Renault Grand Modus 1.2 TCE 100 (2007) CAR review

You have to hand it to Renault. After the success of the original Espace, it didn’t sit on its laurels. The Scenic that followed had an even greater impact and had the kudos of being a truly original concept (the Espace owed more than a little something to Chrysler) while the Kangoo was designed as both a van and a car and is a massive success at the budget end of the market. With long wheelbase versions of the both the Espace and Scenic offering even more space, it was only a mater of time before the Modus got “Granded”.

The Modus hasn’t been the hoped for success, has it?

It did well when it was launched in 2004, but it then took the double hit of an increased number of rivals of which several were noticeably roomier. Since the Modus we have had the Meriva, Fiat Idea, and of course, the Modus platform-sharing Nissan Note. Even Ford’s miserable Fusion offers a packaging advantage over the Renault. There’s also the point that this market segment hasn’t taken off in the same way as it did for the Scenic. Even now just on in six supermini sales are mini MPV, with Fiat quietly dropping the Idea from its UK line up.

So how is the Grand Modus different to the regular one?

The big deal here is –­ no surprise – the extra length. Renault has added 160mm to the body, both by extending the wheelbase and adding more to the back end. But it’s not the anticipated direct lift of the Note’s underbody, for the Modus’s wheelbase is still 25mm less. There’s an extra set of windows along the side behind the rear doors and the tailgate it curvier which also adds to the luggage capacity in the regular Modus, which gets a facelift at the same time.