This road test was uploaded on 21st Feb 2012

Renault’s plans of capturing market in the India have been clever. They first cleaned their hands off the Logan (now the Mahindra Verito) and then took the premium route to set their foot in the country – the Fluence , to take on the other D segment cars. This was followed by the premium SUV , the Koleos and voila , the company got a ‘premium image’ attached to its brand. This was complemented by special treatments at the dealerships and a complete care package with the vehicles. And finally at the 2012 Auto Expo , they did get their share of attention with the offering for the masses – the Pulse. So , two questions – is the Pulse premium enough and will it work as a money minting machine for the French major in India. The answers lie with Bunny Punia after he spent a couple of days with what is basically a Nissan Micra with a few good changes!


Design and looks  


We all love the Nissan Micra. It is a cute little thing on four-wheels and gets noticed almost everywhere. However , ‘liking’ a product doesn’t necessarily mean you will want to own it. The little problem with the Micra is the fact that it’s too cute and slightly feminine to be driven by males – yes , we Indians do have male egos! This is where Renault saw a lot of potential and this set the Indian designers working and burning the mid-night oil to come up with a macho (slightly) and masculine (again , slightly) version of the Micra during the Indian Grand Prix season – this was to get as many eyes as possible on the Pulse. Yes , they did succeed! 


First look , and you do feel the overall effect is pleasing. The front end is completely re-worked with new bumper , new grille and ofcourse new headlamp. These do gel in well with the oval and round shaped body shell. The rear has the same design of the tail lamps (as the Micra) but the clear lens and color treatment is different. What’s a bigger change is the blackening of the bottom part of the rear bumper to make it look like a diffuser – see , we told you Renault is a clever company! Another big change is the look of the alloy wheels – definitely eye catching and sporty.
The rest of the car (including the Superb design of the roof) remains the same and the Renault badge and Pulse branding is done in a prominent way

Interiors and cabin  


Unlike the exteriors which see a host of changes , the cabin of the Pulse is identical to that of the Micra save for the badging on the steering and the slightly different color theme inside. The design , features , seat et all – all remain unchanged. And this isn’t a bad thing at all as the Micra always had comfortable , practical and ergonomically designed interiors. Everything about the cabin is ‘round’ – the dials , the knobs , the switches : all this in a cute way. What however makes you smile is the colour treatment for the background illumination. Once it gets dark on the outside , the orange theme looks terrific. 
 

Seat comfort is good and i personally love the multiple cubby holes around – adds to the practicality. Visibility , even for short drivers is good. Cabin space for five passengers isn’t class leading but not on the less side either. Same goes for the plastic quality used. The feel good factor though is definitely on the higher side inside – the soft touch buttons for example for the climate control system feel nice. The chrome finish for the door handles though feel out of place and we did miss the steering wheel mounted controls.

Engine and Performance  


As expected , the Pulse also uses the same 1.5-litre dCi motor as the Micra. This is One of the most widely used diesel engines (in different states of tune) in the world and in India , apart from these two hatchbacks , the Nissan Sunny and Renault Fluence also make use of it. Most modern day diesel engines suffer from poor low end torque and turbo lag and in this department , the Pulse really shines and how! Although maximum torque is generated at 2000rpm , the engine response from 1500rpm onwards is punchy and you can easily close in on gaps in traffic without having to wait for the turbo to spool up. The only glitch here is the gear shift quality which isn’t up to the mark and could do with a less rough feel.
The Pulse isn’t a car for outright performance and yet , it will take around 16 seconds for the 0-100km/h dash. This is a car best enjoyed between 1500 – 2500rpm : keep these engine speeds and your City commutes will be quick and fun. On the highways , the car feel relaxed at 100-110km/h and 140km/h comes up pretty quick too , with another 15-20km/h more in its kitty. The icing on the cake comes in the form of its fantastic fuel economy. For the three days we had the car for , it displayed an average fuel economy of a shade over 18kmpl including Delhi’s start-stop traffic (no air-con though) – these are simply brilliant figures. The engine’s NVH damping is good , though not exceptionally well.

Ride and handling


The Pulse is an urban car meant for city use and the occasional highway one. In this regard , it plays the role perfectly well. The steering is light , visibility good and turning circle tight – three essential ingredients for a city car. We regularly spent a good time in congested traffic conditions and the Pulse gave us no reason to complain. Further , the suspension does the job well , better than most other cars in the segment though we would say that cars like the Figo and Liva ride much better. That said , it doesn’t giving you a reason to complain either. Driven alone , it does feel on the stiffer side though with more than 2 people on board , the suspension irons out sharp undulations pretty well.


The Renault Pulse is not a sporty car and for those who love corners or pushing a car to its limits , look elsewhere. It will take on a fair bit of spirited driving but it was never meant to be a car that would give you grinning moments every time you want it to! The suspension is tuned more for comfort than for handing. High speed stability though is very good. The brakes work well , though somewhat
lack the ‘feel’ and the ‘bite’.

Final Verdict  


The RxZ model we tested comes loaded (the co-driver air-bag comes as an option). You get the same features as the top end Micra like key-less entry and start-stop , electrically foldable outside mirrors , climate control system , ABS , alloy wheels etc. The Pulse also gets Renault’s 2 year / 50000km warranty and a similar time and kilometre based ‘Renault Assistance’ package for added peace of mind. On the pricing front , the top end model with co-driver airbags retails for Rs 6.5 lakh , ex-showroom , Delhi. This is bang in the middle of cars like the Figo and Liva on one side and Swift and Polo on the other. The Pulse is a wonderful and a very capable car no doubt but also comes with little issues like the gear shift quality which is slightly rough and the overall NVH levels. How Renault’s dealerships treat prospective customers on the ‘premium feel’ front might just prove to be the deal maker or deal breaker factor!
And yes , the 1.5 dCi motor simply wins our heart out with its low engine speed respond – a major factor that is bound to win hearts!  
 

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