Archive for Renault

The Renault Megane Coupe comes hot after the 5-door Megane hatchback was unveiled to the public in September this year. It is the second of the Megane’s supposed 6 different bodystyles, so now we have 2 down and 4 to go!

The 5-door’s styling looks quite sedate compared to the aggressive snake-head-like design of the Coupe, with the fangs represented by two bits of trim that runs on the front extending downwards from the headlamps. The Coupe (essentially a rebodied 2-door version of the 5-door hatch) is 12mm lower than the hatchback for a sportier stance. The Coupe has less boot space than the hatch at 377 liters compared to 405 liters.

The oil burner range consists of the dCi range of engines, with the tamest being the dCi 85 and the most powerful being the dCi 160 for manual and the dCi 150 with an automatic transmission. The petrol range goes from a bare necessity 110hp 1.6 liter up to a TCe 180 engine. A TCe 130 1.4 liter turbocharged engine will be added in Spring 2009 featuring 130hp and 190Nm of torque, the equivalents of a 1.8 and a 2.0L engine respectively.

It seems that despite being larger, both the Megane and Megane Coupe are about an average of 8kg lighter than its predecessors. However most of the platform components, principal mechanical assemblies, parts and technical solutions have been carried over from the previous generation Megane II.

Look after the jump for a gallery of images and 4 videos.

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The Renault Megane Coupe will be making an appearance a few weeks before its official launch in the virtual world – the Need for Speed Undercover game, and in the real life at the Top Gear’s MPH Show the end of this month. Renault and Electronic Arts has released some images of what appears to be the Megane in the Need for Speed Undercover game world. While its obvious the photos are a computer rendering, they look really good. The game seems to have quite a decent rendering engine.

Look after the jump for two more shots.

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TC Euro Cars officially launched a set of 5 Renault cars today with revised prices – some have gone up and some have come down compared to the preview prices unveiled in March this year.

There is also an additional model added to the initial range of 4 vehicles – the 5th is the Clio 1.6 hatchback. All are CBU imports.

The cheapest of the lot is the Clio III 1.6, but it’s only cheap compared to the other Renaults offered. This little B-segment hatch is powered by a 110hp 151Nm 1.6L petrol engine. Its price tag of RM145,037.00 without insurance seems seriously steep compared to other imported European B-segment cars such as the Volkswagen CrossPolo and the Fiat Bravo GT. In fact, it’s even more expensive than the Polo GTI!

A more powerful version of the Clio is offered in the form of the 3-door Clio RS 197. This one will cost you RM210,182.00 OTR without insurance, which is almost a RM15K drop from the previously indicated price of RM224,675.50. The RS 197’s 2.0 liter engine produces 197bhp at 7,250rpm and 217Nm of torque at 5,550rpm, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.

Two versions of the Megane are available – a coupe-cabriolet that allows you to enjoy an open top driving experience and the R26 Sport hot hatch.

The Megane Coupe-Cabriolet has had a small price drop of RM233,541.50 to the new price of RM229,931.00. It is powered by a regular 2.0 liter engine producing 135hp at 5,500rpm and 191Nm of torque at lower than usual 3,750rpm. This engine is mated to a Tiptronic 4-speed automatic transmission. An earlier pricelist also indicated the Megane CC had only 4 airbags, but at time of launch this has been upped to 6. Although the Megane III has just been launched, this Megane CC still remains fresh as there is no convertible version of the Megane III yet, but I’m not sure for how long.

The Megane R26 Sport is now about RM20k cheaper at RM229,988.00. This one is a scorcher, producing 230 horsepower at 5,500rpm and 310Nm of torque at 3,000rpm, mated to a 6-speed manual. These figures top the Golf GTI’s performance figures of 200 PS and 280Nm of torque, but you will have to do the shift-work yourself.

The final choice is a practical one – the Renault Grand Espace MPV with 7 seats. It has a turbocharged engine which means loads of torque to haul the vehicle around even when its fully loaded, which should provide a relaxed drive. You get 170 horsepower at 5,000rpm and 270Nm of torque at 3,250rpm while only paying road tax for a 2.0 liter engine. The Grand Espace costs RM289,967.00, down from RM294,938.75.

Renault’s Z.E. Concept is your standard run of the mill concept electric vehicle that’s based on a production model with jazzed up styling so that it looks worthy to be called a concept. Instead of a petrol or diesel engine, the Renault Kangoo be bop that is the base for this concept is instead powered by a 94 horsepower electric motor with a peak torque of 226Nm, backed by lithium ion batteries. The press release does not state how this is charged so we can only assume it is a plug-in EV. All of this is pretty heavy though – the concept clocks in at 1,520kg unladen.

