The Renault Kwid’s underlying proposition is its sports utility styling.
Driven by the fact that this is the body style that is currently the
rage across markets, and not the least because Renault’s success in
India is underlined largely by the Duster’s popularity, the Kwid makes
a statement even when standing still. The entry hatchback segment is
lacking in variety and the tall-boy design is by now passe. So, is it
just SUV styling or does the Kwid’s design also serve a purpose? Well,
if the 180mm ground clearance and the extra headroom at the front can
be considered more practical than what is offered by the others in the
segment, then the Kwid’s design would have already served a purpose
EXTERIORS
The Renault Kwid 2017 looks very beefy. It is a contemporary car and
looks that way. The Kwid has tough looks and a tall appearance. High
ground clearance is one of its USPs of Renault Kwid 2017 and it also
gets matte black body cladding. This makes it look bigger and bulkier
as compared to other cars in its segme
Renault Kwid 2017 has transformed the entire entry level hatchback
segment. The Kwid has SUV looks and not typical car looks. The others
cars in the segment are compact and basic in styling, while the Kwid
feels large enough and rugged with its high ground clearance. The Kwid
looks more rugged due to the body cladding. The Renault Kwid 2017
stands out in a crowd with its black grille. From the side it looks
seems impressive with a high ground clearance. The tyres are skinny
and are the only downside on the Kwid. This is in view of keeping
costs low and deriving a higher fuel efficiency. It gets blacked out
door pillars and also door handles. The rear profile of the Renault
Kwid 2017 is also quite good with small tail lamps and black rear
bumper.
INTERIORS
The interior of the more powerful Renault Kwid is ditto and there are
no extra features on offer in this variant. However, the Kwid is
already well equipped to keep the buyers happy. The layout is simple
and functional but the touchscreen infotainment system is the party
piece of the Kwid’s interior. You don’t get such features in the
competition. You have navigation system, Bluetooth connectivity with
music streaming and a lot more. Sadly, rear view mirrors still don’t
get internally adjustable function. Rear passengers don’t get power
windows either. What you do get is plenty of cabin space along with a
huge 300-litre boot space.
PERFORMANCE
The Renault Kwid uses an all-new, all-aluminium, three-cylinder petrol engine.
Its capacity is 799cc, power is 53.26bhp and torque is 7.34kgm, but
the statistic you really want to know is 25.12kpl – an ARAI rated fuel
economy figure that makes it the most efficient petrol car in the
country. That figure remains to be tested in the real world, so for
now, let’s see what it’s like to drive.
Fire it up and you will get a fair bit of vibration and clatter that
lingers at idle, but soon fades away as you start to rev it. Snick the
positive-feeling gear lever into first and try to set off, however,
and you’ll notice it feels very jerky and hesitant. Many will feel the
need to feed in some throttle and slip the clutch, in fact. Get past
this and progress becomes a lot smoother, and you’ll soon notice the
engine has a good amount of pep. The max torque may be produced at
4,386rpm, but you get 80 percent of it from as low as 1,200rpm.
However, it’s best to use the accelerator gently and smoothly with
this engine, as it doesn’t respond well to hasty inputs. Punch down
hard and it will stutter and fumble, and the resultant acceleration is
not smooth at all. In fact, power delivery overall can be a bit
inconsistent, with noticeable ‘gaps’ in progress. Speaking of which,
there’s also a big gap between second and third gears. Refinement is
not great either, but rather than a three-cylinder clatter as you
might expect, the bigger noise is an ever-present mechanical whine in
the cabin. Push on and power suddenly drops off and gives way to noise
after a certain point. Still, we feel the performance is more than
adequate by the 800cc segment standards.
RIDE AND HANDLING
It is a Renault at the end of the day and this is felt with the way
the Kwid handles. There is a slight roll felt around corners at high
speeds but the entire setup does a great job of maintaining its
straight stance. Renault rightly claims that the Kwid mimics the
Duster by offering similar level of driving dynamics, which has to be
its salient feature. To make sure there isn’t much of drama when it
comes to bringing the vehicle to a complete halt, it gets disc brakes
in front and drum on the rear. Since there is no ABS offered for now,
the tiny rubbers screech to glory during abrupt braking. We wish the
brakes to be tad more effective. Overall, it leaves an amazing
impression and is undoubtedly the best city car to drive in its
segment.
VERDICT
If it is your first car, and you haven’t experienced a torque
converter or dual clutch automatic before, the Renault Kwid AMT will prove
both easy to drive and agreeable to own. The gearshifts aren’t jerky,
the throttle is linear and responsive, and thanks to the 1-litre
engine, it is also energetic to drive in the city. We haven’t tested
it for fuel economy yet, but we expect it to return efficiency figures
matching the manual Kwid 1.0. What’s more, it carries over the
highlights of the Kwid: a light steering, a plush low speed ride and
clear visibility.