The French used to be one of the few European nations with a real grasp of how to make small, fun cars with cheeky personalities that fit into the family like a pet. Renault's 5 sold by the million and its replacement, the Clio, has done so for the last decade and a half as well. The current generation Clio is due to be phased out and replaced with a new car shown at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show, but along with that car Renault has decided to slot in a slightly bigger model, the Modus. Think of the relationship as Scenic is to Megane, similar dimensions, but with a very different body to appeal to a different kind of buyer.

The higher roofline dominates the looks of the Modus. It is significantly taller than most superminis with the pay off being a huge area of glass and an excellent vantage point for driving. The Renault corporate nose is worn with style and pride with that snubbed rear end eliminating excessive rear overhang for cool looks, as well as easy parking. A wide range of bright and fresh colours are available; slightly odd then that Renault chose a Khaki Green for their press car which proved not to be to all tastes in this office.

Inside the car feels light, airy and spacious, especially with the twin glass roofs fitted to our test car. Our car's interior was a desert camouflage hue, to complement the external Khaki, but none the worse for it and the range of materials and textures used is very impressive. Stepping from most small cars into the Modus is a bit of a culture shock given the time and effort that has obviously gone into making sure it doesn't look bland and featureless. The quality is also top notch.

Form isn't at the expense of function though. There are various clever little touches around the car such as the smaller opening in the rear hatch that allows access to the rear when there is insufficient room to lift the boot lid. The centrally mounted controls are ideally placed and the multiple functions of each save clutter and confusion. The wheel-mounted controls for the stereo (first featured on the Clio 15 years ago) are here but with more function and more positive controls preventing erroneous channel swapping. Cruise control buttons are on the wheel as well.

This Privilege trim level car featured a comprehensive list of equipment as well: air conditioning, auto lights and wipers, 6 CD changer, cornering lights, a category 1 alarm and dynamic chassis safety aids as well as a full complement of airbags. There were also many options on our car such as satnav, cruise control and an option pack or two. These nudged the price up towards £14k from a £12,350 list.

On the move one basks in the position of visibility endowed by that large expanse of glass. The centre-mounted speedometer has your eyes scanning across the dash until you get accustomed to its position but the large digital read out of speed is very clear. No excuses for speeding here, and also no secrets from the passengers; everyone can see how fast you're going. The rev counter line sweeps around the top of the speed readout, which is again very clear and easy to see. The accompanying display works well offering all the information on the stereo, trip computer and satnav in one place, though this was very difficult to read in direct sunlight.

Get behind the wheel and you'll notice that the steering is very light, as are the pedals, which is really as you'd expect in a car of this ilk; the gearshift is slick and light too. It's a very easy car to drive around town both in terms of physical ease and nimbleness in traffic. The excellent visibility pays dividends when it comes to parking as that minimal rear overhang proves to be a real boon for tight gaps. The ride is very good around town as well; it's not just nice to drive; it's nice to be driven in too.

Out of town things aren't as great. In all fairness it is good for a supermini but some of the bigger car feel you enjoy at lower speed is lost as wind noise begins to intrude at motorway speeds; blame that large frontal area I guess. You soon run out of performance as well as it is a little lacking. Our test car didn't have many miles on it so may have loosened up with time, but it felt slow and sluggish. It was fine around town where the torquey little engine is nice and smooth and refined but on the open road it lacked decent urge. For the majority of owners this wouldn't be an issue but for some seeing a 1.6 16v badge on the wing will give ideas of more performance than is on tap. That's not to say you can't enjoy the Modus; you can chuck it around and have fun if the mood takes you.

I actually doubted whether the 1.6 16v was in good health to be honest as it had a fairly high thirst for a small car. Thirty mpg was about the norm, which for a small MPV to be used in everyday cut and thrust is a little poor. It may be that with more miles the engine would loosen out, releasing more performance, as well as fuel economy. I'd still be looking to buy a diesel version of the car though; it just makes more sense to me, unless you're a die-hard diesel hater.

Dismiss the Modus as simply a re-skinned Clio with a tall roof and you're sadly missing the point. Renault has made a clever, fresh and innovative little car that, whilst it may not rip up the rulebook, is certainly going to change the designs sat on some manufacturers' drawing boards at the moment. A small car with a big heart, the Modus is the kind of car owners will fall in love with and offers a very different set of attributes to the Clio. If you're looking for a fun and funky practical small car, you may just find what you're looking for here.