Category: Superminis 
Price Range: £10,335 to £13,235
Looks good, roomy cabin, excellent crash test results, 1.5 dCi diesel engine
Choppy ride, weedy 1.2 petrol, sluggish auto, not much rear legroom or boot space.
One of the better-looking mini-MPVs and a good family motoring solution - with the right engine.
The latest versions of the 1.5 dCi engine are more economical yet; the 1.5 dCi 86 does 62.8mpg (with either manual or Quickshift 5 gearbox - the manual is more economical on the open road, but the Quickshift5 uses less fuel around town) and the dCi 106 does 60.1mpg, as does the dCi 68. The petrols can't match this: 47.8mpg from the 1.2s and 37.1mpg from the 1.6 auto, though these are still respectable figures.
Carbon dioxide outputs are correspondingly low, too: the dCi 86 puts out 119g/km, putting into Band B for tax and thus achieving exemption from the London congestion charge (from October 2008).
Latest Readers' Drives About the Renault Modus
wrote on 13 09 2007
wrote on 13 09 2007