Perhaps more important than the run of the mill motor itself is how Renault plans to stretch the miles with a limited battery source.To help conserve battery power for the electric motor use, Renault has employed a few techniques to reduce power consumption by auxiliaries such as the lighting, heating and climate control.

Firstly, the Z.E. Concept’s bodywork functions like a Thermos flask. The body comprises of two insulating panels with a sandwich of air. This limits variations in temperature between the exterior and the interior. The internal temperature regulation system is powered by a solar panel on the roof.

As for heating, Renault plays on the psychological effect of generally feeling warmth if the face and hands are warm. So the heater system channels warmth to these key zones through means such as a heated steering wheel.

Aerodynamics have been improved by using low-energy cameras to replace wing mirrors and a special alloy wheel design that is low on drag. The headlamps use LEDs to reduce power consumption.

Click here to read the rest of Renault Z.E. Concept based on new Kangoo be-bop

In efforts to make it easier for more people to enter the world of rally motorsports, Renault Sport Technologies have created a new variant of the Clio R3 Maxi called the Renault Clio Renaultsport R3 Access.

In countries with relatively weaker currencies such as ours, motorsports can be even more prohibitive to the grassroots, with only the rich with tons of disposable income being able to participate in races and the rest of us having to contend with trafficlight sprints and rempiting on long straights in the middle of the night.

The R3 Access Clio aims to open up “access” to motorsports to a wider range of people with a pre-tax price of €32,600 (RM158,000) and a calculated average competing cost of €17 (RM82) per km. If one wants to upgrade to R3 Maxi specs later they can easily do so via a “Premium kit” which will upgrade the chassis, brakes and engine up to R3 Maxi specifications.

The Access model features a Clio Renaultspot bodyshell strengthened with a welded roll cage featuring more than 40 meters of tubing. The 2.0 liter high revving engine derived from the Clio Renaultsport 197 produces 200 horsepower at 7,500rpm and 214Nm of torque at 5,250rpm. It goes on to a redline point of 7,800rpm at which you will shift to the next cog of the Sadev 6 speed dog-teeth gearbox with a ZF LSD.

The wheels are identical to the Maxi spec version featuring 17 inch Speedline alloys wrapped with Michelin rubber. The car rides on Bilstein dampers at all four wheels and has the 4-pot Brembo brakes standard on the Clio Renaultsport 197.

Look after the jump for a few more hi-res photos.

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The Renault Megane Trophy that competes in the World Series gets updated for the 2009 model year. It may look like a Megane but it is actually built on a multi-tubular steel chassis with a semi-stressed engine and gearbox.

The styling for 2009 has been updated to match the look of the new Megane Coupe. Only the front and rear light units as well as the windscreen are from the road car.

Renault-Nissan’s venerable 3.5 liter V6 engine is mounted in a mid-rear position driving the rear wheels, mated to a sequential six-speed semi-automatic gearbox with steering-mounted paddle shifts. It produces 360hp and 390Nm of torque, with rebuild intervals of 5,500km.

Brakes are 356mm vented steel discs with 6 pistons at the front and 330mm vented steel discs with 4 pistons at the rear. Wheels are 18 inch one-piece aluminium alloys wrapped with Michelin tyres. The car rides on double wishbone suspensions on both the front and rear, with an anti-roll bar at the front.

Existing Megane Trophy owners will be able to upgrade to this new engine and look thanks to a kit that will go on sale by end-2008. Modifications required to adapt the existing chassis to the new bodywork will be performed by Renault at its Alpine factory.

Look after the jump for more photos.

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Russian car manufacturer AvtoVAZ will pay a sum of 220 million Euros to Renault (who owns 25% of AvtoVAZ) to license its Logan car platform to use as underpinings for the next generation Lada car range. 100 million is for licensing rights for the platform and the remainder 120 million are for the use of 2 of Renault’s engines.

Lada is Russia’s number one selling car marque with total sales of 428,000 cars from January to August 2008. Its market lead is currently being challenged by competitors such as Hyundai, Chevrolet and Ford who are coming in with cars that are more modern, so this is a way for Lada to step it up in terms of updating their cars to modern standards.

The first Lada based on the Logan platform could go on sale as early as 2011. Shown in the picture above is a Lada Priora, an example of a current Lada model sold in Russia.

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.

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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.

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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.

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