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-   -   The Renault Kwid 1.0L. EDIT: Launched at Rs. 3.83 lakhs! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/171764-renault-kwid-1-0l-edit-launched-rs-3-83-lakhs-6.html)

I think the comparison is based on the price. If they can compare much expensive eon, why not the Tiago?

I guess we will soon find sites comparing wagon r and celerio with Kwid 1.0 as they have the same 68bhp output.

It looks more like their criteria is just 3-cylinder engines.:D
See the row corresponding to cylinder no. and you will get what I'm saying.
Thank God they left out Polo from this chart!

But don't you feel that comparing this with WagonR/Celerio makes even more sense than with Tiago?

Renault India has nailed it once again with the pricing.I am expecting more folks to go and buy this. Only thing which concerns me is the lack of safety features and the poor build quality.

If this is just 22k above existing 0.8 Kwid, I assume it is also carrying the same body shell as existing Kwid , which has fared poorly in crash tests.

Ideally they should have sold the version 3.0 being sold in brazil and priced it higher.

I think Renault will have to discount the 0.8 to move existing stock.

Regards
Sutripta

Excellent pricing. Considering a three-cylinder engine excluding transmission weighs around 100 kg, the 40 kg increase cannot be only from the engine. Maybe Renault has improved the body shell to address the safety concerns.

Now that 0.8 L is already a hit and selling in good numbers, Renault should have included ABS and 2 Airbags on 1 L engine version for an additional premium of Rs. 50-60 K.

Also an option of AMT (in pipeline) for another Rs 1.0 - 1.2 lakhs (including ABS + 2 Airbags).

Now, this would have opened up a wide range of options for customers to pick from 0.8 to 1.0 L versions. Given the current way, I wonder why would someone even think of picking the 0.8 L engine option with a price difference of only Rs 22k.

By the way, when are they going to make the Kwid structurally safe?

This is good pricing by Renault for sure. But they should have got one more model below to compete with more aggression. Overall nice package for sure. Young buyers will surely be attracted. 1.0 makes more sense for the buyer.

Now we should get ready for Maruti Ignis, i am sure they will price it very aggressively considering competition from Renault and others. That will be car to watch for IMHO. Maruti feeling the heat now and Renault is making in roads into their bread and butter business. They will surely come back strongly. God bless competition.

On side note, if i want to buy car around 4-4.5 Lacs, i will go for Tiago eye's closed. Its much better, bigger, better build and looks a segment above than others.

Great move with that pricing!

I sincerely hope Renault has beefed up the firewall to reduce the NVH intruding into the cabin. In my test drive of the 0.8L version, the engine noise was quite high in the cabin and rather made it an unpleasant prospect, though it ticked all other boxes (the engine felt a bit under powered, but then thats fixed now, ain't it?).

Renault hasn't mentioned the weight of the car in the brochure. I wanted to know how much the 1.0 has gained in weight but all I could see was a passing reference in the ACI review. (The Kwid 1.0 weighs about 700kg or 40kg more than its smaller-hearted sibling).

And unlike weight, Renault has been extremely vocal about the power to weight ratio. So, did some calculations. :)



So, that's a good start.

Now, we don't know whether the Power-to-Weight ratio published is for the base variant or the top variant for Kwid 0.8. Maybe the base variant for the ratio to be as high as possible.

The Kwid 1.0 is only available in the top variant, so some of this weight gain might be due to added kit. It needs to be seen how much of the gain is due to the bigger engine. Hopefully, our official review can throw some light there on the changes to the engine block if any etc.

Hopefully, this is Kwid (III) or (IV) and there is no change from right to left for the crash structure.

We can only hope until Global NCAP buys a piece off the market and do the honors. Over to you Mr. Max Mosley and team!


Yes, it looks tasteless. But thankfully, can easily be masked by opting for the Side cladding accessory while buying. And that accessory is well made and looks good too.

Renault is playing it smart as engine + transmission + white body are the key investments which is mainly done in-house by any company and rest of the components are sourced to vendors.

Renault claims more than 98% localization for Kwid and in this case only engine has undergone a change while rest of the things have been kept same. The provision of driver airbag (optional) was part of the overseas / export package and thus it is possible for Renault to price it aggressively.

It is also certain that a large number of Kwids should be on road to ensure margins (I am sure Renault is not making much money from the sales) and dealers have also agreed to operate on a thin margin (in most of the cases, principal dealers are consulted by manufacturers when a new product is launched).

Renault is keen on expanding to tier II and tier III cities and Kwid can come handy; they do not want to give any room to MSIL for pricing entry level product along side Kwid and keep it below the competition. Any experiment of extracting more money from buyers at this stage can boomerang.

How Kwid can help:

- It is a product for tier II and tier III cities and start up dealerships can afford to work on thin margins provided they don't have to hold the inventory, typically a FMCG kind of scenario which Kwid can support.

- Larger number of cars on road from a manufacturer can provide reasonable comfort to dealers for recurring after sales revenue, which is supported by a two prong approach
A) Keep aggressive pricing to ensure sale volumes
B) Give longer warranty to ensure the owner stays with the dealership for ASS and does not opt for FNG service

- Also longer / class leading warranties give a certain degree of comfort to the consumer that the company will ensure quality of product and there won't be any surprises

I for one am hoping that Renault will not increase the prices until 0.5 million Kwids are on road, and they want to reach this number before the new vehicle safety norms are implemented in India as there would be additional investments required by the companies for their entry level products to qualify / stay road worthy. A friend who is an auto sector analyst suggests that Renault is looking at a month-on-month sale of 10K for Kwid and will keep on bringing additional features every 6 months to keep the sales on boil.

What can be expected in due course:

Safety
- Passenger Air Bag
- ABS
- Additional structural members (after the regulation is in place)

Convenience
- AMT
- Push button start / true keyless operation; I am told that the cost of true keyless system has gone down by nearly 30% in last 1 year
- Plush interiors (including seats with detachable headrest)
- Additional storage / creature comforts

It is also expected that every new addition will start from top trim and will percolate down to lower trim at regular intervals / with every update of product.

Renault has made some serious learnings from Duster and this time they will keep themselves ahead of competition.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/53819372.cms

The Renault MD touted Kwid as the biggest make in India story.
Apart from the 1 L engine, let's hope they offer the Brazil Kwid specs (in terms of strength & safety) as a variant to the Indian buyer. We all lamented the fact that car-makers, Renault in this case, were giving us short shrift on those counts.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...4-airbags.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...s-heavier.html

Came across this price chart on ACI.

To the Mods - When is the review coming ? We need a small car at home and waiting for the review.

GTO has mentioned that the review shall be up next week.