One month anniversary

It’s been a month since the Renault Kwid RXT (O) 1.0 Easy- R AMT entered the CarWale garage and boy, has this little Indo-French hatchback been busy! It has been put through its paces via a combination of daily commutes, shoots and carting around members of the Editorial team for a few food escapades. The urban jungle has been its setting for our first month with the car and here’s what we learnt.

Urban quest

A city car in city. Well that’s the purpose of the Kwid and that’s what we put it through. It’s diminutive dimensions and ease in driving means the Kwid is a boon in the urban jungle. There’s little to no steering feel, but that has not affected the Kwid’s ability to maneouvre between vehicles and carve a path in the chaos of traffic. This was patently clear to us in the tight confines of the legendary Mohammed Ali Road in Mumbai where we had to negotiate through the massive crowds that had descended onto the roads to participate in the evening festivities associated with the Ramadan month.

This update of the car that was launched last year saw the addition of a creep function and that’s a boon in the above scenario but it takes time to get used to and many first time drivers of this car will find themselves lunging forward when setting off from standstill. However, the gearbox tends to have a mind of its own if there are too many changes involved. In fact, the unruly traffic during our Ramadan escapade managed to vex the gearbox sufficiently enough to stall the car. The lack of manual mode is most felt when you need make a quick overtake and have to wait for the box to respond to the additional throttle input. The best way, we have discovered, is to plan your overtakes and use a build-up of momentum to go past the vehicle in front.

The Kwid’s small size and light steering makes it a breeze to park. Despite having to go four turns from lock to lock, parallel parking is done and dusted in no time. The reverse camera is a welcome addition and has been setup in such a way that you get a sufficient margin in terms of distance between vehicles. The fuel efficiency number has hovered around 12.8kmpl mark and this number has stayed constant despite a multitude of conditions.

Up next

We’ll be taking the Kwid out on to the highway next and with the annual monsoon in this part of the country in full swing, a lengthy drive is a must.

Photos:Kaustubh Gandhi

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