Archive for Renault

The Renault-Nissan Alliance’s new TCe 130 engine is said to combine the best parts of both the European and Japanese halves of the partnership - Nissan’s petrol engine expertise and Renault’s turbocharging and combustion experience.

The new TCe 130 engine is a 1,397cc engine derived from the HR family of engines, which currently consist of the HR15DE and the HR16DE. The HR16DE is no stranger as it is found in both the Nissan Latio and Nissan Grand Livina found in our local market. In Renault nomenclature it is called the H4Jt (Nissan HR14DET?) and joins its Renault-derived TCe 100 1.2 liter turbocharged D4F engine as part of a family of new downsized and force inducted engines for better fuel economy and lower emissions.

The 1.4 liter engine has an aluminium sump and a quick-spooling turbocharger. Its head has been redesigned to feature ports that create a swirling effect in the airflow which mixes the air-fuel mixture more evenly, improving combustion and as a result, torque at low revs. The head also has a continuously variable camshaft angle for the intake. The use of a low-noise timing chain increases durability.

The Euro 5 compliant engine produces 130 horsepower at 5,500rpm and 190Nm of torque at 2,250rpm. It will be used in C-segment Renault cars such as the new Renault Megane III and upcoming MPVs based on the new Megane III platform. No news yet on which Nissans will use this engine.

Look after the jump for photos, a torque graph and a video of the new engine.

Click here to read the rest of Renault-Nissan turbocharged 1.4 liter H4Jt engine

The new Renault Megane 5-door hatchback has been unveiled prior to its public debut at Paris 2008, and is one of the 6 different body styles that are set to be launched by 2010. The 5-door hatch will go on sale in November this year. What are the other five… here’s a guess: 3-door hatch, sedan, touring, MPV, coupe-convertible?

Renault’s new C-segment contender has short front and rear overhangs and a wheelbase of 2640mm, longer than the previous generation Megane hatch’s 2625mm wheelbase. The other bodystyles will likely have different wheelbase lengths as the Megane Sedan had a longer 2,686mm wheelbase, so for this generation it could stretch to beyond 2,700mm like the Civic and Lancer GT.

On the exterior you will immediately notice a more traditional hatchback shape rather than the previous Megane’s butt that stuck out oddly. The interior looks rather traditional and maybe even a little dated at first sight but there are some unique features such as the meter panel which uses a dual dial arrangement with the trip computer placed on the right, and the speedometer dial shown on an LCD featuring digital/graphics readings for speed, integrated fuel level, temperature and door opening displays. The RPM meter remains traditional and placed on the left.

The cruise control settings puts the digital speedometer dial LCD display to good use, displaying the selected cruise speed at the top of the speedometer. The speedometer will have a ring of lights that take the form of an arc around the central display. This lights up red as the speed increases. A maximum speed can also be set this way, and the selected top speed will flash if exceeded.

A choice of either a dCi turbodiesel, normally aspirated or TCe turbocharged gasoline engine is available for the buyer of the new Renault. The dCi engines consist of the 85, 90, 105, 110 and 130 states of tune. The dCi 130 produces 130hp at 3,750rpm and 300Nm of torque at 1,750rpm which are lower peak points than the previous dCi 130 model (4,000rpm and 2,000rpm). As you can probably guess, the number indicates how much horsepower the engine produces. A dCi 160 with a manual gearbox and a dCi 150 mated to an automatic will soon be added later.

The two normally aspirated petrol engines are the 1.6 liter 16 valve 100 and 110hp engines and the 2.0 liter 16 valve 140hp engine. A CVT gearbox will be available with the 140hp engine soon. The top of the line is the TCe turbocharged 2.0 liter engine producing 180 horsepower. Something new and interesting to be added later is a new TCe 130 engine developed by the Renault-Nissan Alliance, which is a 1.4 liter turbocharged inline-4 engine that can produce 130 horsepower and 190Nm of torque. I eagerly await for this engine to get cheap enough to replace the likes of the MR18DE - it would just be perfect in the Nissan Grand Livina 1.8.

The hatchback has a maximum boot volume of 405 liters (372 with spare wheel). This boot space can be extended via the 60:40 split rear bench.

Look after the jump for more hi-res photos of the new Megane hatch.

Click here to read the rest of Official: Renault Megane III 5-door hatchback!

Click for hi-res photo

Renault has given the Renault/Dacia Sandero an offroader styling treatment and the result is this - the Renault Sandero Stepway. Its essentially the same vehicle as the Sandero but with a higher ground clearance and a different take on styling which gives the hatchback and off-roader look. Think of this as a budget Volkswagen CrossPolo.

Under the hood is the 112 horsepower 1.6 liter Hi-Flex engine that supports bio-ethanol as fuel, one of Renault’s popular bio-ethanol engines in Brazil.

One more rear shot after the jump.

Related Posts:
Renault Sandero: 5-door Renault Logan

Click here to read the rest of Renault Sandero Stepway: budget “crossover”

The Renault Symbol (also called the Renault Thalia or Clio Sedan in some markets) is a low-cost 3-box sedan based on the Renault Clio platform. It also uses the same suspension as the Clio II (the Clio is now in its third generation). It will be unveiled to the public at the 2008 Moscow International Auto Show on the 26th of August 2008.

It looks like something you would expect out of the Saab design studio. The Symbol will most likely share the same engine options as the Dacia Logan, which is also a budget car based on the Clio platform. This is probably the same car with better styling to position it slightly higher in the market.

