Been saving up for a sporty, three-doored Renault hot hatch? If so, you might want to stop reading now because Australia automotive portal, Drive, has reported that the French carmaker will indeed drop production plans on racier three-door hatches to focus on SUVs and crossovers instead.
Renault’s design chief, Laurens van den Acker, revealed to the Aussie site at the ongoing 2015 Tokyo Motor Show that the firm will introduce three-door variants of the Renault Clio RS 200 as well as the new Renault Megane. “It’s probably going to stay five-door, we’ve done the same thing with Clio, the genetics of the car are so sporty there is no need for a three-door,” commented van den Acker.
As a result, SUVs and crossovers are now listed as higher priorities within the firm. “For us it is more a matter of how many cars we can afford to produce. We are adding crossovers, we are adding pick-up trucks to our lineup, we need to reduce somewhere,” he said.
Concerns on a less sportier image adopted by Renault following said announcement have also been addressed. “We’ve followed closely the Clio RS and we’ve had no negative impact from the fact it is a five-door. In fact, it is almost the opposite because people appreciate the added practicality,” he said.
So while individuals hankering after a new three-door hatch may be disappointed, they can find solace in the possibility that the new Renault Megane RS may be equipped with a manual transmission. An earlier report by Autocar UK states that the brand is well aware demand for the stick shift is still going strong. “In an ideal world we would have both EDC and manual options”, said Patrice Ratti, Renault Sport Technologies boss.
GALLERY: Renault Captur driven
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