[mohandasnikhil]

Originally Posted by dezrskb

Hi
You seem to be the right person to answer my query.
I am in a dilemma deciding between D1 sedan / top of C2 and probably will have finance enough to go for a D1. I too have to decide between Laura / Jetta / Fluence. My query is this - having driven Jetta and Fluence and considering that occasions on which I will be driving very fast and needing all that power will be very few, (in all these last 10 yrs of my driving I have never crossed 130kmph as very few highways are suitable for this though I agree we will be seeing more highways getting converted to 4-6 lanes) Do you consider a underpowered Fluence a deal breaker? Will I have serious trouble overtaking on a highway? I have Diesel E4 automatic in mind.

Like Shiva pointed out the Fluence Diesel doesn't come with an Automatic. If you want a diesel auto you'd have to choose between the Laura, Jetta and Cruze.
For your query you can refer to my ownership thread on the Fluence in the appropriate section.
In short I don't think the underpowered Fluence is a very big letdown on the highway. You can overtake comfortable, maybe have to shift gears more frequently than the Jetta to keep the engine on boil, but definitely not something you can't live with.
In my opinion if you keep engine performance out of the equation the Fluence is a much better VFM package than the Jetta.

[Debcha]

Originally Posted by dezrskb

Hi
You seem to be the right person to answer my query.
I am in a dilemma deciding between D1 sedan / top of C2 and probably will have finance enough to go for a D1. I too have to decide between Laura / Jetta / Fluence. My query is this - having driven Jetta and Fluence and considering that occasions on which I will be driving very fast and needing all that power will be very few, (in all these last 10 yrs of my driving I have never crossed 130kmph as very few highways are suitable for this though I agree we will be seeing more highways getting converted to 4-6 lanes) Do you consider a underpowered Fluence a deal breaker? Will I have serious trouble overtaking on a highway? I have Diesel E4 automatic in mind.

As has already been already pointed out Fluence does not have a Auto option. Having said that, I believe too much is being said about the car being underpowered. It is safe, stable, noiseless - in short, it drives like a charm.

My thought is that for any car you need to adapt & adopt - the dimesion, the visibility, the response & the power. Once you have got a hang of it, it is the driver in you that performs & not the car (most of the times ) I am sure we all have seen the most zippiest cars being driven as a bullock cart & the most under-powered ones as a race car.

Each car will have some pros & cons and I usually follow the process of listing down all features available in a segment & then dividing it into 3 groups - Must have, Good to have & not necessary. Even non-tangiables like looks or status symbol or even exclusivity can be bucketed here. It then becomes a more scientific decision & I have usually been more at peace after taking a decision this way. Good luck in choosing

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by mohandasnikhil

Like Shiva pointed out the Fluence Diesel doesn't come with an Automatic. If you want a diesel auto you'd have to choose between the Laura, Jetta and Cruze.
For your query you can refer to my ownership thread on the Fluence in the appropriate section.
In short I don't think the underpowered Fluence is a very big letdown on the highway. You can overtake comfortable, maybe have to shift gears more frequently than the Jetta to keep the engine on boil, but definitely not something you can't live with.
In my opinion if you keep engine performance out of the equation the Fluence is a much better VFM package than the Jetta.

I agree. Jetta is far from being a VFM product. BTW, had one question. How is the after sales experience of Renault?

[Debcha]

Originally Posted by shivasuma

I agree. Jetta is far from being a VFM product. BTW, had one question. How is the after sales experience of Renault?

My 2nd service is due at 10K which is the real one & should happen in a month or so. The first one @ 2K was a general check-up. The dealer was very couteous & my car was picked up & dropped FOC. Insides were clean & neat. Overall good experience. I had picked up a 4 yrs / 40K maintainance contract with Renualt, hence I believe my services will also be FOC

The guys in Renualt Bangalore seem to be otherwise very decent & responsive - even to questions / doubts asked over the phone. Hope this helps

[mohandasnikhil]

Originally Posted by shivasuma

I agree. Jetta is far from being a VFM product. BTW, had one question. How is the after sales experience of Renault?

Way better than VW! Very professional. Don't know what effect the Duster sales will have though!

