GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Renault Captur upgraded

The wraps have come off the Renault Captur compact SUV ahead of its 2017 Geneva motor show debut next week.

Showing off a fresh new look in a bid to retain its position as Europe's best-selling urban crossover, the French car-maker has added several dramatic new colours and subtle design tweaks to maintain its sales momentum, at least in Europe.

The new model will be unveiled in Switzerland alongside the Renault Alaskan ute – which like the Mercedes-Benz X-Class is based on Nissan Navara underpinnings – and a new EV is also tipped to debut.

Another highlight of the Renault stand will likely be the Alpine A110, the company's born-again mid-engined sports car.

Renault hasn't overly changed the front-end design of the Captur, rather adding chrome work around the grille to "strengthen kinship with its big brother, Kadjar" (which isn't sold here) and also to Koleos SUV.

Re-sculpted LED daytime running lights are in evidence, sporting the brand's familiar C-shaping, providing the car with a more contemporary look, and up-spec models also get new LED headlights – dubbed Pure Vision – that are claimed to improve safety and reduce energy drain.

At the rear of the vehicle the LED brake lights have been updated with the C-shaped motif as well.

Bolder bash plates under the front and rear bumpers add a touch of adventurousness to the design, while new-look 16- and 17-inch alloy wheels are offered.

The biggest visual changes are two vibrant new colours, Ocean Blue and Desert Orange, the latter giving the car an upmarket visual. There's also a new two-tone roof colour option, Mercury Silver.

Another big change is the addition of a large (fixed) panoramic glass roof which is optional on top-spec models.

Renault has made no mention of mechanical changes to the Captur, so it's expected to continue with its 898cc (66kW/135Nm) and 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine (88kW/190Nm) and a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel in Europe.

In 2016 the Renault Captur was the top-selling B-segment (compact) crossover or SUV in Europe, with 215,670 customers snapping up a vehicle.

In Australia the Captur sold 1563 units in 2016 – roughly the same number as the year before – but was trounced by the top-selling Mazda CX-3 (18,334) and Mitsubishi ASX (18,126) duo.

Renault Australia was contacted for local arrival details of the upgraded Captur but is yet to respond. Captur pricing starts at $23,500 in Australia.