Renault’s first product in India, Fluence didn’t quite cash the market as Renault has expected. The French auto maker is quite happy with the enthusiastic response to the Duster and Renault also has hoped to induct some feature to the new facelift of the Fluence.
It is quite evident that Renault’s increasing brand image will strengthen Fluence brand. Most of the changes will be housed in the big and single bumper that also includes a change grille. The mightier Renault Lozenge is placed in the glossy black stripe that connects both headlamps. The lower air dam section has been split into three parts, giving it a very sporty look. The new daytime LED lights are placed just above the fog lamp. Other than the 10 spoke alloy wheel, Fluence looks almost the same and there is no visible change in the sheet metal.
The interior has received few new entries, a LCD display for the driver that is now standard across all models, the front and back parking sensors, automatic parking brakes, Bluetooth, USB support and auxiliary input.
The most important change however lies inside the hood. At the launch Renault failed to read the customer mindset, and it was the feedback that forced Renault to come up with the E4 variant of diesel Fluence. But the demand for the automatic diesel engine is still unfulfilled but Renault is said to be working on the Efficient Dual Clutch (EDC) for the diesel variant. This 6 speed twin clutch is marked with 24.4 Kgm of Torque and is already available in other markets. The EDC version of Fluence can reach from 0-100 kmph in just 11.9 sec with the top speed of about 185 kmph. The fuel efficiency is also just a little lower than the manual transmission.
Renault has already revealed the hi-tech 1.6 litre DCI 130 motor to the Fluence Lineup in the international market. The stop start system and the energy recovery have also been added to the updated version. But we don’t expect this variant to come to Indian market for now. The facelifted Fluence will be first revealed in Turkey in January 2013 and will be arriving India somewhere in first quarter of 2013.