[dezrskb]

Well said Debcha. Those were my exact feelings too. I'm not a fan of un-necessary luxury features which I will rarely use. I dont think I will drive my car beyond 120-130 many times. But I want my car to be rock solid at this speed with all possible safety features. Lets see how it goes.
Thanks again.

[dezrskb]

Originally Posted by Debcha

My 2nd service is due at 10K which is the real one & should happen in a month or so. The first one @ 2K was a general check-up. The dealer was very couteous & my car was picked up & dropped FOC. Insides were clean & neat. Overall good experience. I had picked up a 4 yrs / 40K maintainance contract with Renualt, hence I believe my services will also be FOC

The guys in Renualt Bangalore seem to be otherwise very decent & responsive - even to questions / doubts asked over the phone. Hope this helps

Renault without Mahindra is new to market. So I guess they will be very courteous, professional, co-operative and will have sufficient free time to dedicate to each and every vehicle and customer queries. No doubt these are bare essentials for anybody to be successful but once a company is very successful / has few competitors, then you see their employees gradually becoming arrogant and negligent and will try to cut corners and interior cleaning and washing quality comes down. Hope Renault becomes successful and still be good in future

[ACM]

Have been seeing a fair number of fluence on Thane ghodbunder road. I guess in pockets the vehicle has indeed gained a bit of traction. Especially post duster and close to service outlets. Love its looks and somehow if one is ok with driving in a reasonably relaxed manner it seems to better the Laura, Jetta and cruz. Even the Laura when ut first came had only about 105 bhp though the DSG quick action shifts helped acceleration the fluence does seem adequately powered besides being the best looked in the lot.

[johy]

I looked at the Fluence today and was came back really impressed. I had thought the prices had been slashed recently in April 2012. However, the ex-showroom prices in Siliguri are:

E2 - 1373952
E4 - 1574528
E4 (Petrol) - 1581721

[vrhuman]

After a long wait and few repeated comparative test drives of Fluence and Duster i preferred to pick and Own the Fluence E2. Once again thank team for the excellent posts and surely the official review.

[sathyaprakash]

Originally Posted by vrhuman

After a long wait and few repeated comparative test drives of Fluence and Duster i preferred to pick and Own the Fluence E2. Once again thank team for the excellent posts and surely the official review.

Nice to hear that you have selected a good sedan at the cost of top end Duster can you please elaborate on the various aspects compared while selecting Fluence. What are the features unavailable in Fluence E2 compared to Duster top end.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by vrhuman

After a long wait and few repeated comparative test drives of Fluence and Duster i preferred to pick and Own the Fluence E2. Once again thank team for the excellent posts and surely the official review.

Good decision indeed. Many of the buyers may oscillate between C2 sedans and Duster, but not many have thought of this excellent option in the D1 segment. A good buy with all standard safety features like Airbags, ABS, ASR, ESP, disc brakes all around etc. Does the E2 also have similar engine upgrade as the new E4?

[BUXX]

^^ no, it does not. It has the "older" engine: chock full of turbo lag !

[sagpatel]

Originally Posted by BUXX

^^ no, it does not. It has the "older" engine: chock full of turbo lag !

Actually thats not true. Now even the E2 is updated with the newer engine. The website is also updated and the dealers are also saying the same. However, when i went to TD the fluence at andheri mumbai, the sales guy showed me an E2 saying it has the new 110 ps engine, i opened the hood and saw a bit of rust immediately i asked to see the E4. The newer engine comes with 110ps written on top of engine. I pointed this out and the sales guy then agreed that they still have stock of old E2 left. So my point is if one is looking to buy an E2 please make sure it has the newer 110 ps engine as you may get fooled.

Sagpatel

[designersf]

Originally Posted by sagpatel

Actually thats not true. Now even the E2 is updated with the newer engine. The website is also updated and the dealers are also saying the same. However, when i went to TD the fluence at andheri mumbai, the sales guy showed me an E2 saying it has the new 110 ps engine, i opened the hood and saw a bit of rust immediately i asked to see the E4. The newer engine comes with 110ps written on top of engine. I pointed this out and the sales guy then agreed that they still have stock of old E2 left. So my point is if one is looking to buy an E2 please make sure it has the newer 110 ps engine as you may get fooled.

Sagpatel

I was at the Chennai dealer last week to check out the Duster. The updated Fluence E2 comes with the 110ps. Maybe the 105ps are the old stocks.