[RavenAvi]

More launch pics, courtesy Motorbeam:






















Features noticed:

Auto folding mirrors
Chrome internal door handles
Revised rear seats with increased thigh support and adjustable head rests.
Rear cup holder
Keyless entry and go
Electrically adjustable mirrors
All four electric-windows
15-inch alloy wheels
Bridgestone tyres 175/60-R15
Dual-beam H4 headlights
Beige fabric interiors

The price of the Renault Pulse will be revealed at the Auto Expo 2012, and bookings will commence immediately after that.

Complete gallery - Renault Unveils Pulse Compact Car In India | MotorBeam - Indian Car Bike News & Reviews

[abhi413]

One firmly believes Renault has a lot of Brand Building to do before they position their products as premium offering. The fact is they are even today known more for the (erstwhile) Logan than for Koleos / Fluence.

Now why did they have to photocopy the Micra?

If there's one thing we have learnt about Renault, it is that they don't have room for designers in their team. They invariably take shortcuts when it comes to car design (cost cutting?). Examples: The Boxy Logan and now the Pulse.

They don't realize that even my 5-year old Niece can draw cars that look better than the Logan.


Unfortunate that Renault has still not invested as much on India w.r.t. their competitors (just look at Hyundai)!

Their better looking but market dud cars like Fluence/Koleos are old / all existing designs from europe which are overpriced and without the features par for the segment.

I expect the sales of the pulse to cannibalize the Micra, and not at the expense of the swift/i20!

[MaserQ]

Ok, initial impressions. The first thought that ran through my mind was 'damn, that car looks like a cartoon character!'

Spike the dog from the Tom & Jerry series to be precise.

Apart from the 'bulldog' front end, this car is all Micra, down to the tail lights. Renault could have done something more with the interiors. The sports version looks snazzy, fine alloys and all, but I cannot see how the uninspiring Pulse will sell at a premium over the Micra.

[swiftnfurious]

When I looked the pic even before reading the details, I was wondering why does it look like Micra?!! IMO, it would have made sense to rebadge a car which sells well. As someone said, it might happen that the sedan on offer late could be the re-badged version of Sunny.

I believe Micra is already sporting a premium price tag compared to the features on offer, now Renault will price it even above? And that GREIGE interiors again....

PS:: One hope I still have with Renault is that they are gearing towards a very competitive pricing for Duster with all these launches. First launch everything before Duster with a premium price; and when potential Duster customers have lost all their hopes, launch Duster with a not-so-premium price and make it look like VFM compared to rest of Renault products !!

[SkyWalker]

As many pointed out meaningless launch of a pointless car. For a company to re-badge an existing car at a premium prices, there has to be a significant brand presence.

Renault has time and again produced poorly equipped products and way too premium prices than it can justify. This, from a manufacturer who has been associated with a failed product like Logan and two lack luster "premium cars".

Take a reality check Renault!

[vishnana]

more said about the similarities to MICRA ! so just sharing one nice snap , which i loved ! this looks more of a RS edition what RENAULT have normally for Clio , Twingo , Megane .

[aravind.anand]

Someone Somewhere uploaded this picture like a teaser for thr surprise Oct 29th launch, and I was really impressed by this picture and was waiting with abaited breath for the surprise launch!

And all we got was a re nosed and re-badged Micra. Was completely disappointed, especially because of the wrong teaser pic. Now I found out that the picture is of a 2012 Renault Twingo

[Valkyrie]

Seriously, I cant digest the way it looks.
Looks like a bad mod job for me. The purity of the design is lost
For me, its no point in launching a car from your sister company.
Even if you call that brand building.
They could have done wonders by launching the Clio.
Can't understand the French.

[wickedchauhan]

If the pricing conjecture and the positioning is indeed true then I must be blind. I just can't seem to see how can Renault keep launching product that don't take off, still keep doing that and make their numbers? We have already seen the Honda Jazz's positioning being reduced to bits and now Renault comes with this gems of a strategy!!!

I think they need to take up a massive branding exercise and back it up with products before they start charging a premium, especially in the price sensitive Hatchback segment.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by Valkyrie

Seriously, I cant digest the way it looks.
Looks like a bad mod job for me. The purity of the design is lost
For me, its no point in launching a car from your sister company.
Even if you call that brand building.
They could have done wonders by launching the Clio.
Can't understand the French.

Ditto that Valkyrie. One thing hasn't changed since my school days - French is not at all easy to understand!
Apart from the jokes, seriously, try giving these some thought and reasons:
*A spacious and reliable car, but just 15 years too late - Logan.
*Stripped down Diesel variant, fully loaded petrol variant - Fluence.
* "Saar yuver caar has no ABS, but it has Airbags Saar! After the accident it will save you" - Micra Diesel
*I will take care of the Fortuner, just import me - Koleos!

[rajeev k]

Renault has disappointed totally. They can exit this model later by handing it over to Nissan a replay of the Logan episode.
I don't understand the French strategy. Peugeot too did it. .

[pacman2881]

Probably Renault took the easy route in an attempt to sustain it's dealer network. Fluence and Koleos cannot produce enough numbers to keep it's network intact nor can they sell / service Micra. With the a re-badging this is possible at hardly any extra cost to the company.
I doubt if this is a good strategy as another failure in the market will be very costly for the Renault brand.

[andromeda]

Originally Posted by pacman2881

Probably Renault took the easy route in an attempt to sustain it's dealer network. Fluence and Koleos cannot produce enough numbers to keep it's network intact nor can they sell / service Micra. With the a re-badging this is possible at hardly any extra cost to the company.
I doubt if this is a good strategy as another failure in the market will be very costly for the Renault brand.

Infact it's pretty much the same case with the Nissan dealerships as well. All these days they were hardly surviving by selling the low numbers of the over-priced Micra. Sunny deliveries have just started off. Nissan-Renault have a joint manufacturing facility and and very limited dealers/service centers. This re-badged car could possibly be the first one step in direction of consolidation their dealer base as well. Re-badging the same car will provide them with an option to service it at either brand's service centers. Going forward, they might plan to sell both brands in either dealerships. Only time will tell if they plan to go the Tata-Fiat way.

[torquecurve]

This is hands down the most Hideous design I have seen in recent times. My next door garage wala can come up with a better redesign of the Micra. The Micra as it is a hit or miss design.

Renault is going the way of the erstwhile Peugeot. A nice brand which just doesnt know what to do!

[autoweirdo]

At first look the impression was the Renault engineers to understand competition went to neighboring Hyundai plant and stole i10 lamps and fitted in micra. At least they could have stolen eon side skirts and rear for better change. Looks like they had very less time to steal the stuff.