We had recently reported that Renault would be reentering the Indian market, after its split with JV partner, Mahindra & Mahindra, with the Fluence as their first offering. Well the Fluence was debuted today and is now up for grabs, with the diesel variant priced at Rs. 12.99 lakh and the petrol variant priced at Rs. 14.4 lakh. Renault has offered only a single trim level option for both the variants.
Renault first entered the Indian market, with their entry D-segment, which is presently ruled by Toyota Corolla. It also includes the Chevrolet Cruze, Honda Civic, Volkswagen Jetta and the Skoda Laura. In the last couple of years, the D-segment has not seen a lot of growth, in comparision to the C or premium D and entry E segments, because of a lack of new players.
With Renault now entering this segment, more action can be expected, as even Honda is getting ready to launch their new 2012 Civic, Ford plans to enter with their Focus model in 2012, and Volkswagen will introduce the new Jetta variant in this segment, later in the year.
The new Fluence features a diesel 1.5l engine, paired with a manual 6 speed transmission to deliver 112 bhp of max power. The Fluence petrol variant, however, features a 2.0l engine, paired with a CVT six speed gearbox which delivers 135 bhp of max power.
The diesel variant is their basic spec model which features airbags, stereo with four speakers, ESP and ABS as standard options, while the petrol variant features all around leather upholstery, USB/aux, cruise control, air vents for the rear, leather encased steering wheel, parking sensors and netted screens to name a few.
