[p'arth]

Originally Posted by Abh1nav

Read a tweet by Sid V Patankar, saying that Carlos Ghon has confirmed that the car will be priced between 3-4 Lacs.

Which means it will start at 3.99 ex-showroom for base variant in Delhi.

[methecupid]

It definitely has that wow feeling that the Eon has enjoyed until now. The Alto will be difficult to beat because of its mass market appeal, but the Renault baby-Duster has a lot of potential, specially in the metros.

Some very apparent observations;

- the music system has both Aux and USB connectivity.
- the car will have only front power windows
- the power window buttons are on the dash, just below the music system

Do we have more details on the variant and pricing?

[amitg79]

This is a very impressive car. The official photo in green absolutely blew me away (love that front grill) and made it seem like a much larger car. Only when I saw the photos with people standing by, I realized how small it is.
I hope they have an automatic variant as well. Would be a nice city car.

[poloman]

360' Walkaround

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA6jGQ2QzQw

[VinodDevil81]

Originally Posted by sai_ace

Got these images on Whatsapp. If this is the design that Renault wants to unleash in the EON segment..then WOW!!

That looks truly awesome! If launched without any major changes, it should undoubtedly become the best looking car in that segment (or may be from a segment above too).Suddenly Hyundai cars have become very outdated to me after seeing these pics. The Eon will appear even more weird when viewed side-by-side with this well-proportioned design.The Renault designers have done a fantastic job.

But still the segment leader, MSIL has no reason to worry IMHO because their customers have a totally different set of priorities.It is not because of any good looks that they are selling Altos and WagonRs like hot cakes.They have a total different area of strength which is their nation-wide service network.This is what Renault (or for that matter, any manufacturer) should address, if they need to make any impact on MSIL's sales.

[Arjun Reddy]

Renault have finally woken up with a nice design. Kwid looks fresh and bold. Love the SUVish stance. Will love to see it in flesh before I comment further. This car looks like it can take Renault into the mainstream.

Would be interesting if they can put in their 1.5 diesel into this car and say retail it for around the 7.5 lakh on road.

Over to their service network to do a good job.

[jkdas]

Excellent pricing!
Stunning looks and wannabe mini-SUV
Someone who wants Alto but a better quality one and with i10 Grand's looks!

[arin_12]

Small car with SUV look. I feel this can be a deal breaker for Renault. Hope they sort out the issue of dealer network very soon.

[JayD]

Excellent pricing, and kudos to renault for opening up a new segment. The micro SUV. I was hearing that there is an AMT version on the cards, any news? Was almost ready to put down a deposit on a nano xta. Now confused!


PS: I wonder why renault took all the effort to cut down costs like 3bolt wheels etc, and splurged on a touch screen sat nav system, which is really not needed in this class.

[rahul412]

Some Interior pic. Courtesy:Indianautosblog

looks like it has a closed glovebox as well

[RSR]

They've done it again!

Carlos Ghosn has got his crack team of low-cost car designers to deliver another masterpiece of frugal engineering, after the Renault/Dacia Logan (and all its derivatives).

In about five years time, the car that was unveiled today will become a common sight in several parts of the world. South Asia, South-East Asia, North Africa, Southern Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe or any of the so-called "emerging markets" - the Kwid will be present there, carrying different badges such as Renault, Dacia and Datsun.

I K(w)id you not!

One has got to hand it to Carlos Ghosn for learning so quickly from past mistakes. The last time he was here, the Renault-Nissan Alliance put up a similar show during the unveiling of the Datsun Go. The buzz at that time was lukewarm at best, on the lines of - "Hmmmm! Yeah, the Go has a few advantages over its competitors, but the market response to a completely new brand, patchy support network and a product with too much visible cost-cutting needs to be seen."

Needless to say, the Go flopped miserably. Apart from network inadequacies and visible cost-cutting, invisible cost-cutting proved to be the final nail in its coffin.

This time around, the reaction at Monsieur Ghosn's unveiling is - "Wow! That's a baby Duster. Renault have a winner on their hands with this new K(w)id on the block."

The Kwid does have many winning attributes:

-> It's built on an all-new platform, the CMF-A, as confirmed by Monsieur Ghosn. Unlike with the Datsun Go/Go+, Renault-Nissan are not getting into the platform recycling business this time.

-> CMF-A is the low cost branch of Renault-Nissan Alliance's new modular platform, the CMF or Common Module Family. All that parts sharing activity (along with a very high % of localisation for the CMF-A) surely had a role to play in the promised mouth-watering price tag of 3 ~ 4 lac rupees.

-> It looks much bigger (and more spacious) than its direct rivals in the A-segment. At 3678mm in length, it's more like a basic B-segment car than an A or A+ segment one.

