New Renault Captur Looks All Grown Up

The brand's cute crossover wants to retain its title for the best-selling vehicle in the segment.

Europe’s fastest-growing automotive segment is set to be joined by fresh new entries later this year. The small crossover/SUV class on the Old Continent is full of cute models that are trying to battle the Renault Captur for the best-selling vehicle title. The French company won’t just let rivals take its crown and is preparing a major overhaul for its small crossover – and this exclusive rendering from our artists is here to preview what to expect.

As you can see from the attached gallery below, the Captur won’t go in a radical new direction in terms of design. The overall shape of the vehicle won’t change much but at the back, the C-pillar should create a more sloped profile of the roof and a sleeker tail appearance. Up front, the most dramatic alterations will be seen around the headlights zone where the Captur will get Renault’s familiar C-shaped LED daytime running lights.

Our expectations are that the interior will follow the same conservative approach and will mirror the dashboard layout from the current generation Megane and Talisman, or at least parts of it. With that said, look for a massive vertical tablet in the center console in the more expensive versions.

As far as the oily bits are concerned, Renault-Nissan’s CMF-B platform should underpin the new Captur. The underpinnings will be shared with the next-gen Clio and the replacement of Nissan’s Juke for Europe. The company’s new 1.3-liter turbo gasoline engine should be among the powertrain options, as well as the 1.5-liter dCi with an improved exhaust gas filtration system.

When it debuts on the Old continent sometime later this year, the new Captur will compete against the next-generation Peugeot 2008 that’s currently under development, as well as models like the Opel Mokka, Suzuki Vitara, Ford EcoSport, and Mazda CX-3.






Article source: https://www.motor1.com/news/302603/new-renault-captur-rendering/

Taking A Look: Renault Clio

Renault have done an ‘inside job’ on their new Clio.

The car, unveiled yesterday in advance of its debut in Geneva in March, is due in Irish showrooms later in the year.


This fifth generation Renault Clio has a new ‘smart cockpit’ with a big 9.3in vertical multimedia screen and 10in TFT digital instrument binnacle as the brand concentrated big time on improving the cabin.


The major criticism of the outgoing model was the quality of plastics and materials in general.


Now, as well as improving material quality, the interior layout appears better too.
And there are as many as eight cabin design schemes (the exterior is not forgotten, though, as it gets a range of 10 colours).


With the brand planning on having 12 electrified models in its range by 2022, the new Clio will be the first (2020) with the E-Tech hybrid engine (89bhp) combining with a 40bhp electric motor and 1.2kWh battery.


They claim it will drive like an EV and use electric power 70pc of the time in urban driving. A similar drivetrain with a 9.8kWh battery will power the Captur SUV.
The new car is 14mm shorter than the previous one. But there is more internal room (thinner seats, for example, increase rear leg room by 26mm) even though it has a 6mm-shorter wheelbase and the roof is up to 30mm lower.


Boot space is up 26 litres to 391 and has a double floor to make loading as easy as possible. There’s a flat floor when the rear seats are folded.


They are making a big thing of having a new RS Line trim with sportier looks and touches which include an F1 blade and honeycomb grille. LED headlights are standard across the range.


They say the car comprises 100pc new parts but its engines are likely to include some, or all, of the following: a 1-litre naturally aspirated petrol (65bhp, 75bhp), a 1-litre turbo (99bhp, 129bhp) as well as a 1.5-litre diesel (84bhp, 114bhp).


Around 15m Clios have been bought since its 1990 initial rollout and it remains the brand’s best-selling car worldwide.





Article source: https://www.carsireland.ie/reviews/renault/clio/new-clio