Welsh Motoring Writers
  • Home
  • About us
  • News
  • Car Reviews
  • Features
  • Contact
  • Members

Renault Wind

7/21/2010

 
Picture
The Renault Wind – it has to be the silliest name for a car since the Suzuki Light Dump, and that was a Japanese market pick-up truck.

The Wind, which is actually a coupe-roadster, is expected to appeal to the trendy young things of Europe.

Look beyond the name, however, and you will see an effective new rival to other drop-tops such as Peugeot’s 207CC, the Fiat 500C and MINI Convertible.


It’s essential to Renault that the Wind is considered alongside such cars as it is being pitched squarely at younger buyers aged between 25 and 45, who see the car as part of their personality.

Crucially such buyers form a market that Renault makes very little dent in at present.
Yet while the Wind is a ‘fashionable’ car, it will also score extra points for certain practicalities. The car is smaller than a Clio – at 3.8 metres long sitting precisely between the 3.6-metre Twingo and 4.0-metre Clio – yet there is no lack of room in it for either driver or passenger, while the 270-litre boot matches the Clio’s.

Crucially, you don’t lose half of this boot space when you drop the metal roof – in fact you don’t lose any of it. The hardtop flips over in just 12 seconds to lie under a protective cover above the bootspace.

The actual flip process is reminiscent of Ferrari’s Superamerica, though Renault technical staff on the international launch event claimed the design was different enough to merit its own patents – in particular the way it uses the cover.


Renault believes another strong selling point for the Wind will be the fact that this is a car from the marque’s famed RenaultSport subsidiary.

It’s by no means a clean-sheet design, some 60 per cent of its parts donated by the Clio 2 and Twingo RS, alongside which the Wind is being built in Renault’s Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia.


Just two engines are currently available for this little car, Renault claiming that no further powerplants are currently planned, and certainly no diesel – Renault UK boss Roland Bouchara, on his last day in the job before a promotion to Paris, said that there is no market for diesel in such cars.

The choice lies between petrol units of 1.2 100bhp and 1.6 133bhp, both already seen in Clio and Twingo models.

Both were available to tackle the challenging mountain roads around Nice on the launch event, and both acquitted themselves well – so long as one was free with the right foot. Neither is too generous with its torque at the bottom of the rev range, something that showed itself when traversing the various hairpin bends on climbing gradients.


I also struggle to justify the extra £900 you will pay for the bigger unit. The 1.2 passes 62mph in 10.5 seconds, which is more than a second behind the 1.6, but it doesn’t feel any slower, and let’s face it, the target market for this car won’t be drag racing away from the lights.

No complaints with the handling – the combination of a Renaultsport chassis and significant extra strengthening of the cabriolet body makes for a taut package and powering through those hairpins very quickly became a lot of fun.

To get the Wind (snigger, sorry…) you will need £15,500 for 1.2, £16,400 for the 1.6. That’ll get you a Dynamique trim with such niceties as air con and 16-inch alloys. Find another £900 for the Dynamique S and the highlights include wheels beefed up by an inch, better audio and climate control. There’s also a 200-unit limited edition launch version with lots of extra style touches.

And the name? Even under heady cross-examination from the UK journalist pack Renault’s high-ups remained firm in their view, well publicly at least, that UK buyers won’t be at all bothered about driving a Wind. Apparently the name is supposed to promote a feeling of ‘in the open air’, while Bouchara summed it up by saying: “It is trendy, fashionable, playful and short.”

By Andrew Charman


Comments are closed.

    View by date

    May 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    December 2020
    August 2020
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    August 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    September 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    July 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    March 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    July 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    May 2010
    December 2009
    October 2009
    August 2009
    November 2001


    View by tags

    All
    Alfa Romeo Giulietta
    Alfa Romeo Mito
    Aston Martin Rapide
    Audi A3
    Audi A6
    Audi A7 Sportback
    Audi Q3
    Bmw 520d
    Bmw 5 Series Touring
    Bugatti Veyron Super Sports
    Fiat 500 Twinair
    Ford Focus
    Honda Civic
    Honda Civic Type R
    Honda CR-Z
    Hyundai Ix35
    Infiniti Ex37
    Infiniti Fx
    Infiniti G37 Cabrio
    Jaguar Xf
    Jeep Grand Cherokee
    Kia Soul
    Kia Sportage
    Land Rover Discovery 4
    Lexus Ct200h
    Mazda3
    Mazda CX-5
    Mercedes-Benz C-Class
    Mini Countyman
    Mitsubishi Shogun
    Nissan X-Trail
    Peugeot 3008
    Peugeot 508 Rxh
    Peugeot 508 Saloon
    Peugeot Rcz
    Range Rover Evoque
    Renault Mégane
    Renault Mégane Coupe Cabriolet
    Renaultsport Clio Gordini
    Renault Wind
    Seat Leon Cupra R
    Seat Leon Ecomotive
    Skoda Octavia Scout
    Skoda Superb Estate
    Skoda Yeti
    Ssangyong Korando
    Suzuki Alto
    Suzuki Swift
    Toyota Avensis Saloon
    Volkswagen California
    Volkswagen Tiguan
    Volkswagen Touareg
    Volvo S60
    Volvo V60

    RSS Feed

© WELSH MOTORING WRITERS 2023