The new Renault Captur is a Clio-inspired compact crossover, due for its first public unveiling at the Geneva motor show, that will go head-to-head with the Peugeot 2008, Vauxhall Mokka and in-house rival, the Nissan Juke.

The new Captur, which shares its name with the exciting 2011 concept, is Renault’s vitally important new crossover, which like the Nissan Juke, is based on the Nissan Alliance B platform, and forms a stand-alone range at the heart of Renault’s range. It’s needed too. In the UK, Renault sales in 2012 were down 40 per cent from 2011, as the range and dealer network were slashed in half.But Renault hopes that the new car, which is a stylish addition to a burgeoning market sector, will help to turn things around. Thetiming of the Captur’s reveal is no coicidence – its maker has ambitious targets for the Captur, and hopes that it can outsell the Peugeot 2008, also revealed this week ahead of its Geneva launch.The 4120mm in length it’s compact enough to make a great city car, and is within 20mm of the Peugeot 2008 (and 15mm than the Juke). With such an emphasis on style, Renault is hoping to attract the sort of chic young urbanites who bought R5s in their millions back in the 1970s, and ’80s, while cashing in on the success of its rivals in what will be 2013’s hardest-fought market sector. Customisation will be a big part of the Captur buying experience.The engines are shared with the Renault Clio (and Dacia Sandero), and the range includes the 89bhp 900cc turbocharged three-pot petrol and the 1.5-litre dCiturbodiesel. CO2 output starts at 96g/km, and no fuel consumption figures have been released yet. Expect the Captur to go on sale in the UK in the autumn of 2013.