Renault recently launched the Koleos in New Delhi at a surprisingly high price which made a news. Now the brand is yet again in the news but this time around for a small car. A hatchback has been spotted on the roads of Chennai with no literally camouflage on, though the badges were still hidden. The car is Renault’s product but what we have seen was unexpected.
the French automaker previously said that they will be launching a new model in the country during the winter season but it also assured that the model will be entirely new and will bear no resemblance with any ongoing global model. What surprised us was that the car in the spy shots resemble Renault Modus, which is a successful global MPV , and its not a new model. This has created a lot of confusion as which car would make it to the market ? A new Modus MPV positioned in premium hatchback segment or a completely new model which is still behind the curtains.
If you look at the Modus as an MPV, it might not bother you because of its unconventional and uniquely unappealing looks. But If you do consider as an upcoming small car then definitely it does not stand a chance in looks in front of tough competitors like Hyundai i20, Honda Jazz,Fiat Grande Punto etc. Talking about the looks , it gets an unconventional split grille and enormous headlamps. The shoulder lines are straight and a considerable part of the body is of glass which makes it look even bigger.
The ongoing Modus in UK is offered with enough features that one would expect here in India. Some of them are automatic headlights, ‘see me home’ headlights and rain sensing wipers, USB and iPod ports within the front glove box and rear parking proximity sensors.
Other features include cruise control, electric power assisted steering and height adjustable driver seat, airbags, ABS and EBD. But considering the fact that soon it would be seen here in India, I am sure a lot of features will be missing to keep the pricing under control. ABS and EBD are expected in the Indian model but features like Cruise Control, Automatic headlights, rain sensing wipers etc. may not be found.
Under the hood the car might come with Nissan Micra’s engine as it is likely to source its engine from Nissan. So we could expect a 1.2 Litre 3 cylinder MPFI petrol engine making 75 BHP of max power and 104 Nm of max torque. Similarly the Micra’s 1.5 Litre CRDi diesel engine is also expected to be seen in the car. The same produces 63 BHP of max power and 160 Nm of max torque.
Renault has priced the Koleos way above our expectations which is certainly not a good strategy to sell appreciable numbers. If the car is launched as the next small car from the brand, we expect it to be kept closer to the Jazz and i20 otherwise it will lose attention the same way as the Koleos did.
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