[Fordmanchau]

I don't know how I missed it but just read about Renault's new upgraded diesel version with improved features and better interiors.

They are going to bump up the price and at around 15.3 lakhs I was just wondering if all this would yield any favorable results in light of the Mahindra's XUV 5OO launch.

[ethanhunt123]

Sid Patankar has tweeted that a "Festival Edition" of diesel Fluence has been launched with Stanley leather and parking sensors without change in price !

[Ricky_63]

Disclaimer : I do not wish to put down the Renault brand in any way, neither the dealership in question. But would like to definately voice what I experienced 1st hand Though this thread is Fluence specific, but Renault is the commonality, hence this rant.


Ok for the benefit of the forum members ( I hope ) & to vent out my frustration x irritation = disgust. Let me put forth my "wonderful" experience at the Renault dealership at Gurgaon. The dealership is placed in a premium property actually one of the most expensive uph-market address in Gurgaon.

Lo & behold. Call them & you have a lady take your call who is struggling to put a sentence together in "oh so propah english" - that you think you have dialled a wrong number...(I thought the French had style) in this case NOT BY A MILE.

Saaar, you want to buy or you waant to test drive only. Pertinent question - I say, but sounds a little threatening !! I would like to buy if I find it suitable, I say trying to be polite. Saaar the Koleos is 23L ex-showroom....you want to try it ??????

Sure lady !! Whaaat ? Yes sure, can I visit your showroom, Saaaar we close at 6, when will you come ?? (Now that I did not want to answer ) So I held back a smirk & said "soon" she say ok saaaar then please hurry !!!

Enter showroom...a "So called sales person accosts me" So you want to buy ? Well I am here to see the Koleos, may buy if I find it suitable. SAAAR, isse besht to koi hai hi nahin. Sab kuch hai isme, jo kaho vo hai, (even the DK BOSE ) audio

After which I was given a demo of the stereo of BOSE brand ( I was so obliged ) cannot even begin to tell you how much !!

The car has BOSE written on the front fenders & the door sill..I could just not get over this - was it an audio I was buying or a Koleos ??

I questioned the guy, can you tell me something about the vehicle, I am not interested in BOSE..can you give me the car without the main selling point "BOSE" ?? No Saaar was the answer, all cars are compulsary with BOSE only !!

At that point I thought. If this is how they sell cars, do I really want one ? Though it fit my need to the "T"..but now I think I better wait for a BOSE-LESS version or then the VW Tiguan.

So moral of the story being that with all the $$$ they are spending with running 6 vehicles up & down the country - if they want to sell they need to have decent dealerships & adequate service support.

Brand building is a great excercise. Provided you have the setup to support the same.

P.S. The Sales guy was on the phone with some crony of his for 15 minutes discussing his latest fantasy, while I ( a prospect) waited like a you know what for his kind attention.

Besst of luck Renault

[ASTRIKX]

SCOOP !!! Renault Fluence Diesel E4 Version ( Fully loaded ) to be launched at a price of Rs.13.45 Lakhs ex-showroom ! Likely launch in January 2012.

[mayankjha1806]

I too tried test driving the Fluence, called the dealer, the head office, put in the request on the web site. Got a call from somewhere in Delhi informing me that the Bangalore dealer will soon contact me. Sure he did after a week and promised to call back with Test Drive timings. Nothing happened for 3-4 weeks. Finally i lost interest and went with something else

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Ok for the benefit of the forum members ( I hope ) & to vent out my frustration x irritation = disgust. Let me put forth my "wonderful" experience at the Renault dealership at Gurgaon. The dealership is placed in a premium property actually one of the most expensive uph-market address in Gurgaon.

At that point I thought. If this is how they sell cars, do I really want one ? Though it fit my need to the "T"..but now I think I better wait for a BOSE-LESS version or then the VW Tiguan.

While I agree with you on better need of brand building, infrastructure & resources, I would not stop myself from buying a car which suits me on account of the SAs. In that case, I should tell you that a lot of SAs mess up something or other during the whole process of TD - delivery.

If the A$$ is competent, I would buy the car anyway, provided it's worth the money spent.

Coming back, I would expect better, MUCH better CE for a premium [at least price - wise] product like Koleos. And I guess we cannot really blame the people there for continuously confirming whether you actually wanted to buy their product! Probably people coming there just go away seeing the products and their prices / specs.

