Fluence

Breadcrumbs

The Fluence isn’t the kind of car that you want to have a fling with. It’s more the type you marry and take home. Now, which one interests you more?

Comfort

This comes easy to the Fluence. Suspension layout is simple yet very effective. Renault has managed to fine-tune this well. Soaks up all road irregularities, especially at high speeds.
Performance

Not its best point in the petrol variant thanks to a rather restrained CVT transmission. Acceleration is lazy and you need to work hard to get the overtaking done. Our pick in the 1.5-litre diesel unit. Also comes with a six-speed manual 'box and give the Fluence some decency when it comes to a drag from the traffic lights.
Cool

There's going to be a novelty value for sure, atleast for now. The car looks decent but Renault is yet to be cool in India. The Logan connection doesn't help.
Quality

Great fit and finish and quite solidly built. Most of the stuff comes from abroad so they will make sure about it.
Handling

The Fleunce is nearly quite there. Steering is precise but there's quite some pitch when you corner hard thanks to the soft suspension and the sheer length so you can't really make much with the nice steering part.
Practicality

Scores reasonably well there. Has got lots of space - enough for five passengers, a huge boot, lots of cubby holes and realiability.
Running costs

The Renault may not be as frugal as the Japanese but should be just about adequate. The diesel can return a figure of around 21kpl while the petrol around Rs 13.5. But real-world figure will be slightly lesser.