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17/04/2011
REVIEW by EWAN KENNEDY
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Renault’s has introduced yet another model in Australia, entering the medium-large family car market with a sedan called Latitude. The Renault Latitude is built in conjunction with the French marque’s Asian partner Samsung Motors and is built in South Korea. Thus the Latitude benefits from lower production costs, but at the same time enjoys European engineering expertise.
As with the Renault models launched by the ‘new’ Renault organisation in Australia, value for money is very much part of the equation and the Latitude sells for just $36,990 in its standard format and $42,490 as the upmarket Latitude Luxe.
The Luxe comes loaded with equipment, including twin sunroofs, leather trim, a massage system built into the driver’s seat, a high quality Bose audio and a reversing camera.
Another value item from Renault is the introduction of a warranty that lasts for five years. This warranty applies to other new Renault cars with the exception of the high-performance RenaultSport variants, which remain at three years due to the harder life they are likely to lead.
We have commented several times over the last five years that South Korean car makers are coming up with build quality that is almost as good as that of the Japanese. Renault Australia is proud of the fact that the Samsung plant has been judged the best for quality in that country. Our detailed examination of the two cars we reviewed showed them to be built to a high standard.
Note that the prices quoted above are for both the turbo-diesel and V6 petrol engines. More details about them in a moment. On-road costs have to be factored in.
We attended the world premier of the Renault Latitude at the Paris Motor Show in 2010 and liked its styling. There’s nothing radical about the shape, Renault leaves that to its smaller cars, but Latitude has a simple elegance that’s very French. Its lines are just right for the conservative segment of the market in which it is operating.
Interior space is good in the front, with large comfortable seats. There’s good legroom for two in the back seat, though it’s not easy to get your feet under the front seats so that can hinder comfort. Three children will find plenty of space in the width of the back seat and the fact that the big car uses front-wheel drive means the centre floor tunnel isn’t overly intrusive.
Headroom in the back is slightly compromised by the sunroof in the topline Renault Latitude Luxe model. Try it for yourself if tall travellers are going to be back there.
The boot is huge and goes back a long way. Luggage space can be further expanded by using the folding rear seat backrests.
Power comes from either a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four cylinder producing 127 kilowatts of power, and 380 Newton metres of torque at 2000 rpm; or a neat 2.5-litre V6. The latter could prove a winner in a class that’s dominated by four-cylinder powerplants. Power from the V6 is 133 kW, torque peaks at 235 Nm at 4400 revs.
The V6 engine is similar to the one used by Renault’s partner, Nissan, in its Maxima.
We tested Latitude Luxes with both engines during an extensive drive program out of Casuarina at the top end of New South Wales. As expected, the V6 petrol is the smoother of the two, but it has less torque. That was largely sorted out the six-speed automatic transmission being willing to change to get the engine up into the peak area of its torque band. Manual shifts let the driver have control over the auto when required.
The diesel is typical of its breed in being almost as quiet as the petrol when heard from inside the Latitude and offering plenty of grunt as well as significantly lower fuel consumption. Turbo lag is about average from modern diesels in this class.
Steering and handling are very good, with a real European feel so presumably the French have played a big part in this important area. Ride comfort is generally fine, but the stylish low profile tyres (45 series sitting on 18-inch wheels) did create some firmness on poorer sealed roads, and also created a fair bit of road roar at times.
Renault Australia only brought the topline Latitude Luxe version for the motoring press to drive. The standard Latitude is more sensible in using 17-inch alloys with higher profile (50 series) tyres so may be a better bet for real world driving. We will try to get hold of a standard Latitude when we test it for a week in our home area.
Other than that, the interior of the Renault Latitude offers a refined, quiet feel with very good ambiance.
Renault Latitude offers excellent value for money and the local importer hopes it will steal sales from Honda Accord, Mazda6 and Volkswagen Passat. Nissan Maxima is also a likely target, but the fact that Renault and Nissan are partners means this competitor wasn’t mentioned. Other South Korean cars such as the Hyundai i45 and its non-identical twin the Kia Optima may also be on buyers’ shortlists, so Renault has a fight on its corporate hands. |
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