Renault Scala Diesel now available in base RxE trim

Many Renault India dealers across the country have begun taking bookings for the base RxE variant of the Scala Diesel sedan. Team-Bhp touched base with one such dealer in Bangalore, who confirmed this news and even gave us a few details about the car. Previously, the diesel powered version of the Renault Scala sedan was available only in two variants: RxL and RxZ. Similarly, the petrol variant of the Scala was available only in RxE and RxL trims. The main reason underlying Renault's approach of launching limited variants of the Scala was to prevent the car competing directly against the Nissan Sunny sedan, a car with which the Renault Scala shares most of its parts. The Renault Scala is essentially a badge engineered version of the Sunny. Styling and pricing apart, there's little to differentiate between two cars. 

Now though, the introduction of the Scala Diesel in RxE trim narrows down the price differential between the Renault Scala and the Nissan Sunny. For instance, while the base RxE variant of the Renault Scala Diesel costs 8.29 lakh rupees, ex-showroom Delhi, the mid XL variant of the Nissan Sunny Diesel(Note that the base Sunny Diesel variant has been discontinued) is priced at 8.31 lakh rupees, ex-showroom Delhi. At these pricing levels, the only difference between the RxE variant of the Scala Diesel and the XL variant of the Sunny Diesel is centered around the equipment on offer. The Sunny XL continues to offer more equipment at a lower price tag than the Scala XE, in keeping with the positioning of Nissan and Renault at the market place. However, to the uninitiated, both cars seem similarly priced. 

The Renault Scala Diesel is powered by a 1.5 Liter K9K turbo diesel engine outputting 85 Bhp of peak power and 200 Nm of peak torque. The responsive and frugal turbo diesel engine is mated to a 5 speed manual gearbox as standard. Renault offers a CVT automatic gearbox only on the petrol powered versions of the Scala, which get a 1.5 Liter petrol engine outputting 99 Bhp-134 Nm. Notably, the Scala Diesel in RxE trim seems to have been launched mainly to attract buyers to Renault showrooms rather than actually selling the base diesel variant of the car. Here's a small excerpt of the conversation Team-Bhp had with a Renault dealership salesman,

Team-Bhp: We've heard that the Scala is available in the base RxE trim. 

Renault Dealership Salesman: Oh yes, that's true. 

Team-Bhp: So, what are the features that have been omitted from the base variant. 

Renault Dealership Salesman: Passenger side airbag, ABS, EBD, Automatic Climate Control, Alloy Wheels and Electric Wing Mirrors. Basically, the RxE Diesel is in the same trim level as the RxE petrol. 

Team-Bhp: Alright, and what would the on-road price of the Scala RxE Diesel be?

Renault Dealership Salesman: I can offer you an on road Bangalore price of about 10 lakh rupees. But instead of the Scala RxE, I suggest that you go for the RxL Diesel. The On road price of the RxL Diesel is about 10.65 lakh rupees. I can offer you free insurance of about 22 thousand rupees and a further cash discount of 20,000 rupees. So, for 10.23 lakh rupees, you get Airbags, ABS, EBD, Climate Control plus Alloy Wheels. 

Team-Bhp: Why can't I get the same discounts on the Scala RxE Diesel?

Renault Dealership Salesman: We're sorry, there are no discounts since it is brand new variant. 

In a nutshell, the above conversation reflects the thinking behind the strategy of car makers launching attractively priced base variants. A base variant, similar to introductory pricing, serves as a carrot to allure the prospective car buyer to the showroom. Usually, most buyers drive out in a higher variant. This is a major reason why stripped out, base variants of cars are rare sights on roads.