Team-BHP - Renault Kwid AMT (Automatic) : Official Review

Made the decision finally, and purchased a Celerio ZXi AMT(O). Got a discount of 25k which ended up around 5.74 on-road. This car is primarily for my wife as an A - B commuter. Swift stays as my daily driver.

Some quick notes:

1) I never had a surprising upshift on the way uphill, in fact it held on to the gear a couple of times when I thought I would've shifted up.
2) Creep is really useful in B to B traffic
3) Manual mode is not for enthusiasts, it's slow. However, it really helps in tight overtaking maneuvers to make sure it doesn't upshift.
4) Upshifts are mostly unnoticeable, while downshifts especially 2-1 can be really felt.
5) FE hovers around 18.5 km/l.
6) There is practically zero initialisation time as the AMT starts getting ready at the moment the door is unlocked.

What I experienced during the TD on Kwid which wasn't there on Celerio

1) On Kwid, it "felt" the shifts are much slower and sometimes jerky. While downshifting it always felt like a co-driver is there changing gears.
2) Lack of a gear lever felt like a draconian change, I kept on touching the bottle kept in the middle which made me look like an idiot :D
3) Creep function was sorely missed in a heavy b to b traffic at one junction during the test drive.
4) Tried overtaking only once and the car upshifted right in the middle of the maneuver, even though I didn't cut down o the A-pedal which was definitely scary :eek: A software patch might easily get this fixed.

Overall, the Celerio felt more predictable in its behavior than Kwid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vijayrajthampi (Post 4133104)

Renault Kwid AMT - Ownership Review ( 1.5 Months and 1200 kms )
In real life, the point of taking an AMT is to not bother with the gear most of the time, and i think in the last 2 months, the un availability of a gear selector on the AMT hasn’t bothered me much. If you are confused between the Maruti's and the Renault the only things to differentiate between them are the availability of service centres and the suspension. Maruti has a brilliant network of service centres and the Kwid has a brilliant suspension setup. Apart from that, there isn't much to differentiate.

Thanks for the Great Review. I am in a position trying to decide between the Celerio AMT and the Kwid AMT as a vehicle that would be primarily driven by my wife. This review gave a good confidence level to consider the Kwid seriously once more after all the negative comments that were there on this thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhp_maniac (Post 4135412)

Some quick notes:

1) I never had a surprising upshift on the way uphill, in fact it held on to the gear a couple of times when I thought I would've shifted up.
2) Creep is really useful in B to B traffic
3) Manual mode is not for enthusiasts, it's slow. However, it really helps in tight overtaking maneuvers to make sure it doesn't upshift.
4) Upshifts are mostly unnoticeable, while downshifts especially 2-1 can be really felt.
5) FE hovers around 18.5 km/l.
6) There is practically zero initialisation time as the AMT starts getting ready at the moment the door is unlocked.

What I experienced during the TD on Kwid which wasn't there on Celerio

1) On Kwid, it "felt" the shifts are much slower and sometimes jerky. While downshifting it always felt like a co-driver is there changing gears.
2) Lack of a gear lever felt like a draconian change, I kept on touching the bottle kept in the middle which made me look like an idiot :D
3) Creep function was sorely missed in a heavy b to b traffic at one junction during the test drive.
4) Tried overtaking only once and the car upshifted right in the middle of the maneuver, even though I didn't cut down o the A-pedal which was definitely scary :eek: A software patch might easily get this fixed.

Overall, the Celerio felt more predictable in its behavior than Kwid.

I did a back to back Test Drive of the Celerio AMT and Kwid AMT and I must say I agree with most of the points that you have called out. To me the Creep function being present or absent did not mean much. I think either way it is - one will get used to it. But the Gear Change Experience on the Kwid is definetely inferior compared to the Celerio. The Engine makes a huge noise everytime you come to a standstill and then start to the move the car.
My wife too took the test drives on both cars and made the same comment on the overall behavior of the Kwid during gear shifts.

In my mind as I weigh the two cars, the following are the main factors that are making me tilt towards the Celerio:

1. The Gear Shift Experience of the Celerio is way better as compared to the Kwid.
2. The presence of the Manual Mode. I put the car on Manual in the Celerio and did some overtakes. I felt totally in control. I believe I would definitely use it while my wife may go with the AMT
3. The 14 inch wheels again tilt the balance in favor of Celerio
4. Option to go with ABS and Dual Airbags

Some things I will miss on the Celerio:
1. The looks, both interior and exterior are better in the Kwid. The futuristic Digital Speedo.
2. Touchscreen AVN - in the VXI variant Maruti gives a panel gap for a stereo :Frustrati
3. Fog Lamps - I guess its not there in the AMT variant that I am looking at but can surely be added as aftermarket
4. Boot Space of the Kwid

Now as I re-read what I wrote, all the things I would miss out in going with the Celerio insted of Kwid are cosmetic mainly. The core functional and safety aspects such as a Manual Mode and ABS are definitely worth having is what I am feeling convinced about.

