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Renault is pushing ahead with plans to develop a new small crossover, after deciding to bring development of its next-generation lifestyle vehicle to its European heartland.

This test mule may be wearing a Qashqai bodyshell on top, but its underpinnings are being used to set up a new compact model, codenamed X87, that will give Renault a potential rival for everything from the Nissan Juke and forthcoming Ford B-Max up to the Qashqai.

Renault’s test drivers went to extreme lengths to keep spy photographers from capturing what could have been revealing close-up images.

Sources say the X87 is based on a Juke chassis but engineers have been working to incorporate more parts from the larger Qashqai. The new car will sit between Nissan’s two models in size. Renault hopes this will allow it to compete on space in the Juke’s segment and price in the Qashqai’s.

Speculation that the crossover will be a spiritual successor to the Renault 4L is said to be wide of the mark because that idea was rejected on the grounds of cost and profitability. It would also have potentially crossed into the market of Renault’s budget brand Dacia, a clash that the X87 will avoid.

The decision to develop a crossover in Europe is believed to have been prompted by Renault’s difficulty in selling the Koleos. Developed with partner Renault Samsung Motors, that car is built in Korea and sold in that region as the Samsung QM5. But it has struggled in Europe, and was withdrawn from Renault’s UK price lists in the summer.

Renault boss Patrick Pelata said recently: “We would like a compact crossover designed entirely by us. In Korea the QM5 was a success, but in Europe it doesn’t work.”

The X87 could be seen in concept form as early as next spring, as part of new Renault chief designer Laurens van den Acker’s roll-out of his new ‘language’ for the brand. That will ensure it has strong ‘family’ looks, an element that has been lacking from the Koleos.

The car is expected to go on sale in late 2012 or early 2013, and it could be built at Renault’s plant in Valladolid, Spain. That facility is already being overhauled to produce the Twizy electric city car.

Renault is persevering with some elements of its Korean project. The Koleos is said to be selling well in China, while the Latitude — a version of the Samsung SM5 executive saloon — was shown at the recent Paris show. But there’s said to be intense internal debate among the firm’s regional distributors about which markets will sell the SM5, and no decision has yet been made on whether it will make it to the UK.

Thanks to: Autocar

These are the best spy pictures yet of Toyota's next-generation Yaris in testing. The next Yaris is designed as a mild refresh, as it makes extensive use of the current car’s bodywork.

But as Toyota is working on a hybrid addition to the range, it will be bringing the technology to the Fiesta and Polo sector for the first time.

It’s unlikely that the Yaris will be able to accommodate the 1.8-litre petrol engine from the Prius and Auris powertrains. But Toyota does have 1.33 and 1.0-litre motors at its disposal.

The Yaris and Auris hybrids will give Toyota a two-pronged defence against new opposition in the market from Honda, which is set to launch a petrol-electric version of the next Jazz.

The forthcoming Yaris is likely to mark a split in small-car policy between Europe and the US. Toyota North America is said to have been lobbying for the car to move up in size, but this has been resisted.

Instead, the US arm will unveil its own concept at January’s Detroit motor show, pointing towards a slightly larger B-segment model. It’s also unlikely to be a hybrid car.

The new Yaris could appear in Japanese showrooms as the Vitz by early next year, but confusingly, a small concept pointing to the European version of the car is due at next spring’s Geneva motor show. Sales of the Yaris will then begin here late next summer; the hybrid should appear in 2012.

Thanks to: Autocar

To further its goal of leaving no niche unfilled, Mercedes has officially confirmed that it is adding a body variation to its second-gen CLS, which itself is spun off the E-class. The company has confirmed a 2012 launch for the CLS Shooting Brake, although there’s no chance we’ll see it in the U.S.

You’ve seen this vehicle before: The-series production model will essentially keep the look, if not the spelling, of the “Shooting Break” concept shown in China this past April. Substitute more conventional pieces for the funky door handles and mirrors, and you’ve got the real thing. “It takes a second look to realize that the Shooting Brake has four doors and a big tailgate,” the German press release claims. Really? For what would one mistake the large opening on the back of the car?

A shooting brake is typically a two-door wagon based on a coupe, and no matter how many times the phrase “four-door coupe” is repeated, the CLS is still a sedan. To our eyes, then, this is a CLS five-door station wagon—a stunningly good-looking one—even though Mercedes refers to it as a “sporty hatchback version.” Lamenting the fact that this is yet another wagon we won’t get? Join the support group in Backfires.

Thanks to: Car and Driver

We barely got started blogging about it, and now BMW is already taking the fun out of the speculation. The mysterious car with the front end of last year’s Vision EfficientDynamics concept and the rear of the outgoing 6-series will be built—predictably, without the retro butt.

Journalists got the opportunity to ride in a prototype today at an event in Leipzig, Germany. The two-door coupe is being developed for a market launch in late 2013 and will cost far less than the all-electric Audi e-tron or the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell.

There are two 94-hp electric motors, one at the rear and the other coupled with the engine in front—a 161-hp, 1.5-liter, three-cylinder turbo-diesel—for total system power of 323 hp. The 0-to-62-mph dash is estimated at 4.8 seconds, and top speed is governed to 155 mph. There are 98 lithium-polymer cells, which allow the all-wheel-drive car to travel 30 miles on electricity alone. With its 6.3-gallon tank and a fully charged battery, it will supposedly go for 435 miles before you need to refuel or plug in. For series production, we suspect the diesel will be replaced by a less efficient gasoline engine to suit the tastes of U.S. and Asian customers (and, even more important, regulators).

