A FACELIFT for the Citroen Saxo unveiled at the Frankfurt International Motor Show is likely to be its last before a potentially radical departure for small cars is unveiled by the manufacturer. The Saxo, Citroen's best-selling car yet, topped the UK sales charts last month with 3,513 registrations, more than the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa and Renault Clio combined, the firm says, with all but 13 of them retail sales.

For this reason, the mid-life update provides only a slight change for the car, which goes on sale next month, updating the corporate face with new headlights, bonnet and rear, while the anti-corrosion warranty is extended to 12 years and a paint warranty extended to three, part of a range-wide improvement. New features include a passenger airbag on/off switch and increased storage space.

But when the next facelift comes, Citroen may take a much bigger risk, with insiders suggesting that the C3 concept car on view on the stand could appear relatively unaltered as an attention-grabbing replacement in the next few years. Features include symmetrically opening front and rear doors, with no central pillar, a rear hatch which has a lower half that slides into the top half, for opening where there is little room, and fully adjustable front and back seats.