In Depth: Renault Grand Modus and New Modus

Press Release

A safety pedigree

The first-generation Modus was the first city car to secure the top five-star safety rating in tests run by the independent road safety body EuroNCAP in August 2004. Developed on the same platform, Grand Modus and New Modus are packed with Renault’s expertise. Their running gear ensures excellent levels of active safety and both vehicles are equipped with Renault’s third-generation System for Restraint and Protection (SRP3). To further increase comfort and safety they propose
numerous best-in-class technological solutions: a tyre pressure monitoring system, additional cornering lights and cruise control.

Safe, predictable handling

Roadholding, the cornerstone of active safety, is a strong point of Grand Modus and New Modus, both of which were built on the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s shared B platform. Body roll has been mastered. The 21mm diameter anti-roll bars lend Grand Modus and New Modus neutral, predictable handling by minimizing body-roll. The generously dimensioned braking system affords bite and power that are constant even when the brakes are repeatedly applied. Front and rear brake disks are both very wide and thick: 260mm wide at the front and 240mm at the rear (for the 85 and 100hp 1.5 dCi), and 22mm thick at the front and 8mm at the rear. In keeping with the original Modus, Grand Modus and New Modus both boast Bosch 8.0 ABS with electronic brake distribution and emergency brake assist as standard. They also feature ESP with optional understeer control. When pulling away at the wheel of Grand or New Modus, the ASR traction control system switches on using the ESP inhibit switch. This function kicks in automatically each
time the engine is turned on or the speed of the vehicle exceeds 50kph. Finally, the engine torque overrun regulation function (MSR) avoids any risk of the driven wheels locking by controlling the engine torque when the accelerator is released or slow down on a low-grip surface.

Numerous technologies serving safety

To ensure safety and comfort Grand Modus and New Modus boast a comprehensive range of other features which are either standard or optional depending on equipment level.

The rear parking proximity sensor facilitates parking, particularly in towns and cities (City
Pack, with electric door mirrors). The practical cruise control and speed limiter control is mounted on the central console next to the parking brake. A dashboard display informs the driver when the cruise control and speed limiter function is activated.

Grand Modus and New Modus feature additional cornering lights, a legacy from the original Modus. A dedicated computer and a lamp fixed at 40° built into the headlamp unit gradually activate the cornering lights as the vehicles goes into a bend to widen the driver’s field of vision. This function is deactivated in reverse gear.

Grand Modus and New Modus come with a tyre pressure monitoring system which warns the driver of inappropriate pressure in any tyre or tyres. The system can detect slow punctures and mismatches between a vehicle’s speed and its tyre pressure. A light sensor automatically activates headlamps when it grows dark, while a rain sensor turns on the windscreen wipers and adjusts their speed according to rainfall. The flat-blade wipers sweep clear a wide area of the windscreen in order to provide a clearer vision.

Optimal protection for all passengers

The passive safety features that Grand Modus and New Modus boast are all inherited from the first Modus. Their body structures are designed to resist impacts, absorb energy and make the cabin into a survival cell which protects occupants from intruding mechanical parts.

In addition to the programmed deformation structure, the front end components (engine, gearbox, battery, gearbox, and accessories) are designed to fold into each other in the event of impact. The steering column retracts, while the brake pedal floors to reduce the danger of damage to the legs, and padding protects the shins and ankles of the front passenger and driver.

Grand Modus and New Modus boast rigid central pillars with programmed articulation that lessens the effects of side impact. The way in which the central pillar deforms helps to protect occupants by holding them against the padding built into the door panels and restricting any injury caused by the intrusion of parts into the cabin.

Restraint systems are designed to round off the work on the cars’ structure and optimize the protection of all occupants wherever they are sitting and whatever the type of impact. Grand Modus and New Modus are both equipped with Renault’s third-generation System for Restraint and Protection (SRP3). It includes up to six airbags, of which four are for side impacts (two lateral chest airbags built into the front seats and two curtain airbags to protect the head of front and rear passengers) and dual-volume adaptive front airbags.

The front seatbelts also offer double pretensioners and load limiters set to 400daN to protect the chest. An audio alarm and a pictogram on the instrument panel remind the driver to fasten his or her seatbelt. Short, upright seatbelt anchor points and an anti-submarining system built into the front seats and under the rear bench (fitted with special humps) combat the phenomenon of submarining. Finally, Grand Modus and New Modus incorporate as standard front- or rear-facing three-point Isofix child seat anchorage points for the rear seats. When a child seat is positioned in the front seat, the front passenger airbag, lateral thorax airbag and side pyrotechnic pretensioner can all be deactivated thanks to a switch on the side of the dashboard. A warning light on the dashboard denotes shows where they have been inhibited.

