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4 is a crowd

By Nargess Shahmanesh-Banks

Renault chose the 'design-lead' Geneva Show to take the wraps off its latest concept car, the Zoé, a diminutive upper-range urban vehicle. The car features a blend of clear-cut lines and rounded forms and an ingenious interior space that puts the asymmetry to maximum effect to reveal a true three-seat layout and voluminous boot.

The Zoé is its own vision of a small (a mere 3.45m in length), dynamic, upper-range city car. A modern-day expression of luxury in a compact format, the car "appeals through its mature, sensuous curves, its characterful frontal styling and hypnotic demeanour. Zoé is charm personified," says design chief, Patrick le Quément.

The hatch is raised by a twin opening system, with the rear window and tailgate sliding into each other to keep overall height to a minimum when open while at the same time providing easy access. A further practical feature concerns the rear left quarter light which can be lowered so small items can be placed on the rear parcel shelf or in the boot.

The motorised passenger door features a two-hinge, three-axis opening system that offers extremely easy access. The travel of the door itself can be selected according to whether access to both the front and rear seats, or just the front seat is required. In this way, the space taken up by the door when open is kept to a strict minimum. Meanwhile, the glazed lateral part of the roof lifts up the instant one of the doors is opened.

This is a very unusual car in that it is a three-seater. Both Peugeot and Opel have toyed with the idea, something that Renault thinks could become a trend amongst urban cars.

"Zoé is a vehicle designed for city life. It has been shown that cars carry only 1.4 people on average, but two seat interiors are perceived as a constraint. Zoé is therefore a genuine three-seater complete with a boot located behind the driver’s seat, all built into a compact architecture," says le Quément.

The replacement of the ‘fourth seat’ by space for baggage allows the luggage of three people to fit comfortably inside the boot. The sliding front passenger seat and reclining seat back combine to form a platform for the transport of bulky loads.

Its modular three-seat layout makes a number of combinations possible. A starfish-like switch located on the side of the driver’s seat makes it possible to arrange the cabin layout in one of three pre-set arrangements to optimise the way interior space is used. Special attention has been paid to ergonomics and comfort. The rear of the front right seat features a built-in footrest, while the rear seat can be likened more to a comfy armchair in which the passenger can literally snuggle up. No preference has been given to any one occupant since all three seats offer the same level of comfort, while the cabin comes with numerous discreet storage bins that allow valuables to be concealed.

Developed in association with Valeo, the headlamps feature high performance light emitting diodes (LED) which produce an unprecedented sparkle effect. The frosted glass rear lights ensure a particularly soft tone, while the clear glass indicator housings reveal a deeply hued flash.

Le Quément believes that the Zoé is in total keeping with the spirit of Renault’s previous concept cars. "Its interior is simple and its layout is easy to remember. Zoé is a further illustration of our ‘Touch Design’ concept which first appeared on Talisman in 2001 before finding its way onto production models," he says.

The entire cabin focuses not only on an intuitive understanding of its forms but also on ergonomics and simplicity. The thin seats take the form of outspread leaves and are extremely comfortable, while the harmonious dashboard is uncluttered. The centre console houses a variety of controls, including the transmission mode selector, command of the multifunction screen located at the centre of the dash panel, the seat-adjustment joystick and the central LCD screen located within the speedometer dial.

The Zoé comes with a nomadic ‘Pass’ which enables personal preferences to be memorised with a view to reproducing individual ambiences by selecting favourite music and pre-set seat, driving control and rear-view mirror settings.

It is not a surprise for Renault, known for its avant-garde ventures, to take a fresh look at the urban car. This is a segment that is overridden with dull, mass-styled cars. Hopefully some of the ideas stemming from the concept car will find their way to future production vehicles.