Renault Kwid goes clutch-free with new AMT

The Renault Kwid’s success has hinged on its ability to deliver convincing differentiators over the existing choice in the entry small car segment. That it was targeting buyers with tight purse strings was never in doubt, but it still managed to offer a proposition that was considerably different and even aspirational in terms of its sports utility style design and drive feel. And that by itself was apparently enough for buyers to overlook the equally abysmal levels of safety and poor cabin quality that the Kwid represented when compared with its segment peers like the Maruti Suzuki Alto and the Hyundai Eon.

In keeping with this focus on differentiation, the Kwid has now been launched with an AMT (automated manual transmission) option. Unlike the AMTs of competing cars in the market, the Kwid gets a rotary knob for drive selection compared to the short, gear selection stick which is the norm in the others. This is a novelty that is sure to click with the segment of buyers that the Kwid is focused on.

Replica The Kwid AMT’s fundamental premise is the same — that more and more of the first time car buyers who are predominantly driving in crowded city conditions will choose automated transmissions for their convenience. But, these are also buyers who are extremely sensitive to the price differential of the car and cost of ownership. So, an AMT will be ideal since the incremental price will be lower than that of a conventional torque converter auto gearbox. And importantly, since an AMT is only the addition of a few sensors and hydraulic actuators on top of the manual gearbox, the differential in fuel efficiency is negligible or sometimes even better, as is the case with the Kwid AMT.

Both externally and inside the cabin, the new Kwid AMT is identical to the recently introduced Kwid 1.0 with the one-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine. The new AMT variant will be offered only in the top-trim level of RXT (O), which means it will include the driver’s airbag as part of the package.

The only differentiator between the AMT and the regular manual transmission Kwid 1.0 is the Easy-R chrome badge at the bottom right of the hatch door. The rest of the design elements are identical, including the checkered flag decal on the side. The Kwid’s key differentiator is its SUV body style and the sense of width and solidity that comes along with it. Inside the cabin too the rest of the elements are all identical except for the gear shift stick, which is absent in the AMT.

Instead of the usual AMT selection stick, the Kwid gets a chunky rotary dial with a chrome outer ring for mode selection. The dial (Renault calls it Shift Control AMT) is located on the centre stack and right below the infotainment system’s touch screen. You get a multi-purpose cup-holder / storage slot in place of the usual gear stick in the centre console.

Performance Like all other AMTs built with the price differential in mind, the Kwid AMT also has only three drive selection modes — Reverse, Neutral and Drive. There is no parking mode since that would need the addition of an expensive electronic parking brake.

So, the default parking mode is in neutral with the hand-brake on. Start the engine, turn the knob clockwise to select reverse or anti-clockwise to select drive and head out. It is that simple.

The difference, in addition to the selection dial, is the choice made by Renault’s engineers to keep the Kwid AMT free of the usual creep function that is common amongst other AMTs, CVTs and torque converter automatics. So, even after you have selected the drive mode, the car stays still if you have not tapped the accelerator pedal. Other automatics start creeping forward as soon as your foot is taken off the brake pedal. Essentially, unlike other autos, the clutch is engaged once the throttle pedal is tapped in the Kwid.

So, while this is great if you are stuck in really slow moving traffic, you may need to get used to it, especially so that you don’t loose control on inclines, where the car will roll backwards.

It seems Renault engineers have also not opted for two electronic control modules, in addition to the usual clutch of sensors. The single control module still doesn’t feel hamstrung in terms of the Kwid AMT’s comparable performance with similar AMTs. On the road, the 3-cylinder, one-litre engine, feels as wheezy as it does in the regular manual transmission model.

But this is still a peppier mill compared to the smaller displacement 800cc engine in the original Kwid, which continues to be available.

The AMT gearbox does the job with ease and there is not much of an annoying shift shock as it travels up the five gears.

But, the gear shifts become a bit more laboured and prominent with more urgent throttle inputs. In fact, if you simply stomp the pedal during cruising speeds, the AMT’s control unit goes into a sort of trance and eventually realises the driver’s demand and shifts down. But, keep the throttle inputs steady or within a (guesstimated) rev-band and the Kwid AMT works like a charm.

Deal or no deal I had to remind myself that the AMT here is still a fairly low tech unit. With a price differential of just ₹30,000 (₹4.25 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi), the Kwid’s package has to be viewed in the context of its peers in the segment. The absence of manual +/- gear selection is a negative, but buyers in this segment will be happy to know that the claimed fuel efficiency is over 24kmpl. Like the Kwid 1.0 manual, the AMT too feels quieter in the cabin and there are a couple of neat features such as the touchscreen infotainment and lane-change indicator that are very likeable in this model too.

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