Renault Fabulous-5 Test Drive – Part 1

Renault has been producing cars for more than a 100 years now; they have been racing for almost as long and at one point during World War 1, Renault even produced ammunition, military airplanes and tanks! Now just imagine the experience gained from such bold productions and racing and winning.

That’s why when Tom handed me the chance to attend the Renault Fabulous-5 Drive up Cameron Highlands, there was no second thought, even when he told me at 1am and the event was at 8am.

So I made it on time and after a quick route briefing from local hero, Y.S. Khong and the Renault staff, we were on our way, me first in the Renault Grand Espace with Hello magazine editor, Doc and Jamie of TC Euro cars. Now I got to admit that I don’t have much experience with MPV’s and haven’t driven many but the Grand Espace really got me going. Get inside, and the first thing you notice is how incredibly spacious it is.

The panoramic glass roof, which is the largest in the market and comes with the option of opening and fixed versions adds to the feeling of space but it’s not merely a feeling, the Grand Espace really is huge, like a 747 for the road.

The minimally designed dash is typical of French cars and with air conditioning controls on the door side arm rest and everything else on the steering and the toggles, you can just relax and concentrate on your driving. Relaxation is a great part of the Grand Espace experience as it cruises with zero effort thanks to the turbocharged 2-liter engine. With 170bhp and 270Nm of torque at your disposal, driving is effortless, there is almost the danger of getting too comfortable but considering you can pack your family, your in-laws, the dog, your neighbors, and their hot daughter into the Grand Espace, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about passing out.

And if you have more items to carry than people, you can adjust the position of the rear seats for optimum comfort or storage. The seats are able to switch between 7,6,5,4,3,or even 2-seat configurations, I’m not too sure if you can just empty out the rear with no seats at all but that would be ideal for those “girl-next door” moments. For RM297,700, the versatility, usability and uniqueness of the Grand Espace is unparalleled and in Malaysia, it doesn’t have any real Euro competition except for maybe the Mercedes Vito.

Next up was the Megane Coupe-Cabriolet or otherwise known as the CC. It’s a pretty car, I would buy it but that’s only if I have someone to buy it for and the money to do so. The car is well built and the interior feels solid in its minimalist design and high quality materials but I’m a performance guy and the Megane is a wind in your hair cruiser (I don’t have hair to enjoy the wind either). But nonetheless, I had the opportunity of driving it through the twisties and nailing it in the straights.

But before I get to that, I just have to tell you how Doc and I pissed off Y.S Khong because we were already running late but we still had the cheek to pull over and open the top. We held up Mr. Khong for all the 22 seconds it took to open up the roof, the fastest in the industry for an automated glass roof but not fast enough to save ourselves from the “we’re running late guys, hurry up!!” shelling we were getting over the walkie. Sorry Mr.Khong.

So yes, I got behind the wheel for the winding roads and really got a chance to test out the multi-valve 2-liter VVT 135bhp engine. Let me remind you again, this is a cruiser, attacking the bends is not what it’s for but I was really impressed with how smooth the gearshifts were, all four of them. Renault says the Proactive 4-speed gearbox automatically adapts the gear change pattern to your personal driving style, I think I kind of confused it a bit through the bends but it had me figured by the time we reached the straights, delivering smooth up and down shifts whenever I summoned a change.

Impressive stuff but what is even more impressive is that the wind never threatened to blow my cap off at (keep this a secret) 170km/h. Takes a well engineered car or a Mercedes SL or a RM236,000 Megane CC to do that . I had my fun so I passed it to Doc for the highway cruise to the Simpang Pulai R&R area, where our next car change was scheduled to take place.

Our next leg was the drive up Cameron Highlands from Simpang Pulai. I know that road pretty well as I am from Ipoh and that’s where we go to have our nightly touge dosage whenever I am in Ipoh, so I have to admit to being mildly disappointed when I was placed in the 1.6 Clio but it was all good.

The 1.6 VVT engine that churns out 111bhp and 151Nm of torque (4250rpm) isn’t the most ideal of powerplants to get you up Camerons but I would rate handling as fun in the corners. Since you can’t really rely on the engine for power, it’s important to treasure whatever momentum you have built up and thanks to modern technology like Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), you can really carry speed into corners, trail brake and rely on the electronics to shoot you out the other side without loosing too much speed. The paddle shift helps you hold on to the gears when you need to and of course, doesn’t require you to take your hands off the steering wheel. Fun little car!! Worked out to be more than what I expected from a 1.6.

I could see Doc holding on and getting a little worried but I reassured him that safety features like the reinforced structure with programmed deformation zones, the six airbags with 2-stage auto adaptive airbags and the front seat belts with load limiters and pretensioners will see us out in case we decided to see if the car could fly as well as it handled. He looked smug after, even offering me peanuts from the ‘survival kit’ courtesy of TC Euro.

But handling is not the only thing that I like about the Clio, once I handed the car over to Doc at Kampung Raja and tuned out of the Lewis Hamilton (!!) in me, I had a chance to reflect on the car itself. For RM149,000, the 1.6 Clio is actually packed with a lot of equipment. Renault refers to it as the superlative supermini and this is why. It comes with automatic headlights that activate as soon as the light level drops and rain sensors awaken the wipers at the first drop. The steering itself is speed sensitive, making it a pleasure to drive at both low and high speeds and it truly comes alive at higher speeds where it conveniently adjusts itself for a more precise feel and cornering feedback. Combine that with four-doors, ample of space, and excellent safety ratings, not forgetting the fun factor and you have a car that is unmatched in its class. It is no wonder then that it was awarded the prestigious European Car of The Year award in 2006.

Doc and I made great time, I had time to get strawberries, Doc had time to get flowers for his wife and we both had time to stop and admire the view. Only then did the rest catch up in the other ‘faster’ cars, maybe the 10-minute head-start we had really came to good use, so much for the Lewis in me. We headed to ‘The Smokehouse’ where lunch was served and the product briefing as well as the photo shoot session was held.

So it comes down to the final two, the Clio RS and the Megane R26. Both legendary, both fast, both fun and both very very entertaining. We love them so much that we’re going to dedicate an entirely different feature to them. Watch this space – Friday.

For more information, visit: www.renault.com.my