[fesar79]

I have bought one of the first Scala in Chennai its a Metallic Blue RxZ Dci. My detail test drive and ownership report will follow soon. It is my 3rd week with the car and I am enjoying every time with it. I am working for Renault - Nissan. I have been in France with Renault for last three years and I have driven almost every car of them extensively.

What I like about the car:-

1. Spacious, all those who saw and got into my car the first reaction of them was WOW so spacious ... and then the greige leather interiors. It makes it to looks premium ...
2. With my experience with the Renault cars in France and the experience in Indian cars like Swift, Figo, Dzire and SX4. I felt the Gear Shift was smooth, I tried the same with Sunny, I strongly feel Scala Gear Shift was much smoother and precise like the Renault Cars in France.
3. Ride comfort:- I really feel the suspension has been tuned what is it in Sunny, the suspension absorbs most pot holes well and in the big ones I feel the sound thud but its not transmitted to your body. The tyres came with the car have more Noise when you go over 60kmh.
4. Engine :- As everyone says its a proven Workhorse. I have driven the same engine with Laguna and Megane in France. I always felt it was more silent compared to its competitor. However in all the cars I drove with the same engine, I drove it with 6 speed Gear box. I feel this engine, will go well with the Renault 6 speed gear box.
5. Gear Ratios:- After driving Swift and when you drive this car, you can play around the gears well with this car. I feel a minimal turbo lag in the 1 and 2nd gear. In the mid range it is very strong, i can drive the car in 40 even at the 5th gear with no problem with the engine, especially in the highways if you are at 100 and drop down to 60 and u want to overtake, you dont need to downshift... just accelerate and this engine rocks ....

I haven't gone beyond 110km speed as of now.

What I feel the scope for improvement:-

1. The Dash plastics are cheap and thin, when I say thin, when I honk the car i feel sometimes the plastics also bend down, it is so thin.
2. The in built car entertainment system is very basic, I feel for the price range of this car, i think USB and Bluetooth should have been mandate.
3. Storage inside the car is very minimal, I feel even the Dashboard is small and no door pockets in the rear not even to keep the water bottles, also the seat pockets was there on the rear of the front passenger seat but not on the back of drivers seat.
4. Leather seats are not stiched to the seats. Its like a leather cover and it was zipped to the car seats. I felt this is not fair when you claim the car comes with leather seats.
5. Interior cabin lights:- The lights are huge and it can accomodate two plugs to give a more bright interior. But the wiring was done only to one plug of each light and the other was left with a blank hole. Is this cost cutting ?
6. Braking :- After started to use the car, i felt Braking was always good and I was able to stop the car when and wherever I want at whatever speed I was in. I felt the brake was good. But after driving this car for a week when I took my swift thats when I understood how bad the brake of Scala was. Swift gave a strong response and it was very sharp as my swift had ABS. But with Scala you never get any response from the brakes. But still it works well. I feel this has to be changed for sure.

Things I have modded to the car:-

1. 3M Underchasis 5year Body Schutz coating
2. 3M paint Sealant
3. Upgraded the tyre to Michelin Primacy LC (195/60/R15). Really quite and excellent comfort with this tyre.
4. Upgraded the OE HU to Caska 1624 HU with Mapmyindia GPS, Ipod, Bluetooth and Reverse camera. Better than the OE HU and its a good system with steering control support.


Overall I am satisfied with the car, good car some fine tweaks and better pricing will make the car more worthy. Why did I choose the car as I work for Renault and I had employee discount and with that discount this car was worth the price. I got this car from the Khivraj Pearl, Annanagar Showroom Chennai.

Regards,
Francis.

[AutoIndian]

Very nice & crisp review Fesar79. Absolutely unbiassed, especially coming from an employee of Renaul-Nissan. If you don't mind, can you also share how much discount did you get as an employee & what was you on road price?

p.s Notice, this is your first post on TBHP, so welcome here & many congratulations on you new car

[fesar79]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Very nice & crisp review Fesar79. Absolutely unbiassed, especially coming from an employee of Renaul-Nissan. If you don't mind, can you also share how much discount did you get as an employee & what was you on road price?

p.s Notice, this is your first post on TBHP, so welcome here & many congratulations on you new car

The OTR price for Chennai with the discount came to 10.5 lakhs for the RxZ Dci.

Forgot to add one more point.

I have added the VKool Sunfilms on all the Rear and Front as well as the sides.

Regards,
Francis.

Originally Posted by vasisht

Having paid for and already booked the Duster and since I was changing I stayed with this. Also was told that Sunny has a 4 month waiting period but can be wrong. Also assumed that this has some improvements based on Sunny experience. :-)


The MAIN criterion for any vehicle that I purchase is height of seat since I have a bad back. Scala I found OK. But the ground clearance at 161 mm I think is too low and I fear that may start scraping the undercarriage in many bad roads/speed breakers. Ground clearance lower than Honda Civic which I have driven and that kisses the ground easily. Based on Sunny experience any comments please ?

