What makes the Renault KWID India’s most loved car? There was a time when owning a car was considered as luxury. This was also the time when wealthy Indians had to choose from just two models. While imported models were also available, they were affordable to a handful few. All this changed in 1983 when the Maruti800 was launched. Overnight, the car became success and became a symbol of India’s ambitious middle class. It soon became the first car for most families. And soon, there were many such first time car buyers in India. However, from the manufacturer’s perspective, these entry level cars represented wafer thin margins and hence offered no incentive for them to innovate. Soon, the situation came to a point where there was hardly anything except the price that could act as a value proposition. The entry level car category lost the crown as the highest volume generator to the next level – the hatchbacks. While many car makers attempted different things, none could really stop that slide.
Then came the Renault KWID in 2015. Designed by keeping the comfort, safety, performance and rising aspirations of young India in mind, surprisingly Renault was able to price the car very well. The rest is history!
The Renault KWID features stole the show. So much so that the market leader was forced to go not only revamp the existing offering, but buttress with additional product to contain the onslaught. What are these features that did the trick and made the KWID one of the best hatchbacks in India? Let’s see the top ones: •
The fresh look: Compared to the “box on wheels” approach, the Renault KWID featured an SUV look. Renault’s earlier experience of creating the compact SUV category came in handy here.
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Exteriors: The car had some first-in-class features like LED DRLS and tail lamps, SUV styled headlamps, multi-spoke wheels and high ground clearance of 184 cm.