[invidious]

Originally Posted by chennai-indian

Skoda Fabia and VW Polo are not "re-badged" - yes, they share the same platform but look and feel very different - not like the Pulse and Micra

Polo and Fabia roll out of the same factory, they use the same engine, they even have the same music system for crying out loud. As far as driving them in concerned, the New Fabia and the Polo are pretty much the same car.

[chennai-indian]

Originally Posted by invidious

Polo and Fabia roll out of the same factory, they use the same engine, they even have the same music system for crying out loud. As far as driving them in concerned, the New Fabia and the Polo are pretty much the same car.

All what you say is true but perception matters a lot. Park both the cars next to each other and ask a lay person whether they are the "same" car and the answer you get will be "no". Park a Pulse and a Micra next to each other and ask the same question and am sure the answer would be "yes" most of the time.

[AdityaLN]

The car looks out and out Micra but the front end looks more muscular than Micra. Is it just me, doesn't the front end/grill have hints of the current gen Lancer.

File:2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart sedan -- 06-30-2011.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[rajchetan]

I for one don't like the way the Auto industry is turning out currently.

First it was the Volkswagen and now its Renault. Do they think the customers are nuts?

At-least in the case of Polo and Fabia these cars look apart hence customers might not get confused. (But even then i feel as group they must have different cars for different segments - Up / Fabia / Vento / Laura / Passat / Superb. Then the entire Audi Range.)

But Renault Pulse and Nissan Micra, the cars look same and even a kid will think that these cars are the same. How will they differentiate it with their customers??
Or is Renault just going to price their Pulse High and Show that the Nissan is a Value for money car, so that customers feel they are getting a fare Deal? I doubt so, as Micra is to Feminine for even a Female Driver.

I like the Front of the Pulse, it looks more Sharp, but then everything else is Feminine. Sorry to say its heading the Fluence way.

[ankurvirmani19]

I am not able to understand the strategy that companies are following for India. They are making identical looking products. Rear end is a total copy of Micra, interiors are similar to Sunny.
Only time would tell the fate of these "so called" newly launched products.

[autocrat]

Hmmm, quite a bit of Renault bashing going on for the release of the Pulse...

I have always wondered if our understanding of the personality of a car is always linked to how it looks.

We are now drawing parallels to Micra, as they look similar.. but do they also feel similar?

From my perspective, a cars bodyshell is just another component in the overall package. We are not averse to seeing the same engine doing duty in many cars (read the Fiat 1.3 MJD national engine) but somehow find it difficult to accept a shared platform

The same bodyshell can behave entirely differently with differently tuned suspension setup, different engine tuning, and feel a lot different with a change of interiors, usage of space, steering, the variations can be endless...

IMHO, we must wait and see how Renault plays around with the variables. Its quite possible that Renault can offer better value to Indian customer than Nissan based on their previous experience in this market.

Its still wait and watch for me - too early to pass a judgement. The Indian automotive scene is interesting and we BHPians have a lot more feed for the Forums

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by AdityaLN

The car looks out and out Micra but the front end looks more muscular than Micra. Is it just me, doesn't the front end/grill have hints of the current gen Lancer.

File:2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart sedan -- 06-30-2011.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Err.. Not my feeling Bro. Nothing is common between the Pulse and the Mighty EVO! It is in no way and in no angle is the Pulse looking like the Evo. In my words, "Its a micra with a bad mod job thats all!" Its a very good contender for the 'Weird and Wacky Mods' Thread I suppose

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by octane_100

. I seriously deem it an insult to the Indian consumer. I was waiting for the Duster with baited breath, but now just wish Renault's Indian operation becomes bankrupt

but still... the Indian consumer will queue up to buy this car, esp if the sales experience at Nissan is not that good. The average Indian customer hardly cares ... esp if he gets a better discount of 5 to 6K.

Originally Posted by motorworks

I recently test drove the micra {base petrol} and was planning to replace my wife's alto with this. But I was surprised with the uninspiring engine and flat rear seats. The A.C vents though similar to the old swift were very flimsy and the car lacked that quality that you would expect from Nissan. It was just like a maruti! Why would you buy a Nissan if you get the same quality as a maruti?
And I'm surprised that even though the micra has not been a great success, renault has chosen to offer the very same car with a different badge! I hope they have not underestimated India with this strategy and charge a premium over the micra for this pulse. If they do so then i'm sure our folks would understand this fact and show the car the bottom of the b segment chart.

