The Renault Modus is a

mini MPV Mini MPV— an abbreviation for mini multi-purpose vehicle— is a vehicle size class for the smallest size of minivans/MPVs. The mini MPV size class sits below the compact MPV size class and the vehicles are often built on the platforms of B-se ...

produced by the French manufacturer

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

from August 2004 to December 2012, in

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. The production version is very similar to the

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

of the same name, which was presented at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show. It is essentially a taller version of the

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing. Etymology Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλεί� ...

III and, as such, shared its platform and much of its engine range with the third generation of the Clio. A larger wheelbase version was produced as the Renault Grand Modus. Originally marketed as "a higher-range alternative to the Twingo and Clio", it aimed to provide the practicality and versatility of the larger

Renault Scénic The Renault Scénic () is a car which was produced by French car manufacturer Renault, the first to be labelled as a small multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) in Europe. The first generation was based on the chassis of the Mégane, a small family car ...

in a smaller footprint. The Clio platform that spawned the Modus also gave rise to the current

Nissan Micra The Nissan Micra, also known as the , is a supermini car ( B-segment) that has been produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan since 1982. The Nissan Micra replaced the Japanese-market Nissan Cherry. It was exclusive to Nissan J ...

and its monospace relative, the

Nissan Note The is a supermini/subcompact hatchback or a mini MPV manufactured and marketed worldwide by Nissan. Introduced in 2004, the first-generation Note was primarily marketed in Japan and Europe, and was produced in Japan and the United Kingdom. The ...

Design features

Marketed as the ''Triptic System,'' the Modus' rear seats are mounted on sliding rails with four preset positions. When in the rearmost two positions the seats are configured for two people with increased leg, hip, and shoulder room. When in the forward positions they are configured for three passengers, increasing cargo capacity. Another seat-based feature of Modus is the "Stay Put" system. The base of the front passenger seat flips up to reveal a storage compartment. An optional feature of the Modus is a boot chute, a drop-down opening in the centre of the tailgate below the rear window. The facelifted Modus was launched in Europe in 2007, featuring colour coded bumpers on all versions, clear Perspex 'glass' indicator bezels, revised side door mouldings and updated interior trim on all specification levels.

Restyle

left, Renault Grand Modus, launched in 2008, has a larger wheelbase than the Modus (front) Renault Grand Modus rear-1

Soon after, in February 2008, a restyled Modus and the new Grand Modus were launched. Also that year, the Grand Modus replaced the Modus in Spain. The Grand Modus has an extended length of and a boot volume of 410 litres () below the parcel shelf. This restyle saw changes made to the front and rear of the standard model to match the styling of the newer Grand variant. The boot chute has been removed from the options list. In February 2012,

discontinued the Modus, Espace, Kangoo, Laguna, and

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lines in the United Kingdom.

Safety

The Modus was the first small car to receive the full 5

Euro NCAP The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven (Belgium) formed in 1996, with the first results released in Februa ...

stars for passenger safety due in part to its six

airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a Traffic collision, collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and a ...

system, front and rear side impact bars and ISOFIX child seat fixing points. It was also one of the first cars in its class to have such features as automatic

headlamp A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term f ...

s and

windscreen wiper A windscreen wiper, windshield wiper, wiper blade (American English), or simply wiper, is a device used to remove rain, snow, ice, washer fluid, water, or debris from a windscreen, vehicle's front window. Almost all motor vehicles, including ...

s on its options list. The Modus was offered with a

cornering lamp The lighting system of a motor vehicle consists of lighting and signalling devices mounted to or integrated into the front, rear, sides, and in some cases the top of a motor vehicle. They illuminate the road ahead for the driver and increase th ...

function. Concealed in the main headlamp unit and operating at speeds less than , the lights gave the driver a wider field of vision when going round bends. On Privilège and Initiale models, Renault offered the Modus with "double distance"

Xenon Xenon is a chemical element with the symbol Xe and atomic number 54. It is a dense, colorless, odorless noble gas found in Earth's atmosphere in trace amounts. Although generally unreactive, it can undergo a few chemical reactions such as the ...

headlamps A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term fo ...

Mechanicals

Phase I

Phase II

*QS5 = QuickShift5 In terms of reliability, according to the 2006 breakdown survey from the German Automobile Club, the Modus ranks 3rd in its class with an average 5.8 breakdowns per 1,000 vehicles after three years. This is behind the

Audi A2 The Audi A2 (internally designated ''Typ'' 8Z) is a compact MPV-styled supermini car, with a five-door hatchback body style and four or five seats,ETKA official factory data produced by the German manufacturer Audi from November 1999 (for the 20 ...

(1st) and the

BMW Mini Mini (stylised as MINI) is a British automotive marque founded in 1969, owned by German automotive company BMW since 2000, and used by them for a range of small cars assembled in the United Kingdom, Austria and the Netherlands. The word Min ...

(2nd) and ahead of the Lupo (4th) & Polo (5th),

Toyota Yaris The is a supermini/subcompact car sold by Toyota since 1999, replacing the Starlet and Tercel. Up to 2019, Toyota had used the Yaris nameplate on export versions of various Japanese-market models, with some markets receiving the same vehicl ...

(6th) and Honda Jazz (7th).

References

External links

Renault Modus official worldwide website
{{Renault Modus Mini MPVs Euro NCAP superminis Front-wheel-drive vehicles 2010s cars Cars introduced in 2004