised instrumentation panel also makes an appearance in the new car.

Renault says the 3792mm-long Modus will bring new levels of passenger space and safety to the B-segment (light car class) – which is quite a call considering how close to the Mercedes-Benz A-Class it is in overall presentation.

Front and rear headroom is best-in-class, while a panoramic windscreen, offset door mirrors and dual reversing front wipers fulfil the concept car’s safety claims.

On the other hand, buyers had better not hold their breath for the translucent roof, 17-inch wheels, Citroen DS-like swivelling headlights and special paintwork However the 3792mm-long, one-box design, with its exceptional space efficiency, is a certainty, and will also be applied to another three-door Clio spin-off, the Twingo II range.

Not slated for Australia, it will replace the futuristic twelve-year old current car, and will slot beneath the Clio as Renault’s sub-B segment light car in the vein of the Ford Ka and Daewoo Matiz.

All these new-generation Clio derivatives sit on the Mk3 Nissan Micra platform. It is the first fruit of Renault’s 1999 acquisition of the once-defeated Japanese giant.

The Modus also previews Renault’s assault on the growing “mini-MPV” market.

Currently the province of Europe and some Hispanic South American markets, this new niche is currently represented by the Ford Fusion and Opel/Vauxhall Meriva.

And like the Modus, both are derivatives of the light car-class Fiesta and Corsa/Barina respectively.

Peugeot is also expected to field its entrant in the coming year, based on the all-new 107 platform and running gear.

It will be very similar to the 2002 Paris motor show Sesame concept car, and should feature its novel sliding side doors.