Renault Kwid Spotted On Test Without Camouflage In Gurugram | V3Cars

Renault Kwid Spotted On Test — What Could It Be?

The Kwid was spotted with emission testing equipment and red number plates. Hence, we believe Renault could be testing a few mechanical updates that could make the Kwid comply with upcoming BS6 phase-II emission norms. Phase-II of the BS6 emission norms will require every carmaker to achieve emission targets under real world conditions rather than under simulated test conditions. The test mule that was spied was a top-spec variant of the Kwid equipped with a 1.0L petrol engine. This engine is available with both a 5-speed manual transmission and 5-speed automated manual transmission (AMT).

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Renault Kwid 1.0L Engine Specifications

In the current Kwid, the 1.0L normal petrol engine produces 68PS of power at 5500rpm and 91Nm of torque at 4250rpm. We expect the power and torque figures of this engine to remain the same even after it receives updates to comply with the BS6 phase-II emission norms.

Will Renault Discontinue The 0.8L Engine?

Alongside the 1.0L normal petrol, Renault also offer the Kwid with a 0.8L normal petrol engine. This engine produces 54PS of power at 5600rpm and 72Nm of torque at 4250rpm. It only comes with a 5-speed manual transmission. Currently, the only other hatchback in the market with a 0.8L petrol engine is the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800. However, Maruti Suzuki are likely to pull the plug on the Alto 800 soon as its successor, the Alto K10, which is equipped with a 1.0L normal petrol engine, is already on sale.

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That said, we do not expect Renault to upgrade the 0.8L normal petrol engine to comply with the more stringent emission norms because of 2 reasons. Firstly, this engine is only available in Kwid as other offerings like the Triber and Kiger use the 1.0L normal petrol engine. Secondly, the unit dispatches of the 0.8L variants may not justify the investment that is required to make this engine compliant with the BS6 phase-II emission norms.

This move would mean that the new Kwid will carry a higher starting price over the current model. Currently, the Kwid’s prices start from Rs. 4.70 lakh and go up to Rs. 5.99 lakh ex-showroom. Interestingly, Renault only charge Rs. 10,000 extra for the 1.0L normal petrol engine over the 0.8L engine, which encourages most buyers to go for the bigger and more powerful petrol engine.

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