Missing out? South America’s Renault Kwid extensively updated
· Citizen
With the promise of a second generation model seemingly still some way off, Renault has debuted a comprehensively updated version of the Kwid in Brazil four years after its first refresh.
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New outside
More extensive than the revisions to the Indian assembled example unveiled last year, the latest facelift, according to Renault’s South American division, ”reinforces our commitment to offering customers a modern, accessible and connected vehicle”.
Assembled at the São José dos Pinhais plant for all South American markets, the Kwid’s exterior changes include a new front bumper and gloss black finished restyled grille, redesigned LED daytime running lights and new headlight graphics.
Compared to the front, the Kwid’s rear fascia changes are less extreme. Picture: Renault BrazilRenault’s latest corporate logo on the grille and a new faux aluminium insert on the lower air intake on Outsider models, equivalent to South Africa’s Climber variant, rounds the front fascia off.
Also reserved for the Outsider are new 14-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels and the first-time option of a two-tone roof finish.
At the rear, all variants receive new clear lens light clusters, the new Renault logo, revised LED graphics for the light clusters and a freshened-up typeface for the Kwid logo, which also houses the reverse camera.
Inside
More dramatic are the changes inside where all variants get a new steering wheel, upgraded materials, a revised seven-inch digital instrument cluster, new colours and materials, plus a redesigned central hangdown section complete with new air vents.
Standard on the mid-range Techno and flagship Outsider is a new 10.1-inch infotainment display. Picture: Renault BrazilExcluding the entry-level Evolution variant, the mid-spec Techno and Outsider also feature a new 10.1-inch Media Evolution infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
Dimensions
Underneath, the existing CMF-A platform, which also underpins the Kiger, Triber, Nissan Magnite and Gravite in extended CMF-A+ form, has been left unchanged and as such, still has the following dimensions:
- Length: 3 720 mm;
- Wheelbase: 2 423 mm;
- Height: 1 481 mm;
- Width: 1 759 mm
By comparison, the South African-spec Kwid, assembled at the Chennai plant, measures 41 mm shorter, three millimetres lower, and 180 mm narrower. Reduced by one millimetre is its wheelbase length.
In addition, the South American Kwid also has more boot space than the Indian example at between 290 to 1 100-litres compared to 279 and 620-litres.
No power change
Up front, the Kwid retains the normally aspirated 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine, but adapted to run on ethanol as well as petrol.
As such, outputs are the same 50kW/91Nm as the Indian-made Kwid when running on petrol, which then increases to 53kW/98Nm when fuelled with ethanol.
Unlike its sibling, though, the South American Kwid is only available with a five-speed manual gearbox without the option of the five-speed Easy-R automated manual (AMT).
Not for South Africa?
In Brazil, pricing starts at R$ 71 190 (R221 155) for the Evolution, which increases to R$75 990 (R236 066) for the Techno. The Outsider, meanwhile, carries a sticker of R $ 84 890 (R263 715).
As it stands, it remains unknown as to whether the updates will be expanded to the Indian Kwid, which didn’t receive the updates applied to the South American model in 2022.
Last updated locally in March with the introduction of the 10th Anniversary Limited Edition, the current Kwid range spans seven variants priced from R178 799 for the base Evolution manual to R222 999 for the Climber fitted with the AMT ‘box.