Highway Manners

I have spent just over a month with the Renault Kwid and I have managed to clock over 3000kms in about five weeks. Apart from being my daily driver, I took the Kwid for my yearly trip to Konkan for Ganpati festival. The 1300 km roundtrip saw it cruising smoothly along the NH4, tackling the twisties of Amboli and that too, when it was loaded up to the gills with luggage. Here is how it went.

The Kwid is quite spacious for an entry-level compact hatchback. The tall-boy design makes sure there is enough cabin space for all its occupants. Even with my 6’2” cousin spreading out in the co-driver seat, there was enough space in the back for my sister to sit comfortably. The Kwid is not even 3.7 metres in length, but when you open up the boot, you will be surprised by the amount of space. At 300 litres, it is larger than the Swift or the i20 for that matter and eats up a lot of luggage. And we still managed to fill it all up with the spill-overs going to the empty spot on the rear seat.

Out on the highway, the ride is pretty pliant. The Kwid is softly sprung and manages to take the most of the potholes and speedbumps in its stride. I was actually surprised when the fully loaded Kwid nudged past the 100kmph mark on the highway. With just the driver in the car, the Kwid tends to float around after 100kmph, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen with a fully loaded car. May be slightly wider tyres would give it more stability but that might eat out on the fuel economy.

When it comes to corners, the top-heavy Kwid does roll a fair bit, especially due to the absence of an anti-roll bar. But once you get a measure of its roll, you will find that it is quite predictable in its manners if you want to push it further. The steering is quite light and direct while the brakes have enough bite to stop this 800-odd kg car.

Because it is light, the 1.0-litre 67bhp petrol engine feels a bit peppy but when the car is loaded, it does lumber. The engine does rev quite a bit, but feels flat all through the range. But then, you have to remember that the Renualt Kwid is an entry-level car and everything in this segment is equally flat. So then, the Kwid actually turns out to be a good package with all its space and a highway economy of about 18kmpl when fully loaded and with AC on all the time.

In our next report, we will see how the Kwid performs in its home environment i.e. city traffic. Stay tuned.

Vehicle Stats

Variant – 1.0-litre RXT Option

Odometer reading – 9,362

Positives of the report – Parking friendly, boot-space

Negatives of the report – Floats at high speed, no internal adjustment for mirrors

Fuel Efficiency – 18.4kmpl (average highway economy)

Pictures: Kapil Angane