Renault Scala Automatic Review
Car Tested: 2013 Renault Scala CVT Automatic RxZ
Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 11,00,000/- (est.)
The Scala CVT is the only car to deliver better mileage than its manual sibling.
Barely five months after its launch, the Renault Scala has already hogged up 8% market share in the mid size sedan segment. Last out of the five Renault products by 2012, the Scala has been well received by the consumers with over 3000 units sold in four months. Automatic cars are slowing getting popular owing to the stop go traffic which is only getting worse by the day. Renault claims to have addressed the common apprehension amongst buyers regarding automatic transmissions namely mileage and cost of ownership. With the automatic car market growing, the French automaker has promptly slapped the Renault Scala with the all new X-Tronic CVT transmission. How good is it? That’s what we find out on a drive to Kashid beach.
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Currently automatic cars account for 7 percent market share, of which 6 percent use petrol while only 1 percent accounts for diesel automatics, the sole car being the Hyundai Verna. Increased traffic congestion and stop go traffic has seen a gradual shift towards automatic cars and this is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Time has been testimony to the fact that automatic transmissions are less fuel efficient than their manual counterparts, every single car in the segment speaks the same story. However, Renault has cooked up some magic with the Scala CVT, which for the first time, is more fuel efficient than its manual sibling, that too by a full 1.02 km/l of fuel. The cost of ownership too is in sync with the manual variant and Renault believes this can be a game changing equation.
[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/8381286200/[/flickr]
Except for the CVT transmission, the Renault Scala is absolutely identical to the manual version. The only change on the exterior is the CVT badging on the top right side of the boot. Before going into the details of the transmission, lets throw some light on the difference between an automatic and CVT (Continuous Variable Transmission). While an automatic transmission has fixed gear ratios, the CVT employs use of two pulleys and the distance between them varies depending on speed and RPM. This effectively means you can have infinite number of ratios between the maximum and minimum value. A CVT also delivers better fuel efficiency since input shaft maintains a constant angular velocity for a range of output speeds. This transmission is also smoother and less jerky compared to a traditional automatic.
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On board the Scala CVT sits the all new X-tonic CVT transmission which uses an auxiliary gearbox to boast of the world’s highest transmission ratio, higher than a 7-speed automatic transmission as per Renault claims. The beauty of this transmission lies in its size, it’s extremely compact and uses smaller pulleys to attain a higher transmission ratio. Even frictional losses are kept at a minimum. Besides allowing for infinite gear change ratios, the X-tronic CVT offers smoother gear shifting with smooth and stable engine braking. Not only is the throttle response better, the CVT avoids the shift-shock fluctuations in torque transmission experienced with conventional automatics.
[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/8380207307/[/flickr]
The X-tronic CVT is mated to a 1.5-litre gasoline engine which delivers 99 PS of power with a peak torque of 134 NM. Besides the regular P, R and N, the CVT uses two forward drive modes. The D and the L. The L comes in handy while going uphill where the torque is high to overcome the ascent. Slot the gear into D and you are on your way, the first thing you will probably notice is that the CVT is really smooth. There are hardly any jerks which are usually seen in a single clutch transmission. Slam on the throttle and the CVT will immediately get the revs up to suit the demand, however since the top end of the revv meter is pretty flat, it only ends up making noise.
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The low end is decent with a strong mid-range, feed in the throttle gently and the engine will maintain the requisite speed at the lowest RPM delivering better mileage. This is particularly useful in stop go traffic and this is where the Scala really feels at home and returns a fuel efficiency of 17.97 km/l, which is not only more than its manual counterpart (16.95 km/l), but is better than Ford’s Dual Clutch Automatic Fiesta (16.97 km/l). All figures are ARAI certified.
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The gear lever has a small button on the right which is used to activate ‘Sports’ mode as it reads on the instrument cluster. A flick of this button makes the Scala hold higher RPM with higher torque output making low speed overtakes a breeze, however high speed overtakes require some planning as the engine makes more noise than the speed. It’s best to use the conventional D mode to extract the most out of the engine. On our drive, the Scala returned 10.8 km/l, which is exceptional considering we were keeping the engine on the boil most of the time.
[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/8381283972/[/flickr]
The Renault Scala CVT creates a very positive first impression. The CVT will be available in the top end RxZ and mid level RxL. While the mileage drop factor is completely eliminated by the X-tronic transmission, the jerk free driving is a bonus. The Scala is already known for its spacious interiors, the new CVT makes it a very promising buy for automatic aspirants.
[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/8380205829/[/flickr]
What’s Cool
* Better efficiency than manual
* Less jerky gearbox
What’s Not So Cool
* Engine too noisy at higher RPM
Read The Renault Scala Exhaustive Review
