► French carmakers and their new cars
► Set to takeover at Frankfurt motor show
► Peugeot, Renault, Citroen and Citroen DS
Peugeot Fractal concept
Just when you think the days of properly bonkers concepts are past, along comes Peugeot with the Fractal. Looks straightforward at first glance, but the removable roof turns this tiny 2+2 coupe into a drop-top of dimensions akin to the latest MX-5, and reveals someone really let the designers go nuts on the inside. 80% of the interior is 3D printed, enabling ‘anechoic’ surfacing to provide a better sound stage for the ‘9.1.2’ hi-fi system, which features a pair of ‘tactile bass’ drivers that directly target your inner ear. The sat-nav speaks as if outside the car, there are twin touchpads on the steering wheel, and you unlock it with a Samsung smartwatch. Obviously it’s all-electric – what else would it be?
Need to know
Price: Not everything has one
Engine: Twin 101bhp electric motors (one per axle), 6.8sec 0-62mph, 280-mile range
Transmission: 2-spd, 4wd
Aimed at: Creamfields refugees, gym bunnies and annoying the neighbours
On sale: Never
Renault Megane five-door
64mm longer, 25mm lower and considerably wider of front (+47mm) and rear (+39mm) track, the fourth-generation Megane has the look of a mega-Clio reimagined by Tokyo. All bulging wheelarches and fantastical LED lighting arrays, it’s not pretty, but it is loaded with tech. Top GT models get Renaultsport branding (well, it worked for BMW’s M Sport) and four-wheel steering – take that, Herr Golf – while interior appointments include a portrait-format central screen, digital instruments and head-up display. Clever aero and efficient engines offer eco-cred, too. But Renault, are you sure the world is ready for brown ambient illumination? And please tell us the paddleshift gearboxes have been substantially improved…
Need to know
Price From: £19,000 (est)
Engine: 99-202bhp 3- and 4-cyl petrols, 89-163bhp 4-cyl diesels
Transmission: 6-spd manual, 6-spd auto (diesel), 7-spd auto (petrol), fwd
Aimed at: VW Golf, hard drivers and digital natives
On sale: Summer 2016
Citroen Cactus M
Take one regular C4 Cactus, lop the top off and send it to surf school – that’s the Cactus M in a nutshell. That ‘M’ moniker is telling; it refers to Citroën’s 1960s Méhari beach buggy, this concept’s guiding light. So there’s wetsuit-lairy neoprene, a hose-down interior with drainage plugs beneath the floor mats and a flop-down bootlid, Range Rover-style, to extend the loadbay into a two-berth sleeping pod. Things take a surreal twist here – the roof includes inflatable air beams, like on upmarket tents, transforming the canvas into a makeshift shelter as you sleep inside. Citroën says this is the modern-day iteration of a 2CV or Méhari. A very Gallic lifestyle choice.
Need to know
Price: Nope
Engine: 109bhp 1.2 turbo petrol
Transmission: 6-spd auto, fwd
Aimed at: Surfer dudes, over-zealous jetwash owners
Based on: Citroën C4 Cactus
On sale: Never, in this guise. But who’d bet against a Cactus soft-top?
Citroën DS4 Crossback
If Victor Hugo designed cars, the DS4 Crossback could be his Quasimodo. This pseudo SUV is one half of Citroën’s – sorry – DS’s response to the débâcle that was the awkward original DS4, the other half being a regular hatchback. Sitting 30mm higher, the Crossback promises a more ‘relaxed’ drive, thanks to its longer-travel suspension. The exterior has definitely got a bit of the hump about it from the back, but the wheelarch cladding does at least give it a definite crossover identity, while the new front-end design is sharp and distinctive. This makes it a better match to the intricate interior, which now features Apple CarPlay and a box of tech tricks including geofencing and anti-theft tracking.
Need to know
Price From: £21,800 (est)
Engine: 128bhp 1.2 3-cyl petrol, 118bhp 1.6 4-cyl diesel
Transmission: 6-spd manual (auto option on diesel), fwd
Aimed at: Mercedes GLA, leather fetishists and fans of classic French literature
On sale: Nov 2015