Renault Kwid expected to be launched by this month

Renault has unveiled a hatchback-based crossover called the KWID. Named after the concept car that it unveiled at the 2014 Auto Expo, the KWID, is a five-seater crossover underpinned by the French automaker’s CMFA platform and will be produced at their Chennai factory with 98 per cent localisation.

The Renault KWID has lines similar to that of the Datsun GO but now gets body cladding, flared wheel arches and a forward leaning stance giving it a muscular appearance. It is the first car in the Indian market to debut the French automaker’s honeycomb grille and new headlight design. It gets an aggressive front bumper design that extends outwards and in the top spec variants houses the fog lamps.

The side profile reveals the heavily flared wheel arches and forward leaning stance. The windscreen sharply rakes towards the rear. There is plastic cladding at the base of the doors which are the colour of the wheel arches and basically serve the purpose of rub rails.

At the rear, the glass section is small and slopes forward while there is a sharp lip on the middle of the boot door. The plastic cladding sits right below the boot door and houses the number plate. Renault has given the KWID a small spoiler which we believe will be standard across all variants.

The KWID appears to have the same interior from the Pulse which is basically the layout of the Nissan Micra. However, while the layout is the same, the feature list will have many first in segment items. It gets a fully digital instrumental cluster, Media-NAV infotainment system, front power windows and AC. While the instrument cluster, power windows and AC are expected to be standard across all variants, we believe that the Media-NAV infotainment system will only be offered in the top-spec variants.

The engine is expected to be an 800cc three-cylinder unit that will produce around 50bhp and 90Nm of torque. Power will go to the front wheels via a five-speed manual. We also believe that this car is likely to debut an AMT from the Renault-Nissan stable. There will be no diesel model but a 1.0-litre model with higher power figures will arrive six months later. It is also possible that there may be a CNG model but this will only materialise based on demand.

The KWID is expected to be priced in the range of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4.5 lakh and will compete with the Chevrolet Spark, Tata Nano, Datsun Go and the Hyundai Eon. It will be launched during the festive season and most likely with an introductory price.