Somewhere I feel let down by Renault. My dream of owning this amazingly good looking car which is Kwid seems to be soon becoming a thing of the past...I don't think even if it had a Manual Mode I would consider the Kwid in the current equation. The Automatic Gear Shift experience needs to be fixed...it seems like a Beta version...

Quote:

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa (Post 4135723)

Somewhere I feel let down by Renault. My dream of owning this amazingly good looking car which is Kwid seems to be soon becoming a thing of the past...I don't think even if it had a Manual Mode I would consider the Kwid in the current equation. The Automatic Gear Shift experience needs to be fixed...it seems like a Beta version...

I was in the same boat as you, in fact I felt in love with Kwid the moment it was launched and since then eagerly waited for the rumored AMT variant. But the test drive proved to be a disappointment. On a side note, the attitude of Renault sales team was equally disappointing! Finally, had to settle in for something else. As they say, that's life! :)

The AMT variant of Celerio ZXi(O) lacks the following over the manual variant.

1) Alloy wheels
2) Fog lamps
3) Central locking doesn't have any anti-theft security. Once you click the lock button, it just locks all the five doors and that's it.
4) Height adjustable driver seat

Quote:

Originally Posted by vijayrajthampi (Post 4133104)

Verdict.
If you are looking for a driver’s car, if you are worried about your rpms and the gear selection, if you are worried about apex and exit speeds, look beyond all AMTs . DSG is what you want.

In real life, the point of taking an AMT is to not bother with the gear most of the time, and i think in the last 2 months, the un availability of a gear selector on the AMT hasn’t bothered me much. If you are confused between the Maruti's and the Renault the only things to differentiate between them are the availability of service centres and the suspension. Maruti has a brilliant network of service centres and the Kwid has a brilliant suspension setup. Apart from that, there isn't much to differentiate.

The Kwid has also given me the confidence to take it on small trips which are less than 7 hrs. It's not as comfortable as any of my previous cars. But its 2 segments down , and does a decent job at that price point.

The gripe with the Kwid AMT will last till you realize what the car was made for. The car was not made to burn rubber, or do handbrake turns, or do redline shifts. It was made for my Wife, so she can commute from Point A to Point B , with minimum Fuss. And the occasional road trips. And it does precisely that.

**The lack of pics are because i never felt any pic would add more value to what is covered in the official review . There is a picture of everything except the door handle.

Couldn't have put it any better. I agree with you word by word.

Backstory

I took a big gamble pushing my FIL for this car. He had booked a Celerio as the Kwid hadn't launched then. I asked him to insist on the ZXI AMT option pack.

The MS showroom guys were pretty much inclined to push a VXI without the safety pack. They gave a month's waiting period. The Celerio costed around Rs.5,80,000 odd.

When the news of the AMT broke, I asked him to take a look. He test drove, liked it and booked it. But even Renault quoted a month's waiting.

In between he had checked the Grand i10 which was getting a bit too expensive along with other traditional automatic options.

Then Nov 8 happened. He got a call from Renault that he would get the car in a week if he made the payment. As there were no updates from MS, he went ahead paid by cheque and took delivery.

It cost him Rs. 5,04,000 which made quite the difference as this one was not being taken on a loan.

The MS guys turned up with a test drive car after he bought the car home. :Frustrati

1.5 months later

I was in Kerala over the last weekend and got to drive the Kwid AMT for around 100 kms.

To add some perspective I drive a Chevy Spark at home and my experience with automatics comes from

the 8000 odd kms I have driven on my fathers Honda City ZX CVT including its journey from Mumbai to Thrissur. Had not driven any AMT before this.

With the Kwid I didnt drive on any bumper to bumper traffic or heavy steep decline.

From my personal experience of the car;

Initially I was nervous, every time while braking I felt the car would stop. However it got better as I got to know the car better.

On inclines it gave me better confidence than my spark. I felt the accelerator initially just held the car and with additional input moved the car very comfortably.

Creep function was not missed. At signals and while parking the car behaved predictably.

Overtaking needed planning, for sedate drivers no issues but for people who like to zip and zap in and out of lanes it wont inspire much confidence.

Gearshifts are very much felt after all it is just a manual underneath the automation.

Conclusion;

It was tough pushing for a Renault, especially when the only showroom was 22 Kms away and more so when its "common sense" to buy a Maruti.

But Im very glad my FiL went for it. The Kwid is fantastic car and the AMT just makes it easier to drive. It has good presence and can hold its own amongst cars of higher segments.