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

While I agree with you on better need of brand building, infrastructure & resources, I would not stop myself from buying a car which suits me on account of the SAs. In that case, I should tell you that a lot of SAs mess up something or other during the whole process of TD - delivery.

If the A$$ is competent, I would buy the car anyway, provided it's worth the money spent.

Coming back, I would expect better, MUCH better CE for a premium [at least price - wise] product like Koleos. And I guess we cannot really blame the people there for continuously confirming whether you actually wanted to buy their product! Probably people coming there just go away seeing the products and their prices / specs.

I beg to disagree, the Sales people should be able to tell a real potential customer from a local coming just to have fun. PERIOD

Pardon me - but would YOU buy a car or SUV "without" knowing all you want to about it ??

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Pardon me - but would YOU buy a car or SUV "without" knowing all you want to about it ??

That's why we read reviews / specs and TD right? Or are you saying that the SAs know everything about the vehicle they sell [I know there are] and they are always honest about the points?

I usually don't spend much time listening to the explanations of the SAs, I do my ground work and a TD should confirm whether I buy a product or not. I have read that even XUV 500 launched with a decently trained set of SAs could not answer some of the points. To me, if I get all the info from the SA, well & good; but I am not going to expect it and go to a showroom. It's a hit or miss.

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

That's why we read reviews / specs and TD right? Or are you saying that the SAs know everything about the vehicle they sell [I know there are] and they are always honest about the points?

I usually don't spend much time listening to the explanations of the SAs, I do my ground work and a TD should confirm whether I buy a product or not. I have read that even XUV 500 launched with a decently trained set of SAs could not answer some of the points. To me, if I get all the info from the SA, well & good; but I am not going to expect it and go to a showroom. It's a hit or miss.

You have a valid point, agreed. But in the case of the Koleos I actually did not know much, so the SA should have been able to help out other than telling me again & again that it has "THE BOSE" audio setup..

When I bought the A4 I pretty much knew all I needed to know, but the sales guy told me things which I did NOT know. So it was definitely helpful.

The point I am trying to make is that atleast a company which is trying to reposition itself in the market should have adequately knowledgeable staff on the shop floor.

I have been in & out of BMW showroom (never bought one) - but the sales staff still gave me all the information, TD, the whole experience was at another level.



Cheers

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

The point I am trying to make is that atleast a company which is trying to reposition itself in the market should have adequately knowledgeable staff on the shop floor.

Very much agreed as well. I might very well don't mind the SAs behaviour if I was going for the Pulse or Logan. NOT for Koleos for sure - they need to pull up their socks and provide a better experience when they expect customers to shell out 30 odd lakhs! Probably they could deploy a different set of SAs for Koloes.

[charan]

Bangalore Showroom confirmed the E4 Diesel variant. They have it on display and are taking bookings. Ex-showroom Bangalore is 14.4L and On road comes to 17.83L.

[magikrider]

Just called up the customer care of Renault after seeing the add mentioning feature laden diesel fluence and came to know that its priced exactly the same as petrol variant. So now there are two variants for diesel fluence. E2 and E4. The E4 petrol and diesel are fully loaded and the only difference between them is the AT transmission on the petrol whereas the diesel is only available with manual transmission. Sounds attractive but unfortunately the cruze falls in the same price braket with a much more powerful engine. Though fluence looks far more classy inside-out.

[rxpaul]

The Fluence is a classic european car, but seriously needs a bigger engine. The diesel simply crys out for a bigger 2 lit engine. The Laura with 110/140 bhp 2 lit engines and Cruze with the 150 bhp 2 lit (which fall in the same price bracket), have their faults, but the customer is left with no option. With the new cruze shortly coming with 160 + bhp, how will Renault survive ?

I don't understand how a big player like Renault can hope to sell in India with just one 1.5 lit Diesel serving all their cars ! They should pull out their petrol cars and focus on the diesels.

[Vid6639]

Ajmat and myself went and checked out the Fluence today.

I think a lot of people don't know that Renault has introduced the diesel Fluence in the top end model similar to the petrol. The Diesel Fluence is now available in 2 trim levels E2 and E4. The Petrol is still available only in E4 trim with the CVT box.

The new Diesel E4 is priced exactly the same as the Petrol AT E4. 14.4L ex-showroom. Onroad is 17.8L in Bangalore.

