Anyone bought a Modus yet? In this month's 'Diesel Car' magazine it is very well written up. For 10K this seems a cracking little car and certainly it felt thoroughly well built when I went to the dealer today. It seems to have the charm and character of the old Renault Five but obviously better engineered given the newness of the design. I like the nifty 'boot chute' as they call it.
Would be interested to hear what any owners have found before the cheque book comes out. It's going to be a present for an ill friend - infact wouldn't mind it myself...
Silly thought - Focus Focii - so Modus Modii?? :)
|
If we're going to be really pedantic, it's Foci and Modi - Modus is Latin for 'method'. Vel Satis means 'quite enough' although I read somewhere that Renault didn't intend it to mean anything (so why call it that?!).
Anyway from the look of it I should think the Modus deserves to do well - less ugly than the Clio (which looks as if different people designed the front and rear ends and didn't meet until fairly lat in the process) and better visibility than the Megane which must be a menace to reverse.
Renaults depend more than most cars on the quality of the dealer who looks after them. If you're anywhere near Oxfordshire, Cross Roads Garage are excellent. I had seven big family Renaults in a row (company-owned, so they took the hit on depreciation) with no major problems and very few minor ones over high mileages.
|
"Vel Satis means 'quite enough' although I read somewhere that Renault didn't intend it to mean anything (so why call it that?!)."
Sadly the classcs are no longer taught.
|
|
|
|
Big Cat
I recently had an extended road test in both the dCi 82 diesel and 1.4 petrol. The 1.4 was pretty gutless on hills, but otherwise quite smooth - probably fine as a city car. The diesel was excellent and cruised on local dual carriageways comfortably
at 20 mph faster than the 1.4.
I was a little worried by a creaking dash in the 1.4 even though the car had only 800 miles on the clock. Although the diesel was creak and groan free having covered about 1800 miles.
The gear change was awful - very vague and rubbery - the exact opposite of the almost flawless action of the Honda Jazz.This was probably the worst aspect of the Modus.
The outstanding feature of the Modus is the supple ride which many have compared to the Renault 4.
I have given serious consideration to ordering a Modus, but after a lot of deliberation I have concluded it is just too expensive. Comparing like for like,it is dearer than the Jazz!
There is no way I would pay more for a French car over a Japanese.
I am sure the Modus will sell very well on looks and packaging alone. But for me to buy one it would need to be significantly cheaper than the Japanese competition, such as the Honda Jazz, which for me is still the benchmark.
BTW the Jazz ride on 14" steel wheels on 2004 models is perfectly acceptable, if a little firmer than the Modus.
HectorG
|
I like th look of the Modus but would never buy a Renault. Too flimsy and unreliable.
Just craked the 60K miles on my March 02 Jazz though!
Excellent car. Comfortable (albeit as was widely reported could get a bit jiggly on rough surfaces but that was put right with a suspension upgrade in 03)and realible. The only fault was when the aircon stopped pushing out cold air and needed a replacement sensor fitting.
Economy for a petrol car is superb and I averaged over 50 mpg over the entire 60K!
Time for a change now though and it's still worth £6K!
Anyone want a high mileage Jazz with FHSH for circa £6K?
The only thing that let down the whole ownership experience was the dealer. Kettering Honda are abysmal for service! I got the last service for the cost of parts (£40) as they tried to con me on the £50 K service!
|
Surely the selling point of Modus, which automatically distiguishes it from the crowd of other quirky looking mini/midi hatchbacky MPV whatsnots with buggy eyes (such as, for example, Honda Jazz) is diesel option. Jazz, despite its virtues and label, is served only with one engine, which is neither fast nor overwhelmingly economical. On the other hand there is no reason to believe Modus will be any more reliable than anything else with Renault badge and so it will vanish shortly after launch from pages of car magazines, group tests and buyers memory just like Safrane, Laguna and Megane...
PS. What's with the silly placement of speedo again. That is soooo 1999...
|
How long have Renault been using Daewoo designers ?
Most of the car looks like the new Daewoo Matiz (which looks like an updated version of the old one).
|
|
|
Jazz, despite its virtues and label, is served only with one engine, which is neither fast nor overwhelmingly economical
Last time I looked, the Jazz was much more economical than its petrol-engined competitors. Unlike its conpetitors, it's also available as a highly-economical automatic.
As to the Modus disappearing fron trace like others including the Megane: have you looked at the sales charts? The Megane sells very well indeed: I think I read that it outsells the Golf across Europe.
Renault doesn't have a great reputation for reliability, but that hasn't dented sales of its smaller cars.
|
|
|
|
|
