Renault Fluence Debuts in Brazil

French manufacturer Renault recently launched the Fluence sedan in Brazil to replace the ultra-popular Megane. The car will be offered with a price of $34,600 in Brazil for the entry level version, while the top-of-the-range trim option will even reach $44,000, being offered with all the extras in Renault's range, including GPS, cruise control and traction control.

The first Fluence units will reach dealerships in February next year and Renault hopes to sell around 20,000 units in the first year of availability.

The Renault sedan is already on sale in Europe after it was officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. The car is offered on the Old Continent with a choice of seven engine configurations, two petrol units and five variants of the 1.5 diesel which return CO2 emissions of 119 g/km. The gasoline units are the 1.6 16V 110 horsepower (mated to either an automatic transmission or a manual gearbox) and the 2.0-liter 16V 140 horsepower (offered with CVT or manual transmission).

Also known as the replacement of the Megane Sedan, the Fluence has almost the same front fascia as the new Megane hatchback, and is 4,620mm long, 1,809mm wide, 1,479mm high and has a wheelbase of 2,702mm.

Standard features on the European configurations include ABS with EBD, EBA with automatic activation of the hazard warning lights, ESC with CSV understeer control, three-point inertia-reel seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters for the front seatbelts, driver and passenger airbags, two lateral throrax airbags and two curtain airbags, warning alert if driver or passenger seatbelts are unfastened, three-point ISOFIX anchorage for outer rear seats, cruise control with speed limiter and latest-generation headrests.