Improved Renault Fluence to launch soon

The Renault Fluence was the company’s first product in India, launched in May 2011, but it hasn’t been selling in big numbers. The car has been seeing average sales of up to 200 cars a month in the first few months, that then dropped to 100 and then to about 70 in the past three months.

The Renault Duster has overshadowed all the other Renault products in India, selling nearly 5000 units a month. When the Fluence was launched it came in only two variants – a 2-litre petrol CVT and a 1.5 litre 105 bhp diesel, which didn’t have too many features. Renault addressed this by bringing out a more expensive higher variant of the Fluence – the E4 diesel, with all the features that were present in the petrol and added a little more power (110PS). Also read: Renault Fluence facelift coming to India next year

What’s new with the Fluence?

The big changes to the Fluence are in the front look. The car gets a sleek one piece bumper that also has the new grille and large Renault log placed in it. The grille appears to connect the headlamps on either side. The lower portion of the bumper has a new fog lamp housing and a wider air dam, giving the front of the Fluence a sporty look. The fog lamp housing also will likely have LED daytime running lamps above it (like the Skoda Laura RS). On the sides, the only change one can see are new alloy wheels. There are no visible changes to the rear of the car. Also read: Renault Fluence petrol road test

On the interiors, an LCD driver information display has apparently been added, as well as front and rear parking sensors. The infotainment system has also been upgraded, and the Fluence gets new upholstery choices too.

Renault is also apparently working on a new engine-transmission combination for the Fluence. It may launch a diesel automatic variant, with a six-speed dual clutch gearbox that will make the car even more convenient to drive – and give good fuel economy. However, expect this variant to push up prices by at least Rs. 1.2  lakh. Also see: Renault Fluence diesel review

The new Renault Fluence is likely to be introduced in India in summer, with the same 1.5 litre diesel and 2 litre petrol engine choices, with some tweaks to the variant line up.