Since you have checked out the Micra, can you run the same checklist with this new Renault and see if it is sold with the same "defects" and shortcomings in design or if they have been improved/corrected? It will be good to know.

Regards
--Ragul

[Vid6639]

This is a good strategy with the Pulse. I find it doesn't look that bad. In person it will look much better. The grill may look overdone but this car looks less feminine than the Micra which will actually help sales.

With the Pulse, Renault will have a wider range when they add the Modus later on. The Modus is huge and will probably be priced in the Jazz and i20 segment. With the Pulse they can have it lower close to swift and Figo.

[octane_100]

Originally Posted by autocrat

Hmmm, quite a bit of Renault bashing going on for the release of the Pulse...

I have always wondered if our understanding of the personality of a car is always linked to how it looks.

We are now drawing parallels to Micra, as they look similar.. but do they also feel similar?

From my perspective, a cars bodyshell is just another component in the overall package. We are not averse to seeing the same engine doing duty in many cars (read the Fiat 1.3 MJD national engine) but somehow find it difficult to accept a shared platform

The same bodyshell can behave entirely differently with differently tuned suspension setup, different engine tuning, and feel a lot different with a change of interiors, usage of space, steering, the variations can be endless...

IMHO, we must wait and see how Renault plays around with the variables. Its quite possible that Renault can offer better value to Indian customer than Nissan based on their previous experience in this market.

Its still wait and watch for me - too early to pass a judgement. The Indian automotive scene is interesting and we BHPians have a lot more feed for the Forums

You've made a general but valid point. In case of Pulse, we already know that Renault has not changed most of the variables.

Exterior Looks - more or less the same, save for some redesigned nose and tail, but nothing significant here

Engine and Transmission - Same as Micra, no change
Interiors - Same as Micra, no change

The only thing remaining as far as the product side goes is the suspension set up which we still need to see. But 1/4 changes isn't going in favour of renault.

On the experience side, Renault is as sparsely spread as Nissan and is as new or old as Nissan is in this market. So, I don't think we can expect too much change in terms of ownership experience. So no change in this aspect as well.

So, in my books Renault is not offering anything new to us other than the new nose and the new logo. In fact Nissan must be cursing Renault that they stole their chance of coming up with a facelift

So, if at all Renault had to use the same skin, same interiors and same everything, I believe they should have atleast tried to cater to the market which Micra did not, say a Pulse with tauter suspension setup and a hot engine. That would have sold in limited numbers, but would have atleast made some sense in my opinion.

[simplyself]

Renault, it seems, is here just to use the country as a manufacturing hub and not to sell their products. Even if they want, no one would buy them at this rates.

[wild child]

hi guys
check out the attachment.
with these two vehicles being so identical, how come they don't lower their selling price?
logical reasoning should be like lesser price due to more number of similar vehicles being sold in the market.
renault's strategy just doesn't seem to get into my head. or does it for any of you guys?
- wild child

[designersf]

Originally Posted by wild child

hi guys
check out the attachment.
with these two vehicles being so identical, how come they don't lower their selling price?
logical reasoning should be like lesser price due to more number of similar vehicles being sold in the market.
renault's strategy just doesn't seem to get into my head. or does it for any of you guys?
- wild child

Some observations from your comparison -

Seen from the front, almost no similarity
Hatch door looks to have longer lines & rear bumper is different
Front three quarter - Pulse looks much sportier
Only subtle changes in the side view like addition of black tape

In my opinion, a sportier chassis tuning for the Pulse will set it apart and just this once, I hope Renault launch the Sport version. It looks hot!

[Equus]

Micra hasnt been a big success, so why build on that? I am not sure I get it. In any case, Renault will continue to be a marginal player unless the Modus creates impact!

[vivriti]

Fabia and Polo may be same underneath but there are clears differences in how they look and feel.

Having got used to driving cars of Accord and bigger size, I feel a bit uncomfortable driving cars like Polo with their bonnets which seem to curve out of my view. I did not have the same level of discomfort with the Fabia which felt more spacious and richer compared to Polo.

Likewise, maybe someone who actually sat in a Micra and a Pulse would feel a difference.

I do feel however Renault-Nissan who recently built their second plant, is more concerned on exports. As far as local sales are concerned, they seem to be making efforts at slowly building a base rather than rushing out to capture the market.