Facelifted Renault Fluence sedan spotted in India

French car maker Renault unveiled the facelifted version of the Fluence sedan at last year's Istanbul Motor Show. Notably, completely knocked down (CKD) kits of the Fluence that are assembled into full cars at the Renault-Nissan factory in India, are imported from Turkey.

Team-BHP moderator Ajmat spotted a facelifted Fluence parked at the Renault-Nissan factory at Oragadam, off Chennai. The car, shorn of any camouflage, was parked amid pre-facelift Fluence sedans. Currently, Renault sells the pre-facelift Fluence in India.

However, rumours floating around on the interweb suggest that the French car maker is planning to launch the facelifted Fluence in India, later this year. The first sighting of the facelifted Fluence in India seems to add credence to these rumours.  

The facelifted Fluence comes with redesigned exteriors. The car gets a new front grille inspired by the new Renault family face first seen on the Clio hatchback. The revised front bumper, LED day time running lamps and the alloy wheels are the other visual changes on the 2013 Fluence sedan.

The car's interiors get a new satellite navigation module, a touch screen infotainment unit, parking sensors, an electric parking brake, revised upholstery and a new instrumentation cluster that replaces the all analogue units of the pre-facelift model with an analog-digital combination. 

Under the hood, the 2013 Renault Fluence gets four engine options for the international markets. The 1.6 liter petrol engine outputting 115 Bhp (gains 5 Bhp) serves as the entry level motor while the 2 liter petrol engine continues to do duty as the top end petrol model.

The 1.6 liter petrol engine gets a 5 speed manual gearbox as standard while the 2 liter motor gets a 6 speed unit. Both these engines get the CVT automatic gearbox as an option. While the 1.5 liter K9K turbo diesel engine continues unchanged, Renault has added a new 1.6 liter diesel motor. 

The 1.6 liter-4 cylinder turbo diesel engine outputs 130 Bhp-320 Nm, a significant step up from the 108 Bhp-240 Nm output of the 1.5 liter K9K unit. A 6 speed manual gearbox is offered with the diesel engines while the K9K motor gains a 6 speed, dual clutch automatic gearbox as an option. It remains to be seen whether Renault India offers Indian car buyers the option of the more powerful diesel engine.