Two of Renault’s flagships get a new
face and then some
You know what? Why don’t you tell me what
is different in these cars. Go ahead, take a wild guess. What’s that you say?
You don’t need to guess? That’s right, and I’ll tell you why anyway. It’s
because what you see in these pictures is pretty much all there is to these
updates. Well, almost.
Now, both these cars have been around for a
while. Apart from their lifespan, the only thing that these two have in common
was the shockingly few number of units that they sold. Personally, I don’t
understand it because they are both outstanding automobiles. They both handle
well, they both ride well and they are both good looking. But then I don’t
understand why millions of teenagers like Justin Beiber either, so we’ll leave
it at that.
The
Renault Fluence has a good balance between ride and handling
Instead, let’s look at the two cars we have
here and the changes that Renault has made to them. On the face of it, it’s
just, well, the face. Both the Fluence and the Koleos get an all-new front end.
The Fluence gets a redesigned grille with piano-black trim around it, which
looks especially good in contrasting colours like white. Additionally, there
are new projector headlights, new foglamps, redesigned bumpers and daytime
running lights. This makes the already good-looking Fluence even better.
Inside, there is new trim on the leather bits and a new entertainment system
from Arkamys. That’s pretty much it.
The car still uses the same K9K motor in
110-bhp tune with a claimed economy figure of 20.4 kpl. And much like all the
other Renaults that we have driven, the Fluence, too, has managed to get the
balance between dynamics and ride quality just right.
The
Renault Koleos is pricey for what it offers
What about the Koleos, then? The majority
of the changes in the Koleos, too, are cosmetic. First, there is the new front
end with a bolder grille. I wasn’t a big fan of it at first. I think it looks
like an unusually happy fish. But after a few hours spent staring at it from
different angles, it did grow on me.
Apart from minor trim differences from the
older model, the exterior is the same. Inside, too, there are only minor
cosmetic changes. The biggest change in the Koleos, though, is under the hood.
The 2.0-litre dCI motor now makes 173 bhp (up from 150 bhp). This does make the
Koleos quite nice to drive, but it still isn’t quite exciting enough. The
gearbox really spoils the fun, thanks to the fact that it sometimes has a mind
of its own. And when combined with the engine’s famous lag, the combination is
quite disastrous, especially when you’re going up a twisty mountain road.
Fluence
cabin throws up a mixed bag. Most of it is well crafted but there are areas
where there could have been greater attention to detail
You would think that in manual mode, this
would get sorted. But no, the gearbox sometimes shifts up just as you are
hitting the power band, leaving you right back in lag-country. But if you’re
driving around in level terrain (read that as the city or highways), the Koleos
is a breeze. There is enough power for overtakes and the ride is quite
comfortable. Oh, and there is one more change — unlike before, the Koleos now
gets three variants — the 4x4 AT, the 4x4 MT and the 4x2 MT.
Koleos
dual tone cabin feels airy and roomy. Ergonomics though take time getting used
to
So, both these cars have gotten a refresh
that will definitely put them back on the radar for buyers. And at a price of
$25,710 for the top-of-the-line Fluence and $43,470 for the
all-bells-and-whistles Koleos (both ex-showroom, Delhi), they drive a hard
bargain, too. I only hope that they don’t get stuck in the same rut they have
been in for the past few years. However, with Renault promising to get its
service network on track soon, I don’t see why these cars shouldn’t be proper
threats to the more established competition.