I am thinking that if I can change the tyres to something broader/bigger whether that would help, is it advisable ?

Planning to get a rear view camera/sensor fitted, dealer showed a 4 inch x 2 inch screen system. Would that be sufficient for a clear view since have never used such a system before. What would experts here suggest ?

Greatly appreciate advise to help.

Based on my experience with Scala for the last 3 weeks in Chennai roads, I have never had any issue with scrapping the underbody over the speed bumps and potholes.

Regarding the rear view/sensor, I feel the 4inch x 2 is more than enough, but make sure you get a wide angle camera so that you get more coverage. I have fitted the Caska HU and it came with the camera and it gets connected directly to my audio HU. The good feature of this HU is that, even if you want to view the rear view camera without putting it in reverse also you can view it using the Caska HU.

Compared to Sunny, I felt the suspension and the gear box are tuned and it gives better feel. I also felt the steering response is good with Scala than with Sunny.

Note from Team-BHP Support: Please use "Edit" post option to modify content within 30 minutes of posting. Also, please use "multi-quote" option instead of posting back-to-back replies to different posts.

[vasisht]

Originally Posted by fesar79

Based on my experience with Scala for the last 3 weeks in Chennai roads, I have never had any issue with scrapping the underbody over the speed bumps and potholes.

Regarding the rear view/sensor, I feel the 4inch x 2 is more than enough, but make sure you get a wide angle camera so that you get more coverage. I have fitted the Caska HU and it came with the camera and it gets connected directly to my audio HU. The good feature of this HU is that, even if you want to view the rear view camera without putting it in reverse also you can view it using the Caska HU.

Compared to Sunny, I felt the suspension and the gear box are tuned and it gives better feel. I also felt the steering response is good with Scala than with Sunny.

Thanks so much and appreciate your feedback.

I should get my delivery tomorrow. I have asked them to fix a multimedia kit with rear camera etc which is supposed to have a touch screen. Understand that they give the Mapmyindia navigation kit. Wonder how good that is to direct us correctly. Most importantly with our right hand drive, how easy is it to use the left hand to search for location when driving.

[vasisht]

Just took delivery of my Scala Diesel and while 1 day is too short, some initial comments.

PLUS :

Handles beautifully.
The pick up is good and the car can surge ahead fast.
The diesel engine noise as many had felt did not bother me too much.
The power steering is a dream.
Had to park and reverse remove in some tight positions during the day and it responded well.
Negotiated at least one bad road hump without any scraping. (whew!!)

MINUS :

The company retrofixed a Caska multimedia kit with Mapmyindia navigation. The Iphone/USB connections hang out from a wire in the front which is rather ugly. But claim is that earlier the USB was in the panel and people broke it while driving when using a pen drive. This solution is typical Indian roadside option. Renault/ Caska must if required make suitable design changes and retrofit the same in a professional good looking manner for all existing customers. Given the money charged you are left feeling shortchanged apart from looking ugly. See picture attached.
The dealer reps are not yet fully familiar with the car/ media systems and so often are unable to teach you how to use them. Prior training is crucial so dealer looks good.
Dealers do not have some standard accessories like mud flaps and so deliver car without them. Unless customer asks this can go unnoticed.
The power window buttons, except one are not lighted so in the dark you need to touch and feel to find them. For a luxury car this should have been standard.

All in all a great car, will post more pictures and feedback with some usage.

Vasisht

[noopster]

@vasisht- Congrats on your new car and wish you many happy miles.

Must say your HU adds a touch of class that the Scala badly needs to differentiate it from the Sunny. Can you provide more details of this unit? Is Renault offering it as a priced accessory option?

[fesar79]

Originally Posted by vasisht

Just took delivery of my Scala Diesel and while 1 day is too short, some initial comments.

===========================
All in all a great car, will post more pictures and feedback with some usage.

Vasisht

Hi Vasisht,

First of all Congrats. Have fun with your car and safe driving.

I have the same HU on my car. You can take the car to dealer and ask them to fit the way I tell you. So that the cables go into the glove box. Ask them to disconnect the cable and ask them to insert the cables in the holes behind the glove box at the far end. They can insert the cables through it and the cables will be hidden inside the glove box.

Francis.

[vasisht]

Originally Posted by fesar79

Hi Vasisht,

First of all Congrats. Have fun with your car and safe driving.

I have the same HU on my car. You can take the car to dealer and ask them to fit the way I tell you. So that the cables go into the glove box. Ask them to disconnect the cable and ask them to insert the cables in the holes behind the glove box at the far end. They can insert the cables through it and the cables will be hidden inside the glove box.

Francis.

Thanks for the tip. I will do just that when I go to the dealer next. The dealer in the meantime has said that the Caska systems guy would visit me to give me a demo and teach me how to use it since they could not help me. I will check this out with him.

Originally Posted by noopster

@vasisht- Congrats on your new car and wish you many happy miles.

