Renault Captur concept

The Captur will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1 and already the French company is talking about its potential impact. It follows Renault's great looking two-seater DeZir coupe concept and was created under the direction of new design chief, Laurens van den Acker.

"I'm quite sure the Captur is being used to test design cues for future production models. It's not exactly like what we'll see but it gives a very good taste," says Justin Hocevar, managing director of Renault Australia. "This is part of a concept vehicle stratgegy that kicked off with DeZir.

Laurens Van Den acker is communicating the future design direction and this is the next instalment. We're exploring all avenues to grow." The Captur is said by Renault to preview a future road car. "Captur is a fun and sporty crossover, ideal for a young couple about to discover the world," says van den Acker.

It is powered by a twin-turbo diesel engine for plenty of punch with low CO2 emissions of just 99 grams/kilometre. Renault says it has a 0-100km/h sprint time of 8.0 seconds thanks to an engine with 180 kiloWatts and 380 Newton-metres from just 1.6 litres.

It is also fitted with a locking mechanical differential, to boost its front-wheel drive traction in slippery conditions, and a forward looking camera at the top of the windscreen - called Visio-system - to provide the sort of driver-assistance functions already available at Volvo, Benz and other brands.

Hocevar says he is looking forward to the arrival of the next-generation Renault models as he continues work to rebuild the brand's support in Australia. The Megane got price cuts and a new hero car last year and he says the results are starting to show among shoppers. "We've still got a long way to go with rebuilding the brand in Australia, but our enquiry has increased to record levels," he says.

"It's under the halo of the RS250, which is a hero car that has really helped put the brand back on the map. I think we've done a very good job of positioning these cars at the appropriate levels. We're sitting against premium Japanese compact cars as an entry to the European market."