This concept takes off silently but moves rapidly as soon as the internal-combustion engine comes alive. It's a new, artificial kind of sporty driving, but at a projected fuel economy of 63 mpg in the European cycle, we may be willing to compromise.

The new car is just 48.8 inches high and BMW makes "heavy" use of carbon fiber to keep weight down. The styling is polarizing, to say the least, but we like the daring and innovative approach. The front end gives you a good glimpse of the new face of BMW cars. If you thought the brand’s design was going to get more conservative after Chris Bangle's departure, you were clearly mistaken.

Thanks to: Car and Driver

Renault has revealed this ‘junior Dacia Duster’ concept, the Sandero Stepway.

The Renault Sandero Stepway Concept is effectively a jacked-up, more rugged version of the Dacia Sandero hatchback. The Sandero Stepway has reportedly seen Renault teaming up with a well-known jewelry maker to add new decorations, colour and textures.

With the sporty bodykit, three-tone paint scheme, “flower decals” to the rear, roof and right part of the bonnet, and an array of blue LEDs, Renault says the Stepway is aimed at a female market, which “will be surprised by the creativity of visual design”.

New wheels were fitted on the Sandero Stepway Concept and under the bonnet is a 1.6-litre Hi-Flex ethanol engine capable of developing 112bhp.

The model is not due to be launched in the South American market until late 2012.

Thanks to: Autocar

When the Buick Regal GS concept debuted at last January’s Detroit auto show, future production was as safe a bet as you’ll find in the automotive world. Sure enough, this past spring, GM confirmed that the GS would head to showrooms, but released no further details. Now, finally, we’ve got the skinny on the first real performance Buick in a long time.

Staying true to the recent trend, wherein a concept car is nothing more than a production-ready vehicle with really expensive paint and a few exaggerated styling cues, the 2012 Regal GS looks almost identical to the car we saw in Detroit. Basic differences boil down to smaller vertical air intakes on the front fascia, slightly different trapezoidal exhaust finishers in the rear, and Recaro-like front seats in place of the concept’s actual Recaros. But the satin-metallic trim; integrated rear spoiler; rocker panel extensions; Brembo front brake calipers; and big, 20-inch wheels all make the cut for production.

The same uprated direct-injected, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder found in the concept will be the production GS’s powerplant. It’s identical to the turbo 2.0 found in the Regal Turbo, but GM’s engineers have cranked up the boost and reduced backpressure with a larger exhaust, upping its output to (an estimated) 255 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, increases of 35 and 37. At launch, the GS will be offered solely with a six-speed manual transmission—Save the Manuals!—while a six-speed automatic will be available later. The concept was initially claimed to hit 60 mph in under six seconds, Buick is now tempering its expectations, saying the production car will hit the mile-a-minute mark in “less than seven seconds.” We recently tested an automatic-equipped, 220-hp Regal Turbo to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds, and we predict the automatic GS will complete the sprint in 6.7 seconds or so.

While the concept sent power to all four wheels, the real GS will only drive its fronts. Admittedly, we were disappointed at this development, but at least the GS will employ the new HiPer Strut suspension system, which uses a modified MacPherson geometry up front to better maintain negative camber in cornering and reduce torque steer. We’ve sampled a Buick LaCrosse prototype with this system and found it rather impressive. The GS’s ostensibly tighter chassis also will include a 0.4-inch suspension drop all around and an adjustable driving-mode system like the Regal Turbo’s for tuning suspension settings and steering sensitivity. The system’s Standard and Sport programs are carried over, but the Turbo’s softest mode, Touring, is ditched in favor of a unique, super-sporty GS setting. Larger front brakes with Brembo four-piston calipers will hide behind the standard 19-inch wheels with all-season Goodyear Eagles; a 20-inch wheel of the same design wrapped in sticky Pirelli P Zero summer rubber is optional.

The interior of the GS will differ only slightly from those of lesser Regals, adding a special flat-bottomed steering wheel, metal pedals, more-heavily bolstered front seats, the satin-finished trim, and white lighting for the instrument panel when GS mode is engaged. The standard goodies list will include keyless entry and start, a 320-watt Harman/Kardon sound system, Bluetooth connectivity, backup sensors, and xenon headlights.

Thanks to: Car and Driver

Fiat has taken the wraps off this quirky Uno Cabriolet concept at the Sao Paulo motor show.

The new concept previews the open-top Uno, the latest of several different variants planned for Fiat’s new Uno small car range.

The Cabriolet is also the most sporty version of the new Uno seen yet. It gets LED lights, a lower front wings, a new bumper, revised front air intakes and a lower wing.

Other features include new wheels, flared wheel arches, a pair of chrome-effect roll bars over the headrests and twin exhaust pipes.

The concept is powered by a 150bhp 1.4-litre petrol engine and has a top speed of 124mph.

Thanks to: Autocar

Fiat has used the Sao Paulo motor show to unveil this innovative Mio concept, a car created online by more than 17,000 people.

Measuring in at a whisker under 2.5m in length, the mini Mio is shorter than a Smart ForTwo and features advanced interior technology features including mobile phone integration and touch-screen controls.

Minimalism is the key here, with its uncluttered and futuristic appearance, including camouflaged headlights, large glass roof, and covered wheels for added efficiency.

According to Fiat, the Mio evolved as part of an on-going interactive collaborative process through its website.

More than 17,000 people were registered as official collaborators; broad overall themes for the concept car were future urban mobility and sustainability.

Fiat’s design boss, Peter Fassbender, said: “A good designer tries to realise the wishes of everyone, and with this concept car we were truly working on everybody's behalf.”

The Mio was “designed for a world where the driver can be simply a passenger and can have the vehicle controlled through intelligent means.” according to Fiat.

Thanks to: Autocar