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Thursday, February 10 th, 2005 Renault Modus


the front face of the car seems to smile at you.” The organisers of the British Motor Show had


I


N introducing its Modus, Renault claims “its style expresses all the warmth and friendliness of Renault’s small cars to the point where even


understated. Fully one third of all cars sold in Europe hail from this small car segment and with both the Clio and Twingo models now looking rather old, Renault needed a fresh challenger. Only available in five-door guise, the Modus makes a con­ vincing fist of things, especiaily when it comes to the vital ‘first five seconds’ - the period of time in


billed the Modus as their ace card for the 2004 event, a genuine world exclusive but Renault rather skunked them by unveiling it at the Madrid show the week earlier. The importance of this car to Renault cannot be


best-in-class levels, and there is a wide engine choice available to UK customers. Petrol engines comprise three IG-valve units: 75 b.h.p. 1.2-litre, 98 b.h.p. 1.4-litre and 113 b.h.p. 1.6-litre. At launch, the Modus diesel engine range includes the 65 b.h.p. and 80 b.h.p. 1.5-litre dCi units with addi­ tional diesel engines in the pipeline. The sunroof system is unusual. The rear panel is


The importance of tills car to Iliiaiil caiiiiol be liiiirstslei


which the majority of new car sales are either won gers, luggage or a compromise between the two. In or lost.


fixed while the forward one can be operated by a one-touch switch. In addition to the usual tilt posi­ tion, there are also three possible slide positions. The manu­ al roof offers two side-by-side panels which can be tilted or removed com­ pletely and stowed in a bag behind the rear bench seat. Renault dubs this sliding rear bench the ‘Triptic’ and it features a fold­ ing centre section. With a sliding range of 170mm, the rear of the car can be optimised forpassen-


two-seat configuration, it can be set to any one of The interior is exceptionally airy, the huge four positions while in three-seat mode, two posi-


amount of glass up top and the low waistline tions are available. It can also be folded down to brightening the cabin. The driving position feels form a completely flat floor area. The novelties more like a mini-MPV than a conventional hatch­ back and the centrally mounted instrument panel allows the designers to make a feature of the smooth sweep of the fascia. Both its ride and road-handling aim to match


don’t stop there either. The Modus’ rear hatch can open much like a conventional hatchback (that is, hinged at the top) or the lower section can open using hinges at the bottom, thus making it easy to access the luggage bay in cramped conditions.


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Why Renault is always a safe bet to win an award


THE Golden Globe winners have just been revealed and the Acade­ my Awards are around the corner, but even multiple winners De Niro, Hoffman and Spielberg have never dominated an award catego­ ry in the way that Renault has at the annual What Car? magazine awards. For the sixth time in seven


years, Renault has won the What Car? Safety Award, in recognition of the car manufacturer’s safety expertise, and especially the five- star EuroNCAP crash test perfor­ mances of the new, sassy supermi­ ni, Modus (the only five-star small car), and the sleek drop-top Megane Coupe-Cabriolet. In fact the award category itself


has only existed for seven years so the only year Renault has not won was in 2000 when the EuroNCAP organisation scooped the award itself for developing the crash test programme. The EuroNCAP programme


has provided independent evi­ dence to the public of Renault’s efforts to build the safest cars on the road. Commenting on Renault’s


record sixth win, Wliat Car? Edi­ tor David Motton said: "For a


fifth consecutive year, Renault leads the way for car safety. Its new Modus supermini and Megane Coupe-Cabriolet both earned a maximum five stars in recent EuroNCAP crash tests, meaning Renault now has seven models with this coveted rating - four more than any other manu­ facturer." He went on to praise the strides


made by Renault over the last four years with its safety perfor­ mance from a large family car to a deceptively spacious, but small one. "Its Laguna family car achieved the first ever five-star score back in 2001, but the Modus’ achievement is even more impressive because it is harder to protect the occupants of a small car in an accident and hence it’s the firs t small car to get five stars." Collecting the award was Dr