Coming to the car itself. The first thing you notice is how heavy the doors are. I thought Fiat, Skoda and VW were the best in giving a satisfying thud when you close the door but the Fluence changes that now. Build quality is absolutely superb.

Looks wise it stands out compared to the understated cars in the segment. This car has a very well balanced profile and looks much better than the other cars as well. The rear and the side are my favourite whereas the front looks a bit plain to me.

Once I got into the car after opening those heavy 3 stage doors, I was completely blown away by the interior quality. The entire dash is soft touch, as well as door pads. All the buttons look and feel premium. Feels very very solid. Front seats can really go all the way back and have lumbar support as well. The dash is low so visibility is excellent.

Coming to the rear seats. Again legroom was a revelation. It was way better than my Altis and probably more than the new Jetta. Very comfortable seats with good support all round. The Jetta has a prominent tunnel making the rear best for 2 whereas the Fluence has a centre tunnel of only a couple of inches. The Altis has a complete flat floor. Rear passengers get sun blinds for both doors as well as rear windshield. In the top end E4 they get rear AC vents as well.

A few ergonomic issues or quirks with the Fluence, typical of french cars are:
- The clutch position is a little to the right not farther away from the brake. I found myself initially pressing the clutch at the left corner of the pedal. Got used to this within minutes but after adjusting my leg kept hitting the steering when I released the clutch. Tall people will have this problem.
- Start/stop button is at the bottom of the centre console to the left near the passenger knee. Obviously for LHD.
- cruise control button is near the handbrake!!!
- glovebox is useless.

Coming to the drive. Press the start/stop and the engine shakes typical of diesel so you straight away know your in a diesel. After that you need to see the tacho to see if it's really idling. NVH levels are very impressive. On the move there is no diesel clatter at all unless you are revving past 3000rpm which results in mild diesel clatter but nice turbo whistle. Turbo lag is very much present all the way till 2200rpm after which acceleration is good. Even though there is turbo lag, below 2200rpm the car is still drivable and pulls cleanly. Some cars get really bogged down below the turbo band like the Cruze and Altis. The Fluence is not for performance enthusiasts, period. If you drive in a relaxed manner the Fluence will be effortless to drive. If you drive with a heavy foot and want instant go; you will be disappointed. I was pleased with the performance but a little more shove would have been better. On the highway I'm sure this will be an excellent cruiser with 6 gears.

The steering is pretty good, not too light like the Altis and not heavy. Did not feel disconnected either. The route we took had a bad patch of road which had not been tarred but had those small stones before the tar work. This is when we found the Fluence's USP. The ride. It just soaked up everything. We didn't feel a thing and the best part was it went about it quietly. Even the bigger potholes were taken with ease.

Features wise the fully loaded E4 has:
- 4 airbags
- ESP, ASR
- All round disc brakes
- Audio system with Aux/USB and Bluetooth connectivity
- cruise control
- auto headlamps, wipers
- smart entry key
- dual zone climate control

Conclusion:
If someone is looking for a good chauffeur driven car or self driven relaxed cruiser, do not forget about the Fluence. It's a brilliant package. Fluence would be my pick over the Altis diesel and Laura TDI MT (110bhp). The Jetta and Cruze have better performance so will appeal more to the self driven enthusiast.

Yes, Renault is new to the market so after sales will be a problem but they are here to stay. They have one dealer in bangalore right now but plan 3 by the end of the year. People were apprehensive with VW as well and now look at them. We asked the sales guy about maintenance and spares and he pulled up a comparo sheet with spare parts of Laura, Jetta, Cruze and Altis. We were surprised to see that the Altis has quite a few parts like brake pads, discs which are the highest. The Laura and Jetta rule at the top with the most number of parts being expensive. The fluence had only a few parts that were expensive like diesel filter but stuff like clutch was 8K, front bumper was 10K and rear was 7K. ORVM was 3.5K for the fluence but 8K for the Altis.

[C300]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Conclusion:
If someone is looking for a good chauffeur driven car or self driven relaxed cruiser, do not forget about the Fluence. It's a brilliant package. Fluence would be my pick over the Altis diesel and Laura TDI MT (110bhp).

Thanks for those update Vid. Personally I love the way this car looks, especially from the front.
Also, the engine is reliable and a proven workhorse which is a plus IMO.