Amidst reports quashing the possibility of Renault NOT rebranding Datsun cars for their use, we have a new update recently, that, the French will launch a small car in India based on the Datsun RediGO concept that was showcased at the 2014 Expo in Noida.
Will it be a mere re-badge job or Renault is just using the platform? Well, we will only come to know when we get to see both Renault’s XBA (that is the codename given) & production RediGO.
Here is a speculative rendering of Renault XBA by Noticias Automotivas which gives us a hint of what the small car may look like. And up front, it looks a better attempt than; say Scala or Pulse, and might cause a bit of a flutter in your Alto’s tummy.
The front of the car looks rather assertive. One might even suggest that it looks like as muscular as a small soft-roader; albeit with a bit more stubbles. The rear is plain but doesn’t offend. The tail light clusters have cues of the XC60 and go well with the overall looks.
The XBA profile might look a bit underdone as compared to the front but, again, won’t disgruntle the reasonable. A bit of oomph, nonetheless, might perk up its profile though.
According to the confirmation from Jerome Stoll, Renault’ sales head, the XBA is planned to be manufactured in India and Brazil and will be introduced with economical but efficient powerplants. Noticias Automotivas says that in Brazil the XBA will be offered in petrol and ethanol, Flex-fuel or flexible-fuel vehicle, I think, is the technical word.
The India-bred XBA will have efficient 0.8L or 0.9-liter petrol engine with 5-speed manual or even an AMT to cause more of that flutter at Maruti-Suzuki and Hyundai India. And since the company doesn’t have one yet in India, it will need to manufacture it here.
The XBA is a product based on CMF platform (Common Module Family) developed jointly by Nissan and Renault. The partners loathe calling it a platform per se and refer to it as something involving several platforms and a “cross-sector concept” rather than “a horizontal segmentation” as is the case with platforms in general. Modular, efficient, cost effective, you can say.
By the way, Indian launch is next year sometime and it does look interesting to the core!
