Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Official New Car Reviews (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/)

-   -   Renault Fluence : Test Drive & Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/101671-renault-fluence-test-drive-review-16.html)

Thanks Vid for the detailed drive report. I was actually looking for one on the E4 diesel. I feel Renault have priced it quite well (for a fully loaded diesel). Just that I don’t understand why they came up with this 4 airbags set, instead of 6.

Does the E4 diesel retains the same beige coloured steering as the Petrol?

Yes the diesel E4 does have the beige steering, beige interiors and wood finish.

It is indeed VFM. I compared the prices with Altis, Jetta, Cruze and Laura and it looks to be the most VFM option.

Altis G D - 13.8L ex-showroom
Altis GL D - 15.08L ex-showroom
Laura Ambition 2.0 TDI MT (110bhp) - 14.25L ex-showroom
Laura Elegance 2.0 TDI MT (110bhp) - 15.75L ex-showroom
VW Jetta Trendline 2.0 TDI MT (140bhp) - 14.3L ex-showroom
VW Jetta Comfortline 2.0 TDI MT (140bhp) - 15.7L ex-showroom
Chevrolet Cruze LTZ - 13.82L ex-showroom
Renault Fluence Diesel E2 - 13.02L ex-showroom
Renault Fluence Diesel E4 - 14.45L ex-showroom

The Cruze is the cheapest but after you sit in the Fluence, the Cruze feels a segment lower in terms of interior space and interior quality.

The Jetta Trendline and Laura Ambition which are the lowest trims available are priced a little lower than the fully loaded Fluence. If you want similar kit than Fluence you need to compare with the Comfortline, Elecgance trim which is 1.3L more.

Adding to what Viddy said

1: The driving postion etc is spot on
2: The cabin ambience while no Merc / BMW is better than a Skoda
3; Who said Renaults are overpriced - carry on from the Logan days. However, the Koleos is overpriced, it should be priced 2 lakhs above the Yeti
4: Performance is adequate - slot in a 2 litre diesel or even a 2 litre manual petrol and I will look again

10 min later, we went to drive a Yeti - it had great driving dynamics but the Renault interiors spolit it for us in terms of interior ambience for the money!

Thanks Vid for the price comparison! Very helpful indeed.
And with the additional kit offered in the diesel E4, it looks much more VFM than the E2 trim (with a difference of around 1.5 lakhs).

Any idea where the Indian Fluence is manufactured? Is CKD kit is coming from Turkey, or it is coming from the Renault Samsung facility in Busan, S. Korea?

From Turkey.

Korean Fluence (called Samsung SM3) looks different from the front.

I'm not sure about that but something amusing I noticed when I looked at the genuine accessories boxes.

All the boxes had written Renault genuine parts but were made in Korea by Renault Samsung and imported by Nissan India. Talk about sharing.

Thanks Smartcat! I posted this question because I noticed that here in Singapore, the Fluence is a CBU from the Samsung facility in Busan.

Thanks Vid.
Yes, offlate Renault cars are a mix of Japanese, Korean and French engineering. They have gained a lot from Nissan’s quality control, but still managed to retained the French flair.

And I guess the part sharing will be almost identical to how it is done between VW and Skoda cars.

How is the ingress/egress and seat height compared to the Altis. The Toyota IIRC is the only tall boy seadan in its class

Ingress/egress is slightly lower but seat height is more and the rear has better under thigh support. Legroom is much better in the rear and the rear gets dedicated AC vents, and sun blinds for the side windows as well. Rear passengers are well taken care of.

Excellent review!

Read this thread in detail and was shocked to see the number of negative comments on this car. Dont take me wrong - But most people have written off the car without even taking a test drive. Too much of prejudice against Renault it looks like.

I took a test drive yesterday and the only downside I could feel is that the initial pick up is sluggish. Other than that it is an excellent package.

The controls being LH drive oriented - This is not the first car in India that has this problem. Chevrolet, Ford etc have this issue and people have lived with it. True that Renault should have fixed this, but this not a reason for disliking a car. It takes just a day or two to get used to.

Diesel having very few features - Now they have fixed it. The E4 variant has all the gizmos that the competitors have.

The build quality is just awesome. And the suspension is also well suited for the Indian conditions.

Again, this is not to offend anyone. Just my personal opinion.

Hope with the E4 variant Fluence finds more customers. I sure am one. Getting mine in a couple of weeks. :thumbs up

@Mpower,
Ingress and egress is easy,and once inside you will find yourself in a high seated position. The elders will find this car comfortable.

@GaneshRam,
Read this thread in detail and was shocked to see the number of negative comments on this car. Dont take me wrong - But most people have written off the car without even taking a test drive. Too much of prejudice against Renault it looks like.

So much true. In many ownership threads it is like "Fluence,never even considered it" .
I began to wonder,if I had missed out on something . And finally, Ajmat's and Vid's posts was a morale booster for me. Ofcourse many things are an individual preferences and requirements.

Renault, with their meager sales network are still able to sell a decent number of Fluence every month.

Congrats on your choice,have you decided on the color?

The E4 has a new color, Silver. Have always been a fan of Silver because it is light on maintenance. So planning to for it.

Congrats Ganeshram.

As a few others have commented, I also feel that Renault was unfairly pulled down in comments by many.

I was in active search mode for a sedan and had taken a detailed test drive of FLuence (both petrol and diesel) end of 2011. Really liked the build quality as well as the handling. It was right there in the top of my list along with Jetta.

My only reason to hold on at that time was the absence of a MT Petrol. I dont need an AT, and with my running less that 7000 k per year, I dont need a Diesel.

If Fluence has a petrol MT, I would have been driving one now.

I have been using a Logan for 4 years and can tell you (not that I need to say this) - the Renaults keep running without any issues. This Diesel engine is a gem.

Hope Renault launches a MT petrol soon.... dont understand why they are not!

best
Ajith

New twist!

Took 3 test drives of the Fluence. Excellent sales support from Renault Bangalore. Nishanth, the Sales Exectuive was quite helpful. But at the end of the day the question was whether to sell my Corolla(2007) and get the Fluence.

I was for in , because of the build quality, the proven diesel engine etc etc. The only negative was the poor pickup. But the fairer sex in my family(Read my wife and mom) were clear -The rear seat comfort is not as good as the Corolla. Sigh! You know who wins.

Test drove the Jetta. IMO, the Fluence is more VFM than the Jetta.

So the verdict is clear. Upgrade from the current segment(Read Passat, Superb etc) or keep the Corolla.

Now waiting for the new Sonata. Hyundai, please launch one with a diesel heart!

On this thread after a very long time. Have yet to see the car from inside. Just wanted to share impressions of how it looks from the outside.

I think it oozes character and class.
The more I see it, the more I appreciate it. If a choice of car talks about a person, seeing someone in one may make me think of a person as independent minded (not following the herd of ~). As someone with good taste. And unlike most other cars, I like it a lot from different directions; from the front, side and from the rear. This car has appeal.

Will probably get induced into a meaningless TD, just because of how it looks.