Renault’s all-electric show stars

Firm’s radical Frankfurt Motor Show preview has no petrol or diesel models in sight

Prepare yourself for a shock! Renault is set to be crowned the king of electric cars when it unveils an entire family of EVs at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show, Auto Express has learned.

The French firm’s show stand will make history – as the first from a mainstream car maker to only feature battery-powered cars. The company is set to take the covers off an unprecedented four never-seen-before electric concepts

Renault has its sights set on becoming the world leader in electric vehicle technology. And heading the line-up is a new supermini-sized offering. Designed from the ground up to be fitted with a compact lithium-ion battery pack and high-performance motor, it’s the first in a new wave of purpose-built electric cars, rather than a retro fit to a combustion-engined model.

Sharing a platform with Nissan’s Leaf EV will keep the price down, while packaging tricks such as placing the battery pack under the floor will maximise interior space.

An all-electric conversion of the current Mégane will break cover, too – marking a significant step for the firm. The converted hatch will be the first Renault to go on sale in Israel, a country with a rapidly developing EV infrastructure. Completing the Frankfurt stars will be an updated version of the Kangoo Be Bop EV mini-MPV.

The electric motors will range from 50kW to 100kW, or 70bhp to 140bhp in more conventional terms. That means acceleration should be comparable to a 1.6-litre hatchback, delivering 0-60mph in around ten seconds. More intriguing, though, is Renault’s claim that the top speed of each electric car sold will be specific to the country in which it’s registered. UK cars, for example, will be capped electronically at 70mph.

Depending on the weight of your right foot and whether you call the air-conditioning into action, the range on a full charge for all these models should be in the region of 60 to 110 miles.

By Renault’s calculation, even when you factor in the cost for hiring the battery pack, running one of its EVs will cost 20 per cent less than a petrol or diesel model, based on driving 9,000 miles a year. But of course, the major benefit is zero emissions. Even when you consider the air pollution caused in producing the electricity, these are cleaner and more efficient machines.

However, the public will have to wait until 2011 before they can pick up a battery-powered Renault. But you might just spot one on the road as soon as 2010, when the firm will be testing them in the UK.

Source: Auto Express. Text: Jack Rix

New Ford C-MAX Spied

Family Ford that promises to revolutionise the MPV market takes its first steps.

Here’s the proof that Ford is taking people carriers to the MAX! These are the first spy shots of the forthcoming new C-MAX, which will make its worldwide debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Taking inspiration from the Iosis MAX concept – revealed earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show – the new C-MAX gets a sleeker look with a steeply raked windscreen, sporty sloping rear window (much like its bigger brother, the S-MAX) and a new front end with re-designed trapezoidal grilles.

Available in five-seater and seven-seater form for the first time, the new C-MAX is seeking to go straight to the top of the sales charts, knocking the Vauxhall Zafira (which will be replaced in 2010) from the top spot.

Helping its cause will be a new high quality cabin with a reversing camera on flagship models while under the bonnet, the new C-MAX will be the first Ford to debut the company’s direct injection turbocharged EcoBoost engines.

The new C-MAX will get a 1.6-litre unit in 148bhp and 178bhp form. It is also likely to feature new diesel engines too. Sales will start later this year.

Source: Auto Express. Text: Sam Hardy / Photos: Lehmann