[Vigkey]

I see a lot of apprehensions regarding how the market would reach to this car. I am pretty sure it will be positive. This car can pull the first car buyers into Renault showroom if advertised properly - I mean it should not be an arrogant ad like that of a Datsun Go ridiculing the competition or a uber-cool ad. The ad campaign should target the small family and first car buyers from the middle class segment - More like what the Amaze did and not like the irritating Mobilio ads.

This car looks fresh and very attractive - I mean, the black door handles also looks pretty cool (definitely not odd) on the red and green cars adding a sporty quotient - Thanks to the SUV-like stance and compliments the black cladding on the car - Brilliant styling coupled with cost-cutting.

When Team-BHPians and many others were praising Bolt / Zest for the looks, I always found them way too similar to the Vista which i considered was a big minus - and it reflects in the sales (The interiors were indeed revolutionary but definitely not the exteriors). Here, the similarity of Kwid with the Duster will be a big plus with the masses. Duster is a big hit and has an aspiration value and a hatchback similar to it will only help Renault.

Three things Renault should do - 1. Market this car properly and it should hit the masses well, 2. Price it sensibly and if possible give safety options, 3. Improve dealership and A.S.S and try to penetrate Tier-2 cities also.

[NiInJa]

I couldn't get the exact size of the car until I saw pictures of people standing next to it.
Renault has done a nice job with the exteriors. The interiors do look like a 3-4 lac rupee car but who cares ! They have hidden them smartly.
There are certain things like 3 bolts for each wheel, cheap looking seats and cramped rear but they all exist in that price bracket (and some of them can be upgraded using after-market parts).

Like Tyrion Lannister says :'Wear your weakness like an armor and no one will use it to hurt you'

What matters is whether the car makes you want to own it i.e. desirable. And Renault has scored big time here. I like how they are trying to maintain the perception of Indians that they make SUVs of all sizes !

[rahul412]

Lack of ABS and dual airbags (just driver side airbag) is a big downer. Please Renault consider these atleast as an option. Please please please.

[charanreddy]

This is an awesome product from Renault !

I am more and more inclining towards high Ground clearance 'cross' versions of cars for our driving conditions as I am sure many others are for sheer practicality.

If Renault launches this at a comparable pricing to Alto K10 or Wagon R, It has a winner. IMO it will replicate Duster's success as it is doing what Duster did to wannabe SUV owners, give the look and feel of a SUV at a much lesser price.

[echo77]

Originally Posted by rahul412

Lack of ABS and dual airbags (just passenger side airbag) is a big downer. Please Renault consider these atleast as an option. Please please please.

Can you point out which sub 4L car has ABS available even as option? I think they have gone by mass market expectations.

A quick search for under 5L cars with ABS gives me this:

WagonR VXI with ABS: 4.6L
WagonR Stingray ZXI(O): 4.8L
Celerio ZXI(O): 5L
Premier Rio GX: 5L
http://www.cardekho.com/filter/new-c...braking-system

Add Airbags and the Rio drops out.

[rahul412]

Originally Posted by echo77

Can you point out which sub 4L car has ABS available even as option? I think they have gone by mass market expectations.

.

Agree and I am ok if they stretch the price to 4.5 for an (O) variant with these basic feature. Its a global product so Renault should try to make it a complete package. Hope they will provide it at a later stage ( and a 1.0 ltr engine pls).

[ashutoshb]

Originally Posted by p'arth

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

I hope it doesn't.

In this video, Ghosn says "This car starts at 3 lakhs." (at 0:55), so hoping the top end would be close to 4L.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEQyT0bDhFo

----------

I spoke to the local Renault dealer, inquiring when does the booking start.

He didn't have a date, but says, we can make a booking now, on a Renault Pulse (As their software doesn't have a 'code' for the Kwid yet).

Once the booking for the Kwid starts, we would be given priority. One can make a booking for as low as 10k.

I am visiting the dealership tomorrow to make a booking.

[rrsteer]

The back of the car reminds me of the back of Mercedes GLA class - which is a good thing. Unlike the recent declaration by Chevrolet, Renault can realistically look to achieve 5% market share on the back of this product.

[Doge]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

The back of the car reminds me of the back of Mercedes GLA class - which is a good thing. Unlike the recent declaration by Chevrolet, Renault can realistically look to achieve 5% market share on the back of this product.

Looks a lot more like the grand i10 if you ask me!
This is almost unbelievable, the Renault looks really good and bigger than what it is. I really hope it sells well because it frankly deserves to sell a lot more than the alto.

[KreativeGeek]

I was planning to sell off my 5 year old Chevy Beat to buy Tata Nano AMT to minimize driving frustration of ever growing traffic situation in Hinjewadi, Pune. IMO Tata still struggles in getting car design right and there was too much compromise with Next Gen Nano even going with the advantage of AMT.

I must say Renault Kwid took me by sheer surprise, I would definitely TD AMT version of this car and if it meets my expectation of a decent city hatchback I'm surely going to book this one.

[anilp]

Ford Ecosport will have competition now. It's also likely to take away a fair chunk of the Swift, i20, etc. This looks good.

[ashok_lat]

Every thing looks good, except the seats and Power window switch placements. Front seats with adjustable headrest would have added much difference in the interior looks and comfort.

[aaggoswami]

Is this car based on Datsun Go Platform ?
If Yes, Wagon R is a slightly expensive but much better proposition than Kwid.
The side profile somehow makes me feel that this could be a car based on Go platform.

Else, the car can literally take a large chunk of small car market with Alto, Nano and Eon running for cover. Will have to see practically how it looks. Giving SUV-ish styling in a low slung car is pulled off by Renault really well. This is much more mature design than Fluidic design theme by Hyundai ( just my opinion )

For once, I thought of replacing my Wagon R with this car, but would wait for crash test results before making a move.

PS : Cannot reveal and/or confirm, but I did receive some information that the platform of Kwid is similar or slightly modified Go platform. As I received this information via a longer channel, I am posting it last in my post.

[rahul412]

Read somewhere that the weight the car is just 650 kgs. Thats too light just 50% of Polo and Punto. Must see the crash results.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Is this car based on Datsun Go Platform ?
If Yes, Wagon R is a slightly expensive but much better proposition than Kwid.
The side profile somehow makes me feel that this could be a car based on Go platform.

Else, the car can literally take a large chunk of small car market with Alto, Nano and Eon running for cover. Will have to see practically how it looks. Giving SUV-ish styling in a low slung car is pulled off by Renault really well. This is much more mature design than Fluidic design theme by Hyundai ( just my opinion )

For once, I thought of replacing my Wagon R with this car, but would wait for crash test results before making a move.

PS : Cannot reveal and/or confirm, but I did receive some information that the platform of Kwid is similar or slightly modified Go platform. As I received this information via a longer channel, I am posting it last in my post.

Your concern about the safety of this car is totally understandable but I don't think cars using the same or similar platform will necessarily have the same safety standards. Now-a-days, car platforms are very versatile which can accommodate a wide variety of cars. Given the crash test results of the GO, it is right to be anxious about the safety of this car but I guess the amount of negative publicity received by Nissan for the GO has seriously dented its reputation and I don't think Renault will repeat the same mistake.

On another note, do we have any crash test reports of the India spec WagonR? I have not come across many but I doubt it will be any better than Alto which performed terribly in the crash tests (though better than the Go).

Given the target market, do you guys think the majority of buyers in this segment are aware of or really care about the crash tests and safety standards?