Renault Kwid: The SUV-shaped car launched in India at Rs 2.56 lakh onwards

New Delhi: After announcing it in May, French auto major Renault has finally launched the much-awaited Renault Kwid in India at prices starting at Rs 2.56 lakh. The Kwid will be offered in six variants with the top spec RXT (O) trim costing Rs 3.53 lakh.

The Kwid hosts a few first-in-segment features such as a touchscreen infotainment with sat nav and a fully digital instrument cluster. A driver’s side airbag is offered as optional on the top-end RXT (O) trim. An array of personalisation packs and accessories are offered too.

With this impressive pricing, the Kwid will take on established players like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai in the segment. The Maruti Alto 800 is priced between Rs 2.83 lakh and Rs 3.4 lakh and the Hyundai Eon between Rs 3.09 lakh and Rs 4.22 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Developed with an investment of around Rs 2,000 crore, the SUV-shaped small car will be powered by an 800cc petrol engine. The company is looking to make India a regional hub for exporting the new car.

The car wears a strong-looking Renault grille with rectangular headlamps and a muscular, squared-off design. The side cladding makes it look sort of like a small SUV from some angles and we believe that’s going to stand the car in good stead in showrooms. The high ground clearance and the strong wheel arches are all part of that design. Renault has stated that the car was designed in France and India.

There are several attention grabbing elements, headlamps are big bold units and are coupled to the indicators which are housed in the same casing. The large Renault lozenge sits in the centre of the bonnet and has the two-piece chain link grille as its background.

When it comes to what is on offer inside the car, Renault promises that the Kwid has room for five people and talks about an integrated infotainment system, including a 7-inch screen, Bluetooth and more. This is the same MediaNav system that we have seen earlier in the Lodgy and the Duster.

Renault also confirmed that airbags will be available as an option. There was no mention about ABS though. Renault says they believe in safety and the Kwid will meet all regulatory safety requirements. That’s a little disingenuous because the current Indian safety norms, as we know, are still quite weak when compared to the global standards.

The sides look sculpted with muscular haunches and protective plastic cladding on the wheel arches giving it an aggressive personality.

The rear profile is the only one that appears very hatchback like. Sculpted and muscular, it too is a refreshing design in an otherwise dull segment.

Speaking of fuel economy, Renault also boasts that the fuel economy of the Kwid will be higher than most of the segment.

Exuding confidence of Kwid doing well in India, Renault Group Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn said, at present, the products available at the entry-level segment offer either affordability or attractiveness or innovativeness, but the Kwid will offer all of three attributes.

The Kwid will be made at the Renault-Nissan Chennai factory, and as much as 98 per cent of the suppliers are Indian. The localisation was a strong push right from the beginning of the project. Renault says the Kwid is a global car, it is a global platform. The launch is in India because it is heavily localised and production is here. More importantly, Renault believes that the Kwid will face its biggest challenge here in India as the segment it enters is vast. The company says, that if “Kwid makes it in India” then the success should follow it to other countries too.

It has got an enormous amout of boot space.

The dash is dominated by the chrome bezeled centre console which has the same touchscreen unit used in the Duster and Lodgy.

Renault wants to grow from 1.5 per cent market share, mostly based on the Duster. The brand intends to grow to 5 per cent on the shoulders of the Lodgy and the Kwid.

Previously, Renault's presence in the hatchback segment was limited to Pulse with a starting price of Rs 5.03 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The company sells six models in India, including the popular SUV Duster and newly-launched MPV Lodgy.

The touchscreen provides the user to control media functions, telephony through Bluetooth and navigation.

The Kwid offers simple aircon controls, including a thermostat, five-speed blower plus vent/recirculate and blower direction controls.

A driver's side airbag is offered as optional on the top-end RXT (O) trim.