More images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of New Renault Symbol sedan based on Renault Clio

The recently unveiled 450 unit limited run Renault Megane R26.R set a lap record for front wheel drive cars at the Nurburgring track, completing a lap in 8 minutes and 17 seconds. A full list of the R26.R’s specifications are available here along with a hi-res photo gallery, but look after the jump for the video recording of the car tearing up the ‘ring.

Click here to read the rest of Renault Megane R26.R Nurburgring Lap

A limited edition 450 unit run of the Megane R26 was unveiled at the 2008 British International Motor Show called the Renault Megane R26.R. The Renault Megane F1 Team R26 was used as the base car, undergoing various modifications (such as the removal of the car’s rear seats) that resulted in a kerb weight lighter by 123kg.

On the interior you have Sabelt bucket seats and aviation-style six-point harness belts. There is also an optional four-point roll-cage for track use. The suspension has been modified with uprated spring rates and dampers (13.4mm to 14mm/100kg at the front, 15.1mm to 16.2mm/100kg at the rear). One of the bushes between the front suframe and lower arm has been stiffened.

Other parts sacrificed in the interest of weight reduction includes all airbags except the driver airbag, automatic climate control, rear wiper and wash, foglamps, headlamp washes and most of the soundproofing material. The bonnet is now made of carbon fibre (saves 7.5kg), as with the seat shells (25kg). The quarterlights and rear screen are now made of polycarbonate which saves 5.7kg.

The 312mm front brake discs are grooved instead of cross-drilled and are stopped with 4-pot Brembo calipers. Tyres are Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tyres in 235/40R18 size, with optional Toyo Proxes R888 in 225/40R18 available.

The complete drivetrain has been carried over from the R26 including the 6-speed manual and LSD. The engine is a 2.0 liter turbocharged inline-4 producing 230 horsepower and a peak torque of 310Nm, with 90% of the peak torque available from 2,000rpm to 6,000rpm. 0 to 100km/h takes 6 seconds, and a Nurburgring lap takes 8 minutes and 17 seconds, which Renault says is a record for front wheel drive cars.

The 450 cars will be divided between Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Spain and Germany. Each country gets 26 units except for Great Britain and France which get 230 and 126 units respectively.

Continue reading for more photos in a high resolution gallery.

Click here to read the rest of Renault Megane R26.R 450 unit limited edition

This new facelifted look for the Dacia Logan was first shown on its five-door variant, the Renault Sandero. The facelift attempts to give the Logan a less cheapo look, and is inspired by the hatchback variant but is not exactly the same as the headlamps, bumper and grille are all different.

Under the skin the mechanicals are the same as before, with engine choices ranging from three petrol models (75 PS 1.4, 87 PS 1.6 and 105 PS 1.6) and two diesel models (68 PS 1.5 dCi and 85 PS 1.5 dCi).

A whole photo gallery is available after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Facelifted Dacia New Logan unveiled!

Renault has unveiled the coupe version of its third generation Renault Laguna at the 61st Festival International du Film de Cannes, or better known to us at the Cannes Film Festival. A few engines are available - the same as the sedan and estate’s range, but with a coupe body the highlight will be the relatively high powered V6 engines.

The petrol V6 engine puts out 240 horsepower and 330Nm of torque from 3.5 liters of normally aspirated displacement, while the V6 dCi engine produces 235 horsepower but so much more torque at 450Nm.

Both engines are mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The 2.0 liter petrol and 2.0 liter DCi turbodiesel inline-4 engines are also available.

Despite being a 2-door, the execution of the coupe body on this Laguna doesn’t seem as sleek as some 4-door cars such as the Jaguar XF. The roofline bulges out a tad too high, but who knows, the car may look better in real life. The Laguna Coupe has a wheelbase of 2690mm, a height of 1400mm, a width of 1830mm and a length of 4640mm.

More images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Renault Laguna Coupe: Details and Photos

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Bajaj Auto will form a new joint-venture in India, held 50% by Bajaj Auto, 25% by Renault and 25% by Nissan. The new joint venture will develop and produce a new low cost car called the ULC, which would have a price tag of USD2,500 onwards. Not sure what ULC stands for at this moment, but I’m guessing something to the lines of Ultra Low Cost.

The Bajaj ULC will most likely be a production version of the Bajaj Lite concept car (shown above) displayed at the New Delhi Auto Show earlier this year. The Bajaj Lite concept featured a 2-cylinder engine and driven to the wheels via what Bajaj says is a new type of transmission that is a cross between a manual and an automatic.

That sounds like a manual with a computer controlled clutch like the Savvy’s AMT gearbox to me, but we’ll see what Bajaj has up its sleeves. Could a centrifugal clutch like a bike’s (Bajaj is a bike maker) be used on a car? Actually, it has been used in the past, but we’re talking about cars from the 1930s here.

Bajaj managing director Rajiv Bajaj was quoted referring to the Lite concept to say, “It will be priced competitively but not sell on the pricing. Offering the customer twice the fuel economy is more effective than offering half the price.”

Two more photos of the Bajaj Lite concept after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Renault-Nissan and Bajaj team up for USD2,500 car

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Reader Al Maarof who sent in the photos of the Renault showcase earlier has scanned for us the estimated pricelist (with specifications) for the 4 Renault models going to be offered in Malaysia. All of them are over RM200K, with the turbocharged Renault Grand Espace going for over RM300,000 OTR inclusive of insurance.

Related Posts:
TC Eurocars previews Malaysia-bound Renault cars