A facelifted Fluence was revealed by Renault at the Istanbul Auto Expo held in the year 2012. This car has already been launched in the European nations and it was likely to enter into the Indian market by the end of 2013. Now this expectation has become more solid since this new version of Fluence has been spotted in India. The car has been spotted near the company’s manufacturing plant in Oragadam located on the outskirts of Chennai.
The Renault S.A is a French automobile manufacturing firm that was found in the year 1899 by the three Renault brothers. The cars were designed and engineered by Louis Renault and marketed by Marcel and Fernand Renault. The first car sold by them was Renault Voiturette on 24th December in 1898 with 12 more cars sold on that same day. Within just 10 years of establishment, by around 1908, Renault had become France’s largest car producer. Today Renault is among the top 3 European automobile manufacturers and the 9th largest in the world. It has an alliance with Nissan Motors since 1998 which together makes them the 4th largest manufacturer in the world.
Fluence was launched by Renault in the year 2009. This saloon is built using the alliance’s C platform and is a small sized family car. It also goes by the name Renault Samsung SM3. This car received a facelift in the year 2012 and since then has been on sale in its overseas markets excluding India. The car has now been spotted in India and will head for its official launch in the country pretty soon.
The facelifted model endorses a redesigned interior as well as the exterior. The car gets a new corporate grille similar to the European model. The front bumper of the car is also revised and now has day time running LED lamps.
Talking about the car interior, it gets an increased number of electrical equipments. The car now gets a touch screen infotainment system, a satellite navigation system, electronic parking brakes and parking sensors, a completely digital instrument cluster and improved seats.
As far the engine specification is concerned, they remain unchanged. The car will offer the same performance characteristic as that of the current Fluence model in the country. This new Fluence will also be available in 2 variants- petrol and diesel. The petrol run model has a 2 litre engine offering a maximum power output of 137 bhp and a torque of 190 Nm. This variant is mated to a CVT auto transmission. The diesel run model has a K9K 1.5 litre engine offering a maximum power output of 109 bhp and a torque of 240 Nm. This variant is mated to a 6 speed manual gear box. In the international market another option of a 1.6 litre turbo diesel engine is also available but it might not make it to India.
This facelifted version is already on sales in a number countries including Turkey, which houses the Oyak Renault plant in Bursa. Fluence is imported into India as CKD (completely knocked down) units from this plant in Turkey. This facelifted version will most likely go on sale by the end of 2013. Renault might launch the car earlier in order to benefit from the festive season that will begin in September.
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