Must say your HU adds a touch of class that the Scala badly needs to differentiate it from the Sunny. Can you provide more details of this unit? Is Renault offering it as a priced accessory option?

Renault is giving this as a priced accessory with a discount for the pre-existing system in the car. Quoted price is 55 k and they buy back and retrofit for 45k. Given the quality and all that, it seems a bit pricey but well, went for it since it improves the looks, has many features. But dealers are still unfamiliar with the system installation since apart from not being to teach me, I find some issues. Maybe I need to learn how to use it also. (1) The USB doesnt seem to work. (2) The Iphone cable looks tacky. (3) The rear view camera works only when in reverse gear not otherwise. (4) The steering controls work partly, for example volume cannot be reduced but can be increased. (5) The various radio stations seem to reset to a single frequency and when restarting needs to be tuned again. (6) The system does not locate bluetooth devices, instead the pairing had to be done from my phone which located the car system and it works very well.

Well these are what I have noticed so far.

Vasisht

Note from Team-bhp support: Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the same thread!

[fesar79]

Originally Posted by vasisht

Renault is giving this as a priced accessory with a discount for the pre-existing system in the car. Quoted price is 55 k and they buy back and retrofit for 45k. Given the quality and all that, it seems a bit pricey but well, went for it since it improves the looks, has many features. But dealers are still unfamiliar with the system installation since apart from not being to teach me, I find some issues. Maybe I need to learn how to use it also. (1) The USB doesnt seem to work. (2) The Iphone cable looks tacky. (3) The rear view camera works only when in reverse gear not otherwise. (4) The steering controls work partly, for example volume cannot be reduced but can be increased. (5) The various radio stations seem to reset to a single frequency and when restarting needs to be tuned again. (6) The system does not locate bluetooth devices, instead the pairing had to be done from my phone which located the car system and it works very well.

Well these are what I have noticed so far.

Vasisht

Hi Vasisht,

To make the steering remote work perfectly fine. You have to go to setup and then wheel control and then choose every button with the function needed. Like press the function on the HU and the cooresponding button on the steering. Finish every button at one stroke and then never touch back. So it will make all the buttons work.

To make the reverse camer work otherwise. Go to main menu of the HU and on the left side you will see an option CAM, click that and it will work with the reverse camera even while the car is driving even without placing the gear in reverse.

Francis

[vasisht]

Update on usage

Even though the Caska guy came to teach the navigation system working, it is still not very user friendly I felt after having experienced systems in USA. But when you manage that, it seems to work rather well.

Between 100 and 120 kmph the car handles effortessly, you dont even notice the speed.

Comfortable to drive and doesnt tire you easily.

The seat belt and such visual alerts disappear after a short while. Wish they continued to display so you know whats missing once settled into driving mode.

All in all enjoying the car very much

[karan561]

Got the delivery of my SCALA RxL (Diesel) 2 days back



^ taken the delivery from the Renault stockyard , somewhere on NH4 near Khapoli, Mumbai

PS - Report coming up

[nitinmurali]

we got delivery of renault scala rxz dci on 21st of november..
while car hunting we(my mom and me) really liked 1.nissan sunny/renault scala
2.vw vento(discarded rapid from the list because of prior bad experince from skoda service)
since we own a skoda octavia 2007 tdi we felt vento was similar.so we wanted a different option. so the it came down to sunny or scala. i really liked the looks of scala. then came money, scala rxz was about 45k higher than sunny xv (cochin ,including discounts from nissan) but i thought i would get
1.better looks
2.leather seats
3.gps mapmyindia (16k mrp)
4.reverse parking sensor
5.front scuff plates
OVER sunny
booked on 7th november got it on 21st november..
so far i am happy...

[volkman10]

Renault India today announced the introduction of the X-tronic Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) variant of the Scala.
Renault claims that the Scala X-tronic will have a a class-leading fuel efficiency of 17.97 KMPL (ARAI figure), which is comparable to premium sedans with manual transmission.


http://motoroids.com/news/renault-sc...on-january-14/

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Renault India today announced the introduction of the X-tronic Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) variant of the Scala.
Renault claims that the Scala X-tronic will have a a class-leading fuel efficiency of 17.97 KMPL (ARAI figure), which is comparable to premium sedans with manual transmission.

http://motoroids.com/news/renault-sc...on-january-14/

Hey this is good news. Pity its only on the petrol variant though.

[sarathlal]

Renault has unveiled the plan for launching Scala's automatic version in India.
Nissan's CVT box is being used in this car, which promises an ARAI rating of 17+ kmpl, from the same 1.5 L petrol engine.

Price: Expected to start at Rs8.5 lakh, ex-showroom
Engine: 1498 cc, 4 cylinder petrol
Max Power: 97bhp at 6000 rpm
Torque: 13.6kgm at 4000rpm
Transmission: Automatic CVT
Dimensions in feet: L/W/H: 14.52/5.56/4.94
Wheelbase: 2600mm/8.53 feet

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report...omatic_1788629