2010 Renault Fluence confirmed for Australia

By Tim Beissmann | February 09th, 2010

Renault has today confirmed the Renault Fluence small sedan will arrive in Australia in the final quarter of 2010 in a push to increase the brand’s price competitiveness.

The Fluence is 4.62m long, 1.81m wide and 1.48m tall with a wheelbase of 2.7m (which makes it, for comparison’s sake, 2cm longer and wider than a Holden Cruze), and claims to offer more passenger space than other major rivals in its current markets.

It has been on sale in Romania, Russia and Turkey since last November. It is currently manufactured by Renault in Bursa, Turkey, with production to expand to Korea under the Renault-Samsung partnership.

Renault Australia managing director, Rudi Koenig, said new vehicle will be “very competitively priced and specified” in the small sedan segment.

“The new sedan will be a Renault; it just won’t come out of France. It will be a brand new product and it won’t be called a Mégane because we want to differentiate – because the sourcing will be different – between the hatch and sedan as far as production goes. It will be a very strong product.”

Mr Koenig said the Fluence will most likely be launched with just one petrol engine and the choice of either manual or CVT transmissions, with the view to expand the range with a diesel option and more model derivatives later.

That means we will get the largest and most powerful 2.0-litre four-cylinder version which produces 103kW.

He suggested Renault will be looking at the dual clutch transmission when a diesel version enters the equation, which is only available on the most powerful 81kW, 119g/km CO2 emitting, 1.5dCi engine.

Mr Koenig said Renault Australia has been looking at outsourcing for a couple of years because exporting from France is becoming increasingly difficult.

“We’ve been looking at what production options there are for Renault given Renault’s globalisation over the last few years. That’s going to enable us to bring product in at a better price position to make us more competitive.

“That’s one of our aims with our new Mégane range, especially with the hatch and the new small sedan.”

The Renault Fluence is expected to be released alongside the new Mégane range towards the end of this year.

Innova

Well, a rebadged Samsung SM3 !

Steve-Poyza

The SM3 is actually a rebadged Fluence. Like the SM5 is a rebadged Laguna.

Innova

Correct the mistake: “The Fluence is 4.26m long, 1.81m wide and 1.48m tall with a wheelbase of 2.7m (which makes it, for comparison’s sake, 14cm shorter than a Honda City, but also 11cm wider and 1cm taller with a 15cm longer wheelbase”

Fluence is 4.62mm long, means it is longer than Cruze, Civic, Lancer, etc,…

http://www.caradvice.com.au Tim Beissmann

Well spotted Innova. Correct now. Sorry for the confusion.

Duckula

Looks like a nice little car…. but when the bloody hell will Renault get rid of that god awful beige interior colour, it gets dirty in about 3 seconds flat….

spellbound

YEP i had a liberty with the beige leather , never ever again will i have that colour , cleaning nightmare .

Looks attractive , cross asia/euro , smart in the silver colour , not so convincing in darks , as always in the flesh is best.

Juan

You just need right cleaning products.. easy to manage!

Mike

Beige interiors get dirty quickly? No way! I have two cars with beige interiors (one a Renault) and neither are at all hard to keep clean. In fact, a previous car with all-black was a nightmare, it showed every speck of fluff and hair, and was hot and claustrophobic. If I had a choice of two identical cars, one with beige interior, I’d leap at the lighter colour because it’s cool, airy and classy. Almost every manufacturer these days offer ONLY black or dark grey interiors, so the light interior is a huge point of difference, when offered. Unfortunately, it’s the BMWs and Audis which usually do the offering, an expensive option on an already expensive car. At the lower end of the price scale, whether small cars or SUVs, for example the terrific Sportage, the choice is black cloth, fancy black cloth or black leather if you want “premium”. Black leather is a shocking choice for this country. Combine it with a dark exterior colour and you have a microwave oven.

David Jones

silver ones at the top look good. just needs a decent 2.0 turbo..

Philthy

Yep. AWD, a little bit lower with big wheels would be awesome. Won’t happen though. We might get a 1.6 turbo or something if we’re lucky.

