Renault plans junior Evoque

Renault’s Captur, the small crossover concept unveiled at the recent Geneva motor show, will be developed into two showroom models, say company insiders.

The mainstream version will be a small five-door similar in size to the Nissan Juke, with which it will share a Renault-Nissan Alliance platform. The other will be a three-door version, possibly with some unique design features; think of the three-door Range Rover Evoque, but on a smaller scale.

See pics of the Renault Captur concept

The coupé version could be the first of its kind in this class and will provide Renault with an unusual model of similarly stylish appeal to the Mini Cooper and Citroën’s DS3, against which Renault currently offers little competition.

The production version of the five-door Captur should appear well within two years, and the three-door probably shortly after.

Read the full story on the Renault Captur concept

Renault’s next concept will be a van inspired by the theme of ‘work’, the next stage in the cycle of life that design chief Laurens van den Acker has employed to rekindle Renault’s design flair.

The small, fully glazed van will hint at the next-gen Kangoo. It will appear first at the Frankfurt show this autumn.

Mégane racer hints at hotter RS

Renault has revealed this tarmac rally version of the Renaultsport Mégane, which hints at a harder version of the road car that’s tentatively pencilled in for a 2011 launch.

The Renault Mégane RS N4 is built to Group N specification. It is powered by the road car's turbocharged 2.0-litre engine but is given a power hike from 247bhp to 266bhp, while torque is given a considerable boost from 251lb ft to 347lb ft.

See the official pics of the Renault Mégane RS N4

Other N4 upgrades include the road car’s Cup suspension and racing seats and harnesses. Larger brake discs are also fitted and a limited-slip differential is standard. Weight is also down, but Renault hasn’t quoted an official figure.

The harder version of the road car was scooped testing at the Nürburgring in the summer. Features of the rally car – more power, larger brakes and a stripped-out interior – are all likely to feature on the road car, in the mould of the R26R.

Renault Megane 2.0 dCi 160 GT UK

This is the coupé cabriolet version of the current incarnation of Renault's Mégane hatch. Specifically, it's the top-spec GT, in diesel form, with Renault's 158bhp, 280lb dCi engine under the bonnet.

It's not the first time we've driven a Mégane CC; the 1.4 TCE Dynamique variant has been subjected to a full Autocar road test, and we have driven the open-top GT dCi before, too, but this is our first opportunity to sample it on the UK's roads.

See pics of the Megane CC in action

What's it like?

All of our previous road test conclusions regarding the 1.4 TCE CC still stand: it's a pretty refined car overall with surprisingly little roof-up wind noise, and it has a half-decent ride on smoother roads. However, it's aesthetically challenged at the rear and the ride and dynamics suffer on bumpy and broken surfaces, and particularly so when the car is under even the slightest lateral load. It also suffers a disconcertingly soft brake pedal action, has huge, heavy doors, and overall it lacks any significant driver involvement.

That's not to say the GT diesel can't be an enjoyable drive, but it's not exactly an engaging one. The motor is smooth and torquey, if a little raucous and gravelly sounding, especially around town. It makes a pleasant enough motorway cruiser, though, at which times the Renault should return mpg figures in the high 30s to low 40s. This drops significantly around town, however, in no small part due to the extra weight of the folding roof.

In GT trim the Mégane comes with 18in alloys which, surprisingly, don't seem to harm the ride too adversely. What they do, however, is transmit a significant amount more road noise into the cabin.

And of course you can drive it with the roof down, which is the CC's USP. And that in itself is a function which the car performs well provided you're happy with the inevitable loss of boot and rear passenger space.

Should I buy one?

If your sole goal is to be driving a French-built coupé cabriolet then the Mégane is admirably fit for purpose. In GT diesel guise, however, the Mégane CC isn't a cheap car and it’s hard to recommend over a VW Eos. The Renault's engine is a fine performer and there are nice touches to the GT's interior (although as a roofless coupé it could do with heated seats as standard, not a £305 option) but there are too many aesthetic and dynamic compromises to swallow before justifying the purchase price.

Renault Megane 2.0 dCi CC

Price: £28,870; Top speed:134mph; 0-62mph: 9.4sec; Kerb weight: 1625kg; Economy: 42.1mpg combined; CO2: 175g/km; Engine layout: 4 cyls, 1995cc; Power: 158bhp at 3750rpm: Torque: 280lb ft at 2000rpm; Gearbox: 6spd manual

Renault Megane RS250

It's also interesting to note that apart from the Renault Megane sedan, the Focus is the only other European engineered and built 1.6 litre car in the The last Focus set a benchmark in its class, and the new sedan has been developed to expand the Focus' reach even beyond its better mknown three and five door siblings, even if the cabin space is the same as offered by the five door hatchback, boot aside. From the rear three quarters, the Focus sedan comes across as crisp and discreet, with triangular rear lamps that make it look like a scaled down Mondeo, an important point in status conscious Asian markets. What has also helped is that the new Focus has leaner and more elegant lines and these lend themselves better to a four-door sedan than the aggressively bold styling of the previous model.

The first thing one notice about the sedan is that it looks well proportioned and neat, unlike the last model, which looked like it had its boot grafted on as an afterthought. Perhaps it is because, unlike the previous Focus, the new one especially this saloon version is targeted at the Asian markets. Why would Ford showcase its best-selling European model in Asia before its world premier in Europe? It launched the Focus range at the Paris Motor Show in late September last year, but the prototype Focus Concept, a thinly disguised Focus sedan, was actually revealed three months earlier in June at the Beijing Motor Show.

Ford has done things a little differently with the new Focus, especially the four door sedan model.

Renault

According to an unnamed source, the Renault board of directors has called an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, April 6th, to discuss plans to enter into an agreement with German automaker Daimler. As was the case when Renault teamed up with Japanese automaker Nissan, there will reportedly be an exchange of stock, but not nearly at the same level as Renault's 44-percent stake in Nissan.

If the board chooses to move forward – and all indications are that it will – an announcement could be made as early as Wednesday detailing the partnership. It's widely thought that Daimler is keenly interested in Renault's small car expertise for its less-than-wildly-successful Smart car division, and it seems increasingly likely that the two automakers could jointly develop new city car platforms. Might a more family-friendly ForFour be in the offing as rumored?