-> Baby Duster is what it would look like to someone who sees it for the first time. With all the attributes of a cross-over - high GC of at least 180mm, very short front & rear overhangs, a visibly long travel suspension and high profile tyres, not to mention the add-on cladding bits, Renault have taken the crossover hatchback mainstream, instead of being an artificial additional & pricier variant family.

-> The interior, though basic, does not appear to be cheap at all - something the Go & Go+ suffer from. Clever bits like the all-digital instrument cluster and touchscreen satellite navigation system manage to impart a desirable feel to the interiors.

-> Safety - one hopes they have learnt their lessons from the G-NCAP fiasco. As long as they have not tinkered with the structure too much in the name of cost-cutting, the CMF-A should be able to meet the legally mandated minimum crash safety norms (not yet in place in India). It would not be able to get a 5* Euro-NCAP score, but I think the airbag-equipped version should be good enough to get at least a 3* rating on the G-NCAP.

-> At least a driver airbag seems to be present, going by the airbag-indicator light on the instrument cluster - hope it is offered as standard across the range. A passenger airbag and ABS can be offered as optional features.

-> There are reports indicating that apart from an 800cc engine, it may also get a 1000cc motor along with an optional AMT.

-> If it was the French engineers who designed the suspension (as I believe the case to be), then one can be assured of the best-in-class ride quality. The French are the masters of designing suspensions with the best ride quality, period. Cars in this segment generally offer unsettled ride quality, thanks to dimensional limitations. All that could change when the Kwid rolls out. I believe the Kwid could potentially rival cars from a segment or two above when it comes to ride quality.

Still, I have some concerns about the Kwid. A fair amount of cost-cutting is visible, both on the outside and inside. Although one's attention gets diverted from the cost-cutting bits thanks to the car's overall design and the use of some clever bits, these may manifest themselves during everyday use. I do hope the production models have some improved bits when compared to these initial prototypes.

Would an 800cc engine be enough to power a car of this size? This looks much bigger than an Alto or Eon, and we've had people complain of ordinary performance from these 800cc cars. Their manufacturers have solved these complaints by offering 1 litre engines.

I hope only the lower variants get the 800cc engine, in order to meet the price target. The mid and higher variants definitely need at least a 1 litre engine, producing 65+ PS. The 68 PS 1.2 litre petrol from the Nissan Micra Active / Datsun Go would also make a good choice, thanks to its smoothness and low & mid range torque characteristics.

I think this new K(w)id is going to light up quite a few Indian homes with its presence during this year's festive season. Well done, Renault!

[needforspeed88]

Fantastic. Very muscular, great proportions. Renault have made this car look desirable and aspirational. Renault have managed to make it look more expensive than its price tag. This is a refreshing design philosophy on a small car. Kudos to Renault for breaking the mold and treading a new path. I wish Renault plonk a more powerful engine as an option with ABS and Air Bags. This car has the potential to take on cars a segment above.

[Vigkey]

Awesome design - especially considering this will be competing against the Altos and Eons. Looks a size bigger for the segment. Doesn't it?? But they should have gone with a 1L engine IMO. If the 800cc can produce similar power figures as the Alto, then it should be good. I somehow feel the design and size competes against the Wagon-Rs and Celerios and i10s but the Engine against the Altos and Eons. Basically this can take away some sales from both segments IMO

The front has a lot of Honda inspiration IMO - pretty similar to the smiling face of CRV / Jazz (am I over-stating??) The Fog-lamp enclosures are also pretty similar to the Jazz's. The Brio should have looked like this - Imagine how much it would have sold if it had??

Hi-tech stuff like Digital instrument console and 7" touchscreen HU + NAV (something not found even 5 segments up - Even most of the C-segment sedans give it a miss) will definitely pull in crowd - master-stroke by Renault IMO. The Black cladding on the doors is very similar to the Grand i10.

The SUV-like stance and a mini-Duster profile will definitely help the sales. Overall cost-cutting aside, looks like an excellent product from Renault - not a cost-cut tin can on 4-wheels like the Datsun Go. All the best Renault!!!

[utsav1303]

http://auto.ndtv.com/news/renault-kw...-season-764573

More details and webcast for Renault Kwid

http://www.rushlane.com/renault-kwid-photos-unveil-india-12153125.html

[swiftdiesel]

I could see Laurens van den Acker in the press photos. He is the head of design at Renault and I'm sure the Kwid is his creation. Pretty cool design and I could see the semblance with European Renault Clio and Captur. Smart move by Mr. Ghosn to let van den Acker style this one; goes on to show how mature the Indian market's become. Soon we should be rubbing shoulders with European designs. Thumbs up to Renault from me! If I had to nitpick, would have loved a diesel on it with a fully loaded variant.