Myke

Smart looking car, I’m glad that Renault aren’t giving up on Australia. If priced correctly I think this car will do well.

James007

I agree with you Myke, this is a very good looking sedan from Renault and I’m also glad that Renault will finally start to make a go of our market.

I’d assume that the Fluence, I’m still not sold on the new name, will come from South Korea, where it’s sold as the Samsung SM3, to keep costs down and make it competitive against it’s rivals.

But what is missing from the lineup, will be the Megane/Fluence wagon. Renault Australia says we don’t need it, because we already have the Koleos SUV, but what about the people that don’t want an SUV, but still need the room for a wagon?? A Fluence dCi wagon?? Yes please!!

David

Fluence? Crap name (effluent).

Reckless1

Flatulence…..

Fluence will not influence me to buy a Renault, especially with the “most powerful 2.0l engine” giving a massive 103kw. Not enough power to pull the sking off a rice pudding.

The styling has clearly been driven by the Koreans, for the French haven’t offered such a good looking car for a very long time.

HyundaiSmoke

Looks Chryslerish. Id wonder if they would use this as a Nissan Altima in the US market as US Nissans will all become rebadged Renaults eventually.

Innova

What? Ive never heard and seen any US Nissan is rebadged Renault. Wake up mate!
And Fluence is Sentra’s size, not Altima.

HyundaiSmoke

Sentra is on Megane platform, and Nissan Versa/Tida is a rebadged Renault Clio.

Innova

You know what is “rebadging”? You call it “rebadge”? How funny is it!
I think you cannont distinguish between platform sharing and rebadging. Rebadging is the exact two same vehicle but with different badge, no more, no less. Like Holden Epica vs Daewoo Tosca.

HyundaiSmoke

Its the same damm car, just like the Skoda Superb is the same damm car as a VW Passat. Just with a few significant cosmetic tweaks, and different interiors, engine variants, etc… that meet different market needs, etc…. Like Hyundai/KIA no damm different.

Same Team, Same Players, just dfferent uniforms.

Renault/Nissan/Infiniti/Dacia should be treated as the same company instead of having separate sales figures, etc…

Innova

HSmoke, if you still say like that, sorry, no more comments and replies to you.

Baddass

So this the new Megane sedan right? Looks darn good.
Aleks

I want one and I will probably be buying one. To me it looks amazing, when you compare it to its rivals, it looks way better in every department. The only thing that could let it down is how it drives. But we shall see I guess

Brett

being a Reno it should handle pretty good. I like to silver one too, looks great, different and a bit classy compared to awful cruze. Safety should be up to scratch too.

http://caradvice Onepoppa

The Fluence will probably be sourced from Turkey which is where the current Megane sedan comes from. Looking at the current sedan one might expect some sharp pricing – unless Renault gets ideas above its station, which is exactly what they have done with most models so far, which is why they sell so few cars.

PJK

Fluence will be sourced from Korea, so it’ll be a lot cheaper. Renaults have always been expensive here because most have been sourced from Europe where the strong Euro makes them uncompetitive.

Steve-Poyza

I’ve never seen such positive comments for a Renault in ages! Maybe they are onto something with the Fluence. Who here likes the new Mégane in general?
o

where is the megane and scenic??? also is it me or does the 2011 focus look like this car
AAA

How many of these do you reckon they are going to sell?
Nightshifter

Nice looking little car all round except I didn’t really like the front end looking at it from straight ahead.

Anyhow, I’d be more interested to hear more news about when the new Megane coupe and the 250 cup will arrive in Aus and their pricing.
Shak

Its a nice looking little car. Good both inside and out. If they can price it like the Cruze(for comparison’s sake) they will sell…well, like the Cruze.
F1 Addict

It looks like something from the 90′s
PJK

the silver cars at top look hot. maybe this is the car that’ll turn things around for Renault in Aus???
RD

Say what you will about the French, but damn can the design some nice looking cars!
Hope this is as competitive as they’re touting.