How Renault makes a 50mpg 7 seater January 11, 2010
Posted by richard in : Technology , add a commentRENAULT and I won our class in last year’s MPG Marathon – a right ol’ result, it was, after 400 miles’ somewhat steady driving.
But how? All down to the Grand Scenic I drove – fitted with the 1.4-litre TCe ‘downsized’ engine.
In Renault parlance, this is a 2.0-litre power-puncher with 1.6-litre fuel-sipping ability. Tiny turbo, no direct injection, Nissan all-alloy block and plain efficiency. It’s a canny wee thing, alright.
Particularly if you want to drive economically. See, its key characteristic is delivering loads of torque at really low revs – diesel-like revs, in fact. Throughout the entire Marathon, I honestly didn’t exceed 2000rpm. And still managed to summit the 1-in-2 climbs dotted through the route.
That tiny turbo allows this; it spools up fast, which is just what you need for eco driving. Here’s traits I exploited:
• Responsive to light throttles
• Ability to select 6th at ridiculously low speeds
• Linearity when modulating the throttle
• Turbo doesn’t ‘run away’ from you
• If you’re genteel, then so will it be
Being eco is about fluid motion. You need to swim along, with not a misplaced stroke, slipping along like an eel. Only with infintesimal control over the fuel being pumped into the engine can you do this.
Tiny turbo engines often produce great figures on the test rig, but plunge in real life, due to the turbo sucking in air like an iron fist, and forcing fuel injection to throw petrol in accordingly. Many people who drive at low revs and in a seemingly eco manner actually get mediocre economy – because of the lack of control the engine seems to have over itself.
None of that with the TCe. If you want to accurately throttle back as far as necessary to maintain pace, you can do. No torque-free gullies to fall into, no risk of being left floundering. It’s almost electric-like in its reponsiveness when you’re taking it steady.
The result of this is 50.3mpg in a 7-seat Grand Scenic. Official.
RenaultSport past to inspire turbo future
Wake up with the sun October 11, 2009
Posted by richard in : What I learned today , 1 comment so farSUNROOFS in cars have really fallen out of favour in recent times. Little wonder, now air con’s de rigueur.
But I had a revelation last week, that made me realise they still have their place – as lifesavers.
One test Renault Grand Scenic. Dynamique spec, with a few choice options, including the whizzy electric sunroof.
In the style of the Peugeot 205, this slides outside the vehicle, rather than inside, so looks super-cool on the move.
But, as well as popping ‘up and over’, it also tilts upwards, like the roof of every 1980s company car driver’s dreams. Tilting sunroof, at the turn of a knob rather than the crank of a handle. Majestic.
I did this, randomly, one morning. Know what happened? I immediately felt loads more awake. Why? Because all the stuffy air that was unknowingly rising within the cabin had an instant route to escape. There was now airflow in the Renault, from fresh in the vents, through me, and out the roof.
The carbon monoxide levels in the car plunged, I felt a million dollars and Renault had someone closer to justifying the heinous cost of electric sunroofs nowadays.
Far from being frozen out by air con, the sunroof still has a place – as a safety aid. Hot air rises. Here’s its escape route… meaning that bit less risk that it’ll be you relying on a lucky escape.
Of course, they probably knew all this in the 1980s already. Again: to learn, first you must look back…
Why Ford Econetics break the rules
RenaultSport past to inspire turbo future
How to read a torque curve September 5, 2009
Posted by richard in : What I learned today , 2commentsTORQUE is all-important to the drivability of a car. if you want manic high-rev fun, you’ll get an S2000. Bags of bhp. No torque.
But if you want something that’s quick when you’re not, too, bag a Golf GTI. Decent power – but no shortage of Newton metres, either.
This was