[prakash_ajp]

The only takers I can think of for the Diesel version is hotels for their guests. I have seen some hotels opting for lower end diesel cars (Royal Orchid, Bangalore has about a dozen Linea MJD active variant)

[Sarvodaya]

I think the French Auto does not know how to market Cars in various markets. A Barebone Diesel with a small diesel engine and a CVT Version Petrol Engine and that too only one Model for each. Even Peugeot ditched the Indian Market. The bad management of Renault with Mahindra.

Renault is just wasting its time in India. Better they pack and leave.

[Chalu]

Fantastic review.
I hope Renault learns from this disaster so that next time they will be realistic and price well for what they provide.

[Rameshdude]

Cruze AT OTR,here is 16L. if Fluence petrol AT was priced around 12L, there would have been a few takers ,given the power,space and comfort of the car.

[vinodv001]

Renault, Why are you doing the same mistake again in the Indian market?

Don't we deserve better specs in the Diesel variant costing 13L?

Launch of Renault was also with higher price tag with low specs. Now Mahindra corrected price to the right band.

[RGK]

Very good review Stratos.

Except the standard wiper position for RHD, I do not see anything major improvement in this Linea sorry Fluence.

Why diesel is underpowered...then how Renault will stock-out its remaining 1.5 diesel motors?

[ajay387]

Originally Posted by Stratos

Other Points:

- At the time of launch, the Fluence will be sold in 12 cities across India via 14 dealerships.

- Anti-rust warranty of 5 Years / 1,00,000 kms.

- The only RHD Fluence in the world to get beige interiors.

- Electric folding mirrors only operate automatically when the smart card is placed in its slot.

- Auto dimming rear-view mirror standard with the Petrol, diesel gets a manual one.

- ARAI Fuel Efficiency Figures: Petrol = 13.42 kpl / Diesel = 21.84 kpl.

- Will be available in 4 colors options; beige, black, white and maroon.

- The Fluence which is based on the Megane scored 5-stars in the Euro NCAP Safety ratings.

- A Zero-Emission (Z.E) Fluence will go on sale by the end of 2011 in certain European markets.

- Expect to see huge Renault concept-car billboards in your city soon.

- Thanks to GTO for the additional points.

Disclaimer : Renault invited Team-BHP for the Fluence test-drive. They covered the accommodation expenses.

Yesterday there was an ad for the booking Fluence in newspaper, with all renault concept cars as picture's on mulptiple pages, with the fluence nowhere to be seen.

Was in thoughts whether this is an ad for fluence booking or display of concept cars

[Turbo Head]

Wonderful review Stratos.

It appears more like an up-marketed/spruced up Logan than a proper luxury car.
Stereo/Mobile controller, start stop button, rev counter, seat adjusters and even steering feels cheap and out of place.

Renault have to work really hard on ergonomics of the car if they have to stay here for long and should keep bottom to top approach (how about a good diesel hatch under 5 lac) rather than fancying competing with T, H and Chevy Badges.

[rohanjf]

I went through today's ToI the moment I got my hands on it, searching for one Renault ad (with or without the photo of Fluence). I could not find any. I was hoping that, after showing concept cars yesterday to create curiosity among public, they would have one more ad today with either more concepts, or with Fluence.

On second thoughts, was the ad so lame that I missed it?
It seems that Renault is doing everything wrong. Typical case study for MBA students ;-)

On the brighter side, after a flop called Fluence, they might place Koleos competitively. I would love to see Koleos priced the same as Fluence.

On a funny note (and OT), I am not going to call any movie a flop. I am going to call it a Fluence!

[NoRules]

Originally Posted by designersf

My instinct - Ad campaigns maybe to tell the common man who Renault are. I think they need to build up the brand now as they are starting from scratch. They might follow it up with ad campaigns showing the Fluence.

In which case it would have made more sense if they started the campaign much before they launched Fluence. Introduce the company with a long and sustained campaign and then announce the car. What you see here is a combination of build up and the climax. The same ad asks you to book the Fluence.

[skyline gtr r34]

Originally Posted by rohanjf

I went through today's ToI the moment I got my hands on it, searching for one Renault ad (with or without the photo of Fluence). I could not find any. I was hoping that, after showing concept cars yesterday to create curiosity among public, they would have one more ad today with either more concepts, or with Fluence.

On second thoughts, was the ad so lame that I missed it?
It seems that Renault is doing everything wrong. Typical case study for MBA students ;-)

On the brighter side, after a flop called Fluence, they might place Koleos competitively. I would love to see Koleos priced the same as Fluence.

On a funny note (and OT), I am not going to call any movie a flop. I am going to call it a Fluence!

Koleos will be priced at 20 lakhs or more , the dacia duster will be priced from 8-12 lakhs . The fluence was a car i was definetly planning to buy after seeing it at the auto expo , but for the price the diesel seems too sparsely equipped , might have to wait for a better equipped version .

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

The only takers I can think of for the Diesel version is hotels for their guests. I have seen some hotels opting for lower end diesel cars (Royal Orchid, Bangalore has about a dozen Linea MJD active variant)

+1 to this... was thinking exactly the same thing. but why would they buy the fluence paying that premium amount of 13+ when they can get (like you quoted) a Linea MJD itself at ~9L OTR As for the petrol, I wonder whether there would be any takers at all

[zulfi hansi]

Looks like Renault is so happy with success of Logan in the Taxi market that they made the Fluence Diesel just custom made for them!! What else explains this, bare minimum options, under powered engine, absolutely nothing for the driver.

(I do not want to believe they just want to get back to Mahindra after a bitter divorce, and want to stop the 'success' of Logan with Fluence TAXI!!)

[MaserQ]

The Fluence is a smart looking car and from the review, it appears to be well put together. But Renault should have learnt their lesson and priced the Fluence smartly. And the feature list on the diesel is almost embarrassing! This one is headed straight for discount season.

For Renault India, this is as much an image/brand re-building exercise as it is the launch of a new car. Maybe a bit more localization might have kept the cost down?

Anyhow, all is not lost. Their sister brand, Nissan, launched the Teana & the X-Trail to start with and clearly, they were not competing on price either. And now they are not doing too badly with the Micra. The one big difference is that unlike Nissan, Renault have the ghost of the Logan hanging over them.

[naren_kk]

I TOO SHOCKED!!!!

1. Whom are the customer for them...

2. If they are trying to introduce some produts to market you have to first study the market and then lauch it accordingly... They have to seriously learn this from existing car manufactures in India...

3. Seems to be a Big Big flop model....

4. Logan was bit successfull becuase of MERU cab.. say thanks to them...

Lets wait and watch the fun

Regards