Renault is making a big saloon again - but it's not about to risk trying to sell it to European buyers.
This is the reborn Safrane, a large Korean-built saloon that the French manufacturer is aiming to sell in the middle East. It's powered by a 2.3-litre V6 engine producing around 170bhp or a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder motor; both units are mated to an automatic transmission driving the front wheels.
Renault is keen to pitch the Safrane as a premium item (climate control, Bose stereo etc), but it sports one of the most complex, muddy bloodlines of any car on the market; it's essentially a rebadged Samsung SM5 (a model only available in Korea), which is essentially a rebadged Nissan Teana (a model only available in Japan), which sits on the same platform as Nissan's Maxima and Altima.
The new Safrane will be built at Busan in South Korea, alongside Renault's first joint venture with Samsung Motors, the Koleos SUV. Sales start in early September.
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so its gonna be a rebadged
Re: Renault's Safrane is reborn
When it first came to the market in 2003, the design is very Renault-like, but the Safrane manages to look more premium than now replaced Teana on which it's based. The shape of headlights don't look too much different from that of Megane's (but the Teana's is slightly shapeless). The Renault influence continues in the (now ageing) Latio/Tiida/Versa which looks like a less distinctive Megane with a 307 rear. Given the difficulty in selling big cars with mainstream brands, it should not be sold in wetern Europe.
Re: Renault's Safrane is reborn
Oh great! Grey import minicabs!