Renault Clio

The Grand Tour Concept previews the new Clio estate, and has the same 2.0-litre engine as is fitted to the Renaultsport Clio 197. The model's three-door body features a 430-litre luggage space, which can be expanded to 1,275 litres by folding the rear seats.

However, the final roadgoing machine will not be based on the wide-bodied hot hatchback. It will actually borrow from the standard five-door supermini in order to boost its practicality.

And it's set to go up against the Skoda Fabia Estate and Peugeot 207 SW - also unveiled at Geneva in concept form - when it hits showrooms early next year. Power-plants will include Renault's frugal 1.5-litre dCi oil-burner.

The first-ever Clio estate could wear the Break badge when it's introduced in the UK, and prices are expected to be around £700 more than for the regular five-door variant. That should see the range kick off from approximately £11,000.

The gold-painted Grand Tour Concept, which features distinc-tive two-tone alloy wheels, also boasts an array of cutting-edge technologies inside the cabin. These gadgets include DVD screens mounted in the front headrests for the use of rear passengers, a high-definition video camera and a laptop computer mounted beneath the boot floor. There's even a clever slide-out seat in the luggage space to use while downloading images and video. The production model won't be so flash, though, and is unlikely to get even an MPV-style sliding rear bench. However, fold-flat seating and extra underfloor storage will make the newcomer a practical choice.

Meanwhile, Renault's budget brand Dacia is unlikely to appear in British showrooms before 2009. The offshoot's Logan saloon is aimed at developing markets, but is also selling well in western Europe.

It was originally pencilled in for UK sales to start in 2008. However, production of right-hand-drive machines in India is still some way off. This means that buyers in the UK will have to wait quite some time for the £6,000 saloon and £7,000 seven-seater estate to arrive on our shores.