When it took the wraps off the Renault Kwid, the French manufacturer didn't go too much into the fine details of the A- segment crossover. Subsequent reports made it clear that's highly unfeasible for the Kwid to be sold in the EU as a Dacia. Why, you ask?
It was developed to be cheap and versatile, factors mirrored by most products wearing the Dacia badge. But here's the thing – the Renault Kwid doesn't feature electronic stability control in India, but ESP is mandatory for new vehicles sold in Europe.
A further reason the Kwid would have a hard time over the European competition is the sole engine option. The 0.8 three-cylinder is, as we expected, not enough for Euro buyers to perceive the Kwid as an interesting machine.
According to an insider report from Team-BHP, the 0.8-liter naturally aspirated three-banger will develop 57 horsepower. That's 42 kW in Australian money and 56 ponies if you live in the United States of America. Though the Renault-Nissan CMF-A (short for Common Module Family - Affordable) platform and body weigh next to nothing, the purported 57 HP aren't enough in the era of small, turbo mills.
Renault India claims that the 0.8-liter engine is "well positioned in terms of fuel economy," and the previously mentioned report claims a bigger petrol and turbo diesel "might" follow. In the 0.8-liter's case, Team-BHP tells that we should expect an already expected low gearing for the five-speed manual gearbox.
Apparently, "someone who has driven it says that" it "doesn't feel sluggish." Curiously enough, an automatic transmission will be made available and will be operated via a rotary shifter. See the round bit of black plastic slotted right next to the open/close doors button placed on the center stack? That's where it'll go.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News