India-made Renault Kwid becomes a hit in South Africa

The India-assembled Renault Kwid, the hatchback with SUV stance, is winning hearts in South Africa as well. Renault Kwid became a runaway success in India a year after its launch. Kwid is now said to be witnessing an overwhelming response in the South African markets, with 1,200 units having got sold within a short span of time.

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The Kwid has made significant inroads in the South African market after it was introduced in November 2016. The waiting period of the model is a couple of months. It is available only in 1000cc engine. South Africa's Kwid comes loaded with a 7-inch MediaNav navigation/multi-media touchscreen system positioned in a piano black centre console with chrome surround. The driver's airbag is standard across all the variants but comes without ABS.

The 1.0-litre three-cylinder Smart Control efficiency (SCe) engine churns out 67bhp at 5,500rpm mated to five-speed manual transmission. The company also claims a top speed of 152kmph. Offered in Expression and Dynamique variants, the Kwid is priced at R 119,900 (Rs 5.89 lakh) and R 129,900 (Rs 6.38 lakh), respectively.

In India, the Kwid is currently available in 800cc, 1.0litre and AMT versions. It comes powered by a 799cc three-cylinder petrol motor, which is tuned to churn out 53bhp at 5,678rpm and a peak torque of 72Nm at 4,386rpm. On the other hand, the 1.0 litre variant of the model gets 999cc 3-cylinder engine that can churn out 67bhp of power at 5500rpm and 91Nm of torque at 4250rpm. The model, which turned the fortune for French carmaker Renault in India, has raked in over 1.25 lakh bookings in the country.

Source: Engineeringnews