Details of Cars

Renault Fluence: the saloon that filled the Mégane gap

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Renault Fluence
A Renault Fluence, also sold as the Renault Samsung SM3, in China. Photo by Dinkun Chen, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Renault Fluence is a compact saloon revealed in August 2009 on the Renault-Nissan C platform, sized between the compact and upper-medium segments. It was built at the Oyak-Renault plant in Bursa, Turkey, until 2016 and in Santa Isabel, Argentina, until the end of 2018.

Renault Fluence at a glance

Renault Fluence key facts
Maker Oyak-Renault, Bursa, Turkey; Santa Isabel, Argentina
Production 2009–2016 in Turkey, to 2018 in Argentina
Class compact saloon (C segment)
Platform Renault-Nissan C
Petrol engines 1.6 of 110 hp, 2.0 of 140 hp
Diesel engines 1.5 dCi in 85, 90, 105 and 110 hp forms
Gearboxes manual, CVT and EDC dual-clutch
Also sold as Renault Samsung SM3

Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Renault Fluence.

History of the Renault Fluence

Filling the Mégane gap

The Fluence was revealed in August 2009, based on the Renault-Nissan C platform but sized between the compact family saloon and the upper medium segment. The Mégane range had a three-box notchback saloon until the end of 2008, but it never sold well, and when the Mégane III arrived at the end of that year there was no saloon version. The Fluence filled that gap in markets such as France, Italy, Belgium and Ireland and, from August 2010, Germany.

Renault Fluence rear
Rear view of the Renault Fluence. Photo by Dinkun Chen, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Engines

The model was first offered with two petrol engines, a 1.6-litre of 110 hp and a two-litre of 140 hp that could be had with an optional CVT. The diesel version used a 1.5-litre dCi with a particulate filter in 85, 90, 105 and 110 hp forms, and the 110 hp version could be fitted with Renault’s EDC dual-clutch transmission. A Renault Sport version, the Fluence GT, was offered in Argentina and Brazil.

Korea and the end

The Fluence was also badged as the Renault Samsung SM3; that car was first shown at the Seoul Motor Show in April 2009 and the rebadged Fluence went on sale in November 2009. On 12 July 2016 Renault unveiled the successor for the European market, the Mégane Sedan IV, while Argentine production continued to the end of 2018.

Design and features

  • C-platform saloon: Renault-Nissan underpinnings sized between C and D segments.
  • Wide engine choice: two petrol units and a 1.5 dCi diesel in four outputs.
  • EDC gearbox: the dual-clutch transmission offered with the 110 hp diesel.
  • Two identities: sold as the Renault Samsung SM3 in Korea.

Renault Fluence versions

  • Fluence 1.6: 110 hp petrol.
  • Fluence 2.0: 140 hp petrol with optional CVT.
  • Fluence dCi: 1.5-litre diesel in four powers.
  • Fluence GT: Renault Sport version for Argentina and Brazil.
  • Renault Samsung SM3: Korean market version.

The Fluence replaced the saloon version of the Renault Mégane and shared its platform thinking with the Renault Latitude. More Renaults are in the Renault collection.

Video: Renault Fluence CVT review

Video by Canal Top Speed | Mobiauto on YouTube.

Sources

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