2019 Renault Kwid TVC shows off the car’s off road ability [Video]

The Renault Kwid is a budget hatchback that has butch looks and a tall ground clearance. It’s this tall ground  clearance, coupled with the short wheelbase that gives the Kwid terrific ability to handle rough roads. This is what  the 2019 Renault Kwid’s TVC showcases. The TVC shows the Kwid executing a couple of jumps and powering its way across the rougher stuff. Here, watch it for yourself.

Recently, Renault India launched the 2019 Kwid. The hatchback got a slew of feature additions even as the styling  remained unchanged. Apart from adding ABS across all trims of the 2019 Kwid, Renault now offers the MediaNAV 4.0 touchscreen infotainment system on the hatchback, which adds Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Prices have remained unchanged, making the 2019 Kwid better value-for-money than before.

As for mechanicals, the 2019 Renault Kwid remains more or less unchanged when compared with the older version. There are 2 engines on offer, both three cylinder units. The smaller motor displaces 800cc and puts out about 53 Bhp-72 Nm while the larger engine displaces 1 liter and makes 68 Bhp-91 Nm. Both engines get 5 speed manual gearboxes as standard with the bigger engine getting an AMT option on the higher trims. The AMT variants get a crawl mode to make driving the Kwid AMT in traffic a lot more convenient than before.

Other feature additions on the 2019 Kwid relate to the safety department. Apart from ABS and a driver’s airbag  offered as standard across trims, the car now gains speed sensing door lock, ELR seatbelts even on the rear seat,  reverse parking sensors and overspeeding alert. These safety additions are meant to make the Kwid compliant with the upcoming Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program (BNVSAP) norms that will come into effect by October 2019.

What remains to be seen though is whether Renault has strengthened the body structure of the car. Sometime ago, a Global NCAP test revealed that the Kwid’s body structure was unstable and that even an airbag wouldn’t really protect the driver of the car. We hope that Renault has made the required changes to the Kwid’s body to make it stable, and capable of withstanding the forces that accidents generate.

Meanwhile, prices of the Kwid start from platform Rs. 2.66 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. The car rivals the Maruti Alto,  the Hyundai Santro, the Datsun RediGO and the Tata Tiago. Notably, the Datsun RediGO is built on the same, common module family A (CMF-A) platform as the Kwid. Both cars share parts extensively including the engines and gearboxes. However, styling is totally different. In terms of positioning, the Datsun RediGO is priced slightly lower than the Kwid. Both cars are built at the Renault-Nissan joint manufacturing facility at Oragadam, near Chennai. The RediGO is also expected to gain similar features in the coming months.