Renault Kwid details revealed before launch

The all-new Kwid marks Renault India’s entry into the highly competitive entry-level hatchback segment. As one would expect, the French carmaker has gone to great lengths to make the Kwid suitable for a wide range of small car buyers. So far, we know that the Renault Kwid looks quite rugged for its size and will be backed by a practical cabin and an efficient petrol engine. And now Renault has officially revealed a whole load of new details on the much-awaited Kwid hatchback.       

Although it’s essentially a five-seater hatchback, the Kwid sports a quite rugged and appealing exterior design. In terms of dimensions, the vehicle is 3679mm long, 1579mm high off the ground and 1471mm wide. The wheelbase is also quite impressive at 2422mm. In comparison, the car’s arch rival Alto 800 measures in at 3,395mm in length and 1,490mm in width. Additionally, Renault is also claiming a class-leading ground clearance of 180mm, making the Kwid apt for bad roads conditions.

Talking about the all-important drivetrain, the Kwid features a 799cc, 3-cylinder petrol engine. This engine makes around 54bhp of power and 75Nm of torque. Now that may not sound like a lot but we have to remember that the Kwid weighs only 660kg which is light even by entry-level small car standards. Meanwhile, the 5-speed gearbox in this car is also newly developed for the 799cc engine. 

Thanks to its lightweight architecture, Renault is claiming a fuel efficiency of 25.1kmpl, putting it well ahead of the Maruti Alto 800 and the Hyundai Eon with 22.70kmpl and 22kmpl respectively.

Inside, there are a lot of usable cubby holes and in the top-spec variant, a few essential features too. For instance, there’s a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth connectivity, digital speedometer, air conditioning, alloy wheels and roof rails as standard.

The Kwid will be sold with a 2 year/50,000km warranty and with prices ranging between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4.2 lakh. When launched by October 2015, the Renault Kwid will have the Hyundai Eon and the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 as competitors.