This week’s Geneva Motor Show may have been awash with exotica and racy sports cars, but there were also notable MPVs exhibited by Renault, Mazda and the Volkswagen Group.
This week’s Geneva Motor Show may have been awash with exotica and racy sports cars, but there were also notable MPVs exhibited by Renault, Mazda and the Volkswagen Group.
The Renault Modus is a forthcoming production micro MPV which will be to the forthcoming Clio what the Scenic is to the Mégane. Based on a platform shared with the Nissan Micra and forthcoming Clio, the Modus claims to have more interior space than a conventional European B-class car, thanks in part to its almost-MPV height of 1590mm.
The five door, one and a half box car’s most contentious feature is its side feature line. This line runs down, forwards of the DLO, to a soft point in the front wing and then sweeps downwards and back to run through the door handles to the rear of the car.
The interior features landscape photography printed onto the seats, door inners and carpet. It also has versatile sliding rear seats and evidence of Renault’s “Touch Design” in its detailing.
Modus isn’t as ground breaking as the Espace, Twingo and Scenic were, but looks set to be a defining vehicle for this emergent micro MPV class, .
Billed as a concept, the Mazda MX-Flexa is a thinly-disguised preview of a forthcoming new production MPV. According to a report, the aim of the design team at Hiroshima was to come up with a design that isn’t heavy-handed or over-styled but well proportioned, graceful and with clear Mazda DNA.
The interior of this six-seater is a combination of white, silver and blue surfaces, with a dash-mounted gearshift similar to Ford’s C-Max. Rear passengers enter via sliding rear doors and the rear seats all fold flat using Mazda’s 1-touch ‘Karakuri’ function, introduced on the Mazda6.
Based on the Golf 5 platform, the new Altea is introduced at the Geneva show as a production model in the SEAT line-up. Changes from the concept model shown at the IAA in September are relatively few and mainly confined to the rear of the car, while the interior is carried over almost unchanged.
The redesigned rear end is much taller and heavier-looking now that the sharp intersection of rear quarter window and tailgate has been softened to facilitate a one-piece side pressing. The Altea represents probably the most successful interpretation of a sporty compact MPV yet seen and will doubtless become a key model for SEAT brand in Europe, observers say.