1991 User Manual

Renault’s first product for India, the Fluence, didn’t quite set the cash registers ringing for the French carmaker. Boosted by the enthusiastic response for its Duster SUV, however, Renault has the opportunity to address the saloon’s fortunes and simultaneously strengthen the brand image with the facelifted Fluence. It’s immediately evident that the Renault’s new identity gives the updated Fluence a contemporary and distinctive look. The majority of the changes are neatly housed in the big, one-piece bumper that also includes the grille. The bigger and bolder Renault lozenge is placed on a glossy black strip that connects both headlamps. Lower down, the air dam section is split into three parts, lending the Fluence a very sporty look.

New LED daytime running lights are visible above the fog lamps. Apart from the new 10-spoke alloy wheels, the Fluence looks the same and has no change in sheet metal. On the inside, the Fluence’s equipment list sees new entrants. An LCD display for the driver will now be standard across the 2013 range. Then there’s front and rear parking sensors, an automatic parking brake as well as better USB, Bluetooth and auxiliary input connectivity. Renault has also unveiled new upholstery options for the Fluence. The biggest and most important change, however, lies under the hood. At the launch of the Fluence, Renault didn’t read the market quite right, and it was customer feedback that spurred the introduction of the more premium E4 variant of the diesel Fluence. However, the demand for a diesel engine and automatic transmission combination remained unfulfilled. Renault is working to remedy that with an Efficient Dual Clutch (EDC) gearbox for the diesel variant. This six-speed twin-clutch gearbox is rated for 24.4kgm of torque and is already offered in other markets. The EDC-equipped Fluence can crack the 100kph mark from standstill in a claimed 11.9 seconds, has a top speed of 185kph and fuel efficiency is only slightly lower than the manual version. Internationally, Renault has also introduced the hi-tech 1.6-litre dCI 130 motor to the Fluence line-up. Stop-start and energy recovery have been added too. Don’t expect this motor to join the India line-up just yet. Renault’s updated Fluence will go on sale in Turkey in January 2013 and it is expected to arrive in India in the first quarter of 2013.

The current-generation BMW 5-series (Codename: F10) will soon be due for a mid-cycle refresh. The German carmaker is already testing a mildly reworked version of its Mercedes E-class-rival. The updated 5-series is likely to officially be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor show in 2013. While development of the new car still has the good part of a year to run, changes being made to the 5-series appear less significant than those adopted by the upcoming revised E-class. Externally, the 5-series will get more heavily structured bumpers and the lamp graphics will be revised, and our sources tell us that the existing bodywork will be largely untouched. Revisions to both bodystyles are limited to a new grille, lights and front and rear bumpers. Inside, BMW plans to provide the 5-series with the latest version of its iDrive multimedia system and a configurable instrument display already recently introduced on the facelifted 7-series. Not much is known about the upgrades under the hood, but we can expect the engine line-up to be more fuel-efficient than the current offerings.

BMW will launch the updated X6 SAC (Sport-Activity Coupe) in India on November 22. The updated X6 gets minor exterior and interior upgrades. Changes at the front include relocated fog-lights, which now sit high up in the outer air inlets, a more pronounced kidney grille and the addition of optional adaptive LED headlamps; these come as standard on the new performance-oriented BMW X6M as do blue aluminium brake callipers. Styling tweaks to the rear include new horizontally mounted twin LED lights that emphasize the car’s width. Further external revisions include new paint finishes – including Marrakesh Brown metallic, Orion Silver metallic and Midnight Blue metallic – and new bi-colour, double spoke 19-inch alloys for the BMW X6 xDrive 50i model. In international markets, the X6 now also comes with BMW’s recently launched M-diesel engine. In India, we get the X6 xDrive50i with a 4.4-litre V8 petrol engine and an X6 xDrive30d with a diesel. As seen with the recently updated X5, the X6 could also get an eight-speed gearbox.

Come January 2013 and Audi will launch the updated Q5 in India. It made its debut at the Paris Motor show earlier this year. Known internally as the Q5 PI (for Product Improvement), the facelifted Q5 comes with exterior changes like the grille that now takes Audi’s new hexagonal shape. The detailing within the grille also differs depending on what engine is under the hood. The headlights get newly designed daytime running lamps, the bumper is altered and the fog lights have chrome ring surrounds. At the rear, the tail-lamps get different LEDs and there’s a new rear diffuser. Like the recently facelifted A4, the interiors too get subtle tweaks and improvements to uplift the general feel and finish of the cabin. Expect the new Q5 to come with a minor price-correction as well as it will be assembled in India. On the engine front, you can expect the bread and butter 2.0-litre TDI and the petrol 2.0-litre TFSI topped by the six-cylinder 245hp 3.0-litre TDI. Audi is currently offering a discount of upto Rs 2 lakh on the Q5.

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