Jean-Yves Le Coz, Renault Group’s Director of Road Safety Policy, the company’s key spokesman on safety issues and a veteran of this field, with more than 20 years experience in the study of accidentology and biome­ chanics. He said: "Safety is a prime con­


cern not just for Renault, but for each and every one of us. It is one of our company’s core values, and as such, Renault is anything but a crash test dummy when it comes to designing and making safe cars. Each year we invest over £70m in safety R&D, with a team of 600 engineers and technicians who are working to safeguard the future lives of car passengers." Looking beyond just Renault’s


impressive crash test results. What Car? was also keen to high­ light the company’s wider safety message, and in particular, Renault’s “Safety Matters” cam­ paign which promotes road safety to young people via its website, www.safetymatters.renault.co.uk and free road safety resource kits requested by more than 15,000 schools in the last four years. The trophy cabinet is still


bursting at the seams from the successes of 2004, with 20 award wins for its cars and vans, plus three more already in the first three weeks of 2005 (Megane Renaultsport 225 - Daily Star’s Best Hot Hatch, Modus - Daily Express’ Best Small Car and Espace - Best MPV, Fleet Excel­ lence Awards).


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Thursday, February 10th, 2005 n r


0 5 Visit to Detroit and perhaps the worid’s premier automobile showcase for.. By PHIL VAUGHAN______________


Detroit Motor Show - perhaps the world’s premier automobile showcase. The shape of cars to come often first see


Shape of cars to come C


REATIVE concepts and inno­ vative engineering ideas formed the centrepiece of the


daylight in Detroit, and one of the high­ lights - given that it will be a future best­ seller - was a fleeting glimpse of Volvo’s coming small car. The C30 was briefly flashed before the


world’s media in a 15-second film. The C30 goes into production late next year, and will be a two-door sporty design, based on the Volvo 3CC concept. Appearing in a seriously weird shape was


the Infiniti Kuraza Concept, a “comfort” off-roader. Infiniti is Nissan’s luxury vehicle division


in the USA, and the Kuraza is a take on how a six-seater off-roader vehicle might look. The focus, says the firm, is on space,


rather than outright off-road ability. Nissan’s top concept at the show was the


Azeal, a 2.5 litre, six-speed coupe, a fresh, US-styled look at the 2-f2 entry-level mar­ ket. Aside of the Azeal’s aggressive look, the


coupe’s eye-catching glass roof, with centre metal strengthening panel, is a very stylish touch. Chrysler, firmly on home ground, unveiled


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three new muscle cars - a US production ver­ sion of the iconic Dodge Charger, a Chrysler grand tourer concept called the Firepower, and the the most powerful and extreme 4x4 concept vehicle ever built, the .Jeep Hurri­ cane.


IVlodem muscle The two-seater Firepower concept is pow­


ered by a 425 b.h.p. 6.1-litro V-8 engine, and based on the Dodge SRT-10. It has a 0-62 m.p.h. time of less than 4.5 seconds, and a 174 m.p.h. top speed. The all-new 2006 Dodge Charger, which


pays homage to the original ideals of the past muscle-car era, is an interpretation of modern muscle. It has not been confirmed for the UK market, and will not be built in right-hand drive. The 2006 Dodge Charger SE and Dodge


Charger SXT will be equipped with a 3.5- litre V-6 engine, while the Dodge Charger R/T model will be equipped with a 5.7-litre


unit. The Jeep Hurricane, meanwhile, is cre­


ative if nothing else. It has not one but two 5.7-litre engines, in the front and back, both delivering 335 b.h.p., a total of 670 b.h.p. Depending on driver needs, the Hurricane can make use of four, eight, 12 or all 16 cylin­


ders. All that translates into massive amounts


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other off-roaders. And the Hurricane can laugh at conven­


tional turning circles — it was the only vehi­ cle a t the show th a t provided its own “turntable” feature - because it has the abil­ ity to turn both front and rear tyres inward! Toyota explores a new genre with the unveiling of the FT-SX concept a car-based


sports utility vehicle. “With the FT-SX, we studied the finest


attributes of Toyota’s successful passenger cars and SUVs, and took them to the next level,” says Kevin Hunter, head of Toyota s North America design and studio activities. “We began with a totally new silhouette,


lower and wider than an SUV, but taller, more comfortable, and more versatile than a


sod&TiAdd a powerful V6, all-wheel drive, 21 in. wheels, four doors, a large, multi-function glass roof and an innovative rear hatch and you have a vehicle with exceptional func­


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