[SchumiFan]

Good idea from Renault to make a mini-Duster. Looks different and good for an entry level car.

It might sell well, it might not. But Renault now has to significantly upgrade the Duster to differentiate the 10L+ product from this entry level car. The A/C Controls especially cannot be shared between the cars and its high time the Duster gets an ACC along with a better looking dashboard.

Disappointed that Renault prioritized having a 7" Nav system over giving ABS/Airbags for the car. Guess the recent episode related to Datsun didn't strike a bell at Renault's office.

Anyway, will wait for the car to be launched before further criticizing or praising it.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by autohead115

Thats great, congratulate your friend from Team-BHP. 800cc 57 BHP sounds OK for city commuting given the light weight of the car, somebody mentioned it translates to 85 BHP/Ton, not bad.

Did he tell you if there would be an AMT during launch? I'm keen on a small, good looking automatic for city runabouts. If there is, id like to sell off my waggy for this.

The automatic version is not ready. They will only launch the petrol version for now.

[romeomidhun]

They should have targeted the 4.5 - 6L segment with this SUV'ish car. It can easily sell in that range just because of its looks.

[sidenzo]

I think they have a good platform with this car. It sure is a looker for a 3-4 lakh budget car. Its more of a SUVish budget hatchback which will give something more to its customer in that price range.
I think if they improve on this platform and change somethings like some design element, overall quality of the material, throw in some gizmos then they can even target the segment of like swift, i10 too.

[rahul412]

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

Disappointed that Renault prioritized having a 7" Nav system over giving ABS/Airbags for the car. Guess the recent episode related to Datsun didn't strike a bell at Renault's office.

Anyway, will wait for the car to be launched before further criticizing or praising it.

Heard Carlos in an interview with CNBC. Must say it was really disappointing to hear him say this.

When anchor asked him that Datsun go earned a bad name for failing the crash test in Europe so is Renault more careful now & whether Kwid will be able to pass the crash test, he replied saying that 'Kwid is not for sale in Europe(as if their safety standards are different then ours?) & its meant for sale in India & will pass all local safety regulations & that’s the reason we are giving one airbag'. Now we all know our regulations on safety standards are nowhere to be found.

I have serious doubts now & don’t think Kwid is intended to withstand crash tests. Only time will tell.

[TheBigH]

The pro's are that our mango people are fairly obsessed with a car which looks uber cool, has a fairly decent feature list, answers the "kitna deti hai" question with reassurance and pinches the pocket minimally.

The con's: What our mango people are also obsessed with is brand recall / image, after sales service and maintenance cost. Given Renault's fairly dismal dealership presence, dismal brand value (barring the Duster) and a thinly spread dealer and service network, chances are, that what is a smashing car and what could have been an instant hit if we replaced the Renault badge with the Maruti or Hyundai badge, may also fail and not rake in the moolah.

I'm betting that the car will make Maruti and Hyundai take notice!

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by zenren

How is the space inside the wheel arches? Does it support enough space to accommodate a wider tyre? 175/65R14 or 175/70R13 would compliment the otherwise butch look of this car.

Considering the 3-bolt pattern, there wouldn't be enough choices to upgrade the rims till this model is successful enough to justify making alloys in this design.

I'm not a 100% certain, but I think there should be enough room to accommodate wider tyres. Reason: a higher, more powerful variant (if and when it comes) might have a wider tyre + the wheel arch design and the wheel-well looked as if it was designed to accommodate a 14" wheel easily (to the naked eye at least).

Also, I don't think, Renault will take too long to provide alloy wheels as an accessory, since this product is going to share its architecture with many cars coming up in the future, hence, expect a lot more cars from the Renault-Nissan stable to have 3-wheel lug nuts.

[Arjun Reddy]

So. Everything going good for the Kwid in terms of design and price.
Since it's going to be an October- November launch, will it not be mandatory for it to be kitted with ABS and Airbags if the new regulation is passed?

[Flash777]

The design, especially the front looks fantastic!!

Hell, I even though it was a competitor to Swift & likes only to be disappointed to note it was an entry level...

This cud have easily competed with cars even a class or two above based on teh looks alone.

It seriously looks like the younger brother of Duster with some weird 'Micro SUV' segment opening up...

Interesting to see how shall Renault deal with the lifecycle of the car going forward...

I always feel that the entry level/first time car buyers are risk-averse...it explains why no one has even been able to scratch Maruti from the top charts.....All pretenders like Nano/Eon/Datsun have already fallen aside.

First time car buyers dont really give too much importance on design/power/features as much as the combo of fuel efficiency/maintenance/service network.

This shud have actually been launched in the B+ segment with a better engine and slightly more features...there wud hav been a beeline!

Opportunity missed on placing it in the 5-6 lacs bracket???

[echo77]

Can anyone have a look at the pics and let us know if there is space for tyres to be upsized? Thanks!

I dream of baby-SUV

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by echo77

Can anyone have a look at the pics and let us know if there is space for tyres to be upsized? Thanks!

I dream of baby-SUV

Looking at the 3 nut design of the hub - wouldn't it be difficult to find good looking alloys? Atleast initially .

[fz_rider]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

The automatic version is not ready. They will only launch the petrol version for now.

You mean manual version!
By what time can we expect the Amt version?

[aniketi]

Is it Kwid or Kid ? For Renault its a kid only

Just saw all the pictures now. Renault is very serious about India now, good thing for us. This car is serious competition to cars like Alto, Wagon R, aging i10, Brio, Beat etc. If they launch it with nice price, it will attract many customers for sure. I quite liked the car. Looks muscular enough, sporty too. Baby Duster i feel. Lots of design cues taken from it.

Renault need to increase their dealer network now. This car will only sell in numbers if they have as many dealers they can get. Waiting for car now

[mTorque]

Originally Posted by Flash777

I always feel that the entry level/first time car buyers are risk-averse...it explains why no one has even been able to scratch Maruti from the top charts.....All pretenders like Nano/Eon/Datsun have already fallen aside.

First time car buyers dont really give too much importance on design/power/features as much as the combo of fuel efficiency/maintenance/service network.

This shud have actually been launched in the B+ segment with a better engine and slightly more features...there wud hav been a beeline!

Opportunity missed on placing it in the 5-6 lacs bracket???

That is a very good point. In my opinion, a first time buyer, usually buys cars on 3 points
1. Price
2. Brand, equating it to low-maintenance cost
3. Advice from friends

Kwid is a very good looking car, and priced well. So, it ticks 1 of the 3 points above.

Duster was a different story altogether, market was starved for a mini SUV. This one is one a hatchback territory which is already over crowded.

I want Kwid to do well, but i really doubt it will set the Charts on fire. I do NOT foresee a SWIFT here.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by fz_rider

You mean manual version!
By what time can we expect the Amt version?

There is no news on the automatic version as off now. They had plans for it, but that seems to be put on hold.

You can expect a diesel and a bigger petrol motor by next year.