What's the news?
Two small cars have been launched in India, which may have you thinking a whole lot of so what? But wait, these are small, cheap, quite funky-looking Renaults and they could be coming to Europe, badged as Dacias.
The Kwid has been a steady seller for Renault in India, and it's a small, affordable, roughly-Twingo-sized runabout. With these new versions, it's breaking into SUV territory with the Kwid Climber and hot hatch land with the Racer.
The Climber has higher ground clearance than standard, black plastic mouldings to provide protection from bumps and scratches, protection panels for the head and tail lights and big, diamond-finished wheels. It also has the hi-vis orange paint work expected of off-roaders these days.
The Kwid Racer is a sporty little number, with 18-inch wheels, low profile tyres, bucket seats with racing harnesses and even a roll cage. Inside there is a performance-figure-oriented trip computer (Renault claims that it displays 'telemetry data') and even some splashes of carbon fibre.
Laurens Van Den Acker, Senior Vice President, Corporate Design, who was present at the unveil, shared: "At first glance, Renault Kwid blends an emotional design with the need for reassurance expressed by customers. Its SUV lines mirror its tough, robust character and underpin its distinctive, modern look. Both of the show cars are based on the Renault Kwid platform. The front end is distinctive and immediately recognisable as a Renault. The wheel arches are generous and the unique body colours bear design touches common to both vehicles."
And we might be getting them soon, or at least something like them. The Kwid, despite being small and cheap, is actually built on a brand-new, cutting-edge platform called CMF-A, and is the first car in the Renault-Nissan group to use that chassis. Rumour has it that Dacia has designs on the same setup and that we'll be getting the Kwid here with a quick badge change to Dacia. While the car would need more safety equipment to comply with European legislation, the engineering is already in place in the platform.
Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has previously said that the Kwid won't be rebadged as a Dacia, but he's been known to change his mind in the past...
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