The 2014 Auto Expo held in Delhi saw some very interesting concepts gracing the event. The KWID Concept turned out to be one such model that was Renault’s showstopper designed to showcase the French car maker’s commitment towards emergent markets. It has now been confirmed that the KWID concept has received a thumbs up from the head honcho’s at Renault to go into production and the compact crossover will be launch in 2016. The KWID concept was also special, since it was Renault’s first global concept to debut outside of Europe, being developed with inputs from the company’s Indian R&D centre.
To be positioned below the Renault Captur internationally, the KWID concept measures 3.6 metres in length, but will be extended to fit just under 4 metres in length, still making the crossover 150 mm shorter than the Captur. This will also make it the smallest crossover Renault has ever produced. We do expect to see the production model taking a lot of styling cues from the KWID concept along with the KWID name as well, much like the Captur.
The KWID concept boasts of pronounced wheel arches, strong shoulder lines and features the new Reanult family grille. The KWID is a very good looking concept, and we do expect to see much of the styling cues adopted on the production model, albeit in a toned down avatar. Also expect to see black body cladding, faux skid plates and roof rails to be added for the off-roader look that buyers in this segment crave for. The production spec model will see a raised ground clearance and a youthful cabin with personalisation options.
While the Renault KWID Concept came with a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine mated to a dual clutch transmission, the production spec model is expected to get the 0.9-litre 3-cylinder petrol unit from the Twingo producing around 89 BHP of power. This unit will be fuel efficient as well. In India though, expect the proven 1.5-litre K9K diesel engine (seen on the Pulse, Scala and Duster) to power the KWID crossover.
Positioned below the Captur, the Renault KWID could see a starting price of 11,500 Pounds (Rs. 11.33 lakhs) for the European version. The Indian spec version on the other hand will have to be priced between the Rs. 6–9 lakhs to see the volumes build up for the company. The KWID crossover will be positioned below the Renault Duster in the company’s line-up and will compete against the Ford EcoSport and the likes in the segment.