€110 million invested in the production of Grand Modus and New Modus at Valladolid

Modus was first marketed in September 2004. Up to October 2007, 395,000 units had been sold. These figures have contributed to maintaining Renault's rank amongst the B-segment leaders with a 10.1% share of the European market. Produced exclusively at Spain’s Valladolid plant, Grand Modus and New Modus required a total outlay of €110 million. They will come to market on December 21, 2007, in Italy, then across the rest of Western Europe between January and
February 2008.

Grand Modus, a newcomer to Renault's small car family

Renault enjoys a towering presence on the small car market. Alongside Clio, the 395,000 Modus units sold between 2004 and October 2007 helped to keep Renault amongst Europe’s top producers with a B-segment market share of 10.1% up to the end of Septembre 2007.

Three years after it first rolled off the production line, Modus has been extensively restyled and the range has been enriched with the arrival of newcomer Grand Modus. Fifty million euros were required to develop these two new models thanks to the extensive carry-over of existing parts and equipment which enabled costs to be controlled. Sixty per cent of Modus parts have been reused on Grand Modus and over 70% on New Modus. Furthermore, Clio Estate and Grand Modus share the same new rear suspension, while Grand Modus has a fuel tank that is derived from Modus and Clio III. Finally, the parallel development of both vehicles on the B platform shared by the Renault-Nissan Alliance gave rise to numerous synergies between different engineering teams at Renault's Technocentre.

Modus ushers in new quality standards from 2004

On its launch in 2004, Modus broke new ground in the realm of quality, with Clio III following in its wake in 2005. In 2007, a widely acknowledged, independent market survey put Modus in the top three vehicles in its category for product quality. Customer satisfaction further endorsed this rating. This was the fruit of a policy dating back several years which involved the 2003 implementation of the Renault Quality Plan followed by the Renault Excellence Plan in 2005. Renault pledged to offer its customers product and service quality that were among the best on the market. That aim is, in fact, the first pledge in Renault's Commitment 2009 plan which is emphasized by the will to see New Laguna rank amongst the top-three cars in terms of product and service quality. The progress achieved and the processes engineered for New Laguna have been extended, with the same exacting standards of quality, to the entire range worldwide.

New Modus and Grand Modus have enjoyed the full benefit of this innovative expertise. To meet manufacturing quality standards, Valladolid – like all the group’s production plants – has implemented the Renault Production System (SPR). It is based on standardized work processes and routine quality management as part of the bid to maintain uniform standards that can be reproduced. Modus was the first project to fully deploy SPR’s tools and methods from its inception. In order to maintain the plant’s excellent standards of quality and productivity, special effort was focused on training Valladolid’s 2,710 employees.

Strip and build training for Grand Modus

A total of 594 employees at Valladolid received training in stripping and building Grand Modus. This training took place in two phases. The first phase was static and based on a scale model, while the second was life-size and took place on the production line. The aim was to assemble a complete vehicle, take it apart, then reassemble it. With this Nissan-imported practice, operators have already been trained to a sufficiently high standard when the proving prototype arrives on the production line.

Modus exclusively made in Valladolid

Together with the Flins facility in France, Bursa in Turkey, and Novo Mesto in Slovenia, the Spanish plant at Valladolid specialises in the production of small cars. It has been made the exclusive producer of Grand Modus and New Modus. The decision flows logically from 2004 (when the making of Modus ushered in SPR) and has enabled the site to diversify its output, as it already makes Clio III.

When Valladolid began producing Modus in 2004, it was the first car to use the B platform shared by the Renault-Nissan Alliance on which the two new vehicles have been developed. In this way the cost of adapting Valladolid has been limited to €60 million – a major step towards to profitability pledge of the Renault Commitment 2009.

Valladolid is strongly committed to meeting the objectives of the Renault group’s environmental policy. It has secured ISO 14001 certification and sharply reduced its water consumption and effluent discharges into the environment between 1999 and 2006.

To that end, it used a wide mix of solutions, ranging from improved water collection systems to the recycling of chemical dips. Grand Modus – one of the 26 vehicles cited in Renault's Commitment 2009 plan – and New Modus are intended chiefly for European markets. They will be released from
December 21, 2007, first of all in Italy, then across the rest of Western Europe between January and February 2008.