Renault RBC Spotted Testing [Video]

French carmaker Renault is currently testing out its upcoming 7-seater MPV on Indian roads ahead of its launch sometime next year. Piyush Gaur, an avid reader of Cartoq, recently caught the upcoming Renault RBC as it was testing in the city of Gurgaon in the National Capital Territory. The all-new Renault RBC will rival the Maruti Ertiga when it arrives in 2019.

The Renault RBC is based on a modified version of the Renault Nissan Alliance’s CMF-A platform which has been dubbed CMF-A+. The RBC mule spotted testing in Gurgaon looks to be nearly identical to other units seen testing South India, near the carmaker’s base in Tamil Nadu. The latest images and videos of the RBC on test have given us a much clearer picture in terms of the size of the upcoming MPV from Renault. Based on the video and earlier images, it would seem that the Renault RBC will slot above the Ertiga in terms of size.

The test mule seen in Gurgaon sported regular steel wheels similar to the ones seen on other test vehicles in the past. The heavily camouflaged MPV features very short overhangs, which show Renault’s priority to increase space on the inside. Considering how large the MPV seems to be in the video, expect passengers in both rows at the back to get an ample amount of legroom when the RBC finally goes on sale.

In terms of design, earlier images of the RBC have revealed a Kwid like front end though the main styling elements like the grille and the headlamps and grille look to be quite a lot larger. The roofline is quite flat, and the roof itself seems to be quite a way off the ground suggesting good amounts of headroom on the inside for passengers. The rear hatch features a sharply raked rear windscreen.

Not much else is known about the Renault RBC especially in terms of its powertrain. The RBC is expected to ditch the Kwid’s 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine as it would be quite a bit underpowered to pull a vehicle that is a lot larger than Renault’s entry-level hatchback.

There are reports that suggest that Renault could adopt the Nissan Micra’s 1.2-litre petrol engine which is also used on the Datsun Go+ MPV. Other options that could end up under the hood of the production RBC are the 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engine found in the Renault Duster SUV.

The RBC is expected will be offered with manual gearbox options though there is currently no news about an automatic transmission option for the Maruti Ertiga rival. If an automatic transmission is offered on the upcoming MPV, we expect it to be an AMT unit, as the French carmaker looks to keep costs down.