My Fil, who rarely touched 60 KPH on his erstwhile Alto, bragged about driving at 100 KPH. Thankfully he started wearing seatbelts too.

Just like vijayrajthampi sir said its an Activa on 4 wheels, it doesnt get simpler than this.

But all said and done, the Kwid AMT would only be complete with a "sport" mode for faster intended acceleration.

I missed this, not just during overtakes but those small bursts of speed one needs to close in on the car in front of you on busy roads.

Maybe I'm already a fanboy but apart from lack of sports mode, no real deal breakers for me.

Here's the new Kwid kuttan Nair in pictures :D

Attachment 1603848

I had a chance to drive around in a Kwid AMT last weekend and since I was able to take it through various traffic conditions, I thought I should put my feedback in here as well.

+Ves:

Extremely nimble in the bumper to bumper traffic
Did not miss the creep feature a lot. I did Pune - Lonavla - Pune on it and even in the ghat section, I did not feel nervous driving through the inclines
For a hatch, the NVH was pretty decent at speeds around 80kmph. I drive an i10 1.2 and the NVH on the highway is not so impressive above 80-90kmph
Built in Navigation feature was easy and user-friendly. No issues with the Bluetooth connectivity either
Lot of little storage pockets inside the car.
Chunky steering wheel which thumb contours. Felt nice

-Ves:

Doors felt extremely light. It closed with a very unpleasant sound
MID was showing an FE of 16.5 kmpl. It might increase once the engine is run-in and after clocking a few more miles
There is some lag time between the gearshifts and it might irritate you when you are on the highway.
Blind spots. With those thick C-pillars, you find it a little difficult to reverse and all. But since the one I drove had reverse cam, it was okay for me. Not sure if it is OE fitment or an aftermarket accessory.

Overall, I would suggest this as a perfect car for city runs. Much better than putting similar dough for a Nano AMT or Alto AMT from my perspective.

Hope these little pointers helps the prospects.

Cheers,
R-Six

Hello fellas,

My wife bought the Kwid AMT a week ago and I have been driving it for the past few days upto 10-20 kms of a distance daily, so a few thoughts I wanted to share as a ( semi) owner :):

1. The AMT is good only to the extent of giving the left weary leg a rest for daily commuting. All in all, it is the cheapest automatic in the class and its only a choice of manual in a car versus automatic. The driveability of the car is not too great with the initial pick up, and as the gears change the jerks are pronounced.

2. The pick up from say 0-50 is very weak. This is largely because the car shifts slowly from gear to gear and takes a bit of time before the engine picks steam. My wife used to drive the I-10 earlier- manual gearshift- and she instantly observed the lack of zip as you may call it.

3. The car was rated 0 in NCAP tests last year but now they have perhap strengthened the overall structure and put driver side air bags so the latest rating was one star out of five- I understand that all other cars in its category still failed the test with zero on five. Marginally safe a car than it used to be till last year.

4. ICE screen is large and responsive to touch- Navigation maps are a plus but partially so, when google maps are used by all and sundry these days.

5. Sound quality out of the system is average- good enough to tell yourself that you have a music system in the car but nothing impressive. My cousin just bought a Tata Zest and music system blew me away!!

6. Ground clearance is more than sufficient, I have gone over potholes, ill constructed speedbreakers and everything akin, and they all have been brilliantly handled by the Kwid.

7. Car feels marginally solid than the Japanese cousins- Alto and M800- the doors do not feel like they are made of tin- but this is my perception-I am going just by the tone of 'thud' observed, nothing else.

8. Made a small mistake of buying insurance from the dealer- I had a notion you cannot buy new insurance from outside when you buy a new car but that was a mistake-its not mandatory to buy insurance from dealers- the dealers will charge almost 70-80% extra for the same IDV so always, always, always buy insurance from online portals or otherwise but never from the dealers.

All in all, I may just have culled statements from what has already been mentioned here on the forum by some other people, but I would sum it up by saying that the car is good as an automatic-- clearly so much better than manual for point to point driving- but that is that. It is not a high end automatic, the gear shifts are a tad jerky and the lack of creep function can be an iffy thing in bumper to bumper traffic/ going uphill on flyovers and needing to break.

On this note, I would welcome a few suggestions from fellow enthusiasts:

1. Someone mentioned that the car can be made to accelerate quickly if one takes his foot off pedal for a second at every successive 10 km speedo reading and presses it again. Is that true? I have not really tried it. Is there some way where the AMT can be tricked into accelerating faster? Pushing the accelerator hard just does not cut it.

2. If one is driving this car in bumper to bumper traffic, backward slope- then should one engage the handbrake to stop the car and accelerate with the pedal to move on and disengage hand brake automatically or should oen do something else? How does one stop the car from going backwards when it is standing still and the road has a backward/ forward slope?

Thanks guys!

R