[RSR]

With the implementation of BS6 emission norms from April 1, 2020, Renault & Nissan phased out their highly versatile & successful 1.5 litre K9K diesel engine as it could not meet the new norms without an expensive SCR system requiring DEF. Group brand Datsun was already a petrol only company, and with the exit of K9K, the Renault-Nissan Alliance as a whole is a petrol only group in India now.

The Alliance believes turbo-petrol engines will neatly fill the vacuum created by the K9K's exit. A 1.3 litre gasoline direct injection turbo petrol producing 156 PS & 254 Nm has already been introduced on the Nissan Kicks and Renault Duster.

This will soon be joined by a new 1.0 litre turbo petrol that will power cars built on the Alliance's CMF-A+ platform.

Dubbed the H4Dt by Renault and HR10DET by Nissan, it is marketed in different models as the 100 TCe (Renault) or IG-T 100 (Nissan). This is basically a turbocharged version of the 3-cylinder 1.0 SCe engine found on the Renault Triber in India.

Unlike the Volkswagen-Škoda 1.0 TSi or Hyundai-Kia 1.0 Kappa T-GDi small capacity turbo-petrols, this Renault engine is not a gasoline direct injection unit. It joins the league of other 3-cylinder multipoint fuel injection turbo petrols like the 1.2 litre ones found on the Tata Nexon and Mahindra XUV300.

Renault-Nissan's small capacity turbo-petrol will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox:



It will also be available with an X-tronic 7-step CVT automatic:





Technical specifications

Name: Renault H4Dt or Nissan HR10DET

Configuration: 999cc, in-line 3 cylinder

Valvetrain: 12 valve, DOHC with twin variable valve timing

Aspiration: Turbocharged, multipoint fuel injection

Power: 100 PS (99 bhp/74 kW) @ 5000 rpm

Torque: 160 Nm (118 lb.ft/16.3 kgm) @ 2750 rpm

(The power & torque figures are for Euro-spec fuel and it remains to be seen if they will be the same for India)

The Renault H4Dt features a turbocharger with an electrically-operated discharge valve, an exhaust manifold partially integrated into the cylinder head, twin variable valve timing control and a special steel coating on the cylinders (bore spray coating).

This 3-cylinder 1.0 turbo petrol is likely to make its debut in India on the upcoming Renault Kiger sub-4m compact SUV. It will also power the car's cousin, the Nissan Magnite. The Renault Triber (Renault Triber : Official Review) will also get this engine as an option on the 2021 model. Other future cars from the Renault-Nissan Alliance built on the CMF-A+ platform will also be powered by this 3-pot 1.0 litre turbo-petrol.

As for performance, the Renault Clio 100 TCe manual (kerb weight of 1178 kg) does the 0-100 kmph sprint in a claimed 11.8 seconds, while the Clio 100 TCe CVT (kerb weight of 1201 kg) does the same in a claimed 11.5 seconds. Since the CMF-A+ platform cars in India (Kiger, Magnite & Triber) happen to be significantly lighter than the Euro-spec Clio, their performance is likely to be better.

[2cents]

Originally Posted by RSR

This will soon be joined by a new 1.0 litre turbo petrol that will power cars built on the Alliance's CMF-A+ platform.

Any idea about time lines - when is the Kiger launch expected?

[YD14]

Originally Posted by RSR

As for performance, the Renault Clio 100 TCe manual (kerb weight of 1178 kg) does the 0-100 kmph sprint in a claimed 11.8 seconds, while the Clio 100 TCe CVT (kerb weight of 1201 kg) does the same in a claimed 11.5 seconds. Since the CMF-A+ platform cars in India (Kiger, Magnite & Triber) happen to be significantly lighter than the Euro-spec Clio, their performance is likely to be better.

If we go by the figures only, these numbers are good enough only if the price difference between Korean direct injected turbo engined cars and Kiger is significant. But if they really wish to challenge the Koreans, they should bring the HR10DDT, direct injected 1.0L turbo engine currently doing duty in the Juke and at the same time undercut Venue and Sonet.

About the transmission choice, they should stick to the CVT which is being praised by many. Their AMTs are jerky and a DCT from Renault/Nissan gives me a bad feeling without even being on sale in India.

P.S. 'Korean direct injected turbo engined' that's the longest chain of adjectives I have ever used for the word car.

[GTO]

I hope the turbo forces some new life into Renault's 1.0L motor because it is - frankly - the most boring 1.0 in India. Even by 1.0L naturally-aspirated standards. I personally hated it. It's not revv-happy, not the most refined and the only thing it does is....well, it does the job. There is not one endearing quality to it.

I doubt that, even with a turbo, it'll come anywhere close to the phenomenal 1.0 turbo-petrols we've seen from Hyundai and VW-Skoda.

[RSR]

The 1.0 turbo-petrol has slightly different specs from the naturally aspirated engine. While they both displace 999cc, the bore and stroke differ slightly, as can be seen below:

Originally Posted by RSR

Power: 100 PS (99 bhp/74 kW) @ 5000 rpm

Torque: 160 Nm (118 lb.ft/16.3 kgm) @ 2750 rpm

(The power & torque figures are for Euro-spec fuel and it remains to be seen if they will be the same for India)

The power and torque numbers thankfully remain the same for India. However, the CVT variants have a marginally reduced torque figure of 152 Nm when compared to the 160 Nm of the manual.

Originally Posted by GTO

I hope the turbo forces some new life into Renault's 1.0L motor because it is - frankly - the most boring 1.0 in India.

Having driven the new turbo-petrol, do you feel the boring 1.0 litre naturally aspirated engine has been transformed into a different beast by the turbocharger?

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by GTO

I hope the turbo forces some new life into Renault's 1.0L motor because it is - frankly - the most boring 1.0 in India. Even by 1.0L naturally-aspirated standards. I personally hated it. It's not revv-happy, not the most refined and the only thing it does is....well, it does the job. There is not one endearing quality to it.

Tell me about it

My 43k km run Kwid 1.0 makes me feel like the engine might hop off the car anytime when driven enthusiastically.

The amount of NVH is horrendous, power delivery is erratic. It definitely hasn't aged well. My 50k km run Celerio's 1.0 engine feels ultra smooth and refined in comparison.

What's worse? The fuel efficiency figure is no where near the Maruti. 'A' segment buyers do expect fuel efficiency from their cars.