(Wed 01 Oct 08)

The three-door Renault Kangoo Compact Concept unveiled at last year's Frankfurt Show will go into production as the Kangoo be bop, and is expected to launch in the UK next spring.

At less than four metres, the be bop is substantially shorter than the five-door Kangoo, but it also has 20mm greater ground clearance. Styling has clearly been a priority during the design stages - the three available body colours are black, orange and white, but all cars have their bonnet, radiator grille, door mirrors, front bumper bib and tailgate panel in contrasting Cosmic Grey.

The rear seats can be slid forwards and backwards or removed altogether, giving the be bop a potential luggage volume of anything from 174 to 1462 litres.

Three engines (85bhp and 105bhp versions of the 1.5-litre dCi turbo diesel, plus a 105bhp 1.6 petrol) will be available, though Renault hasn't yet confirmed if all of them will be offered to UK customers. The 85bhp diesel is the most economical, giving the Kangoo a combined figure of 53.3mpg and CO2 emissions of 140g/km.

UK prices have not yet been announced either, but they're likely to be in the £11,000-£12,500 region depending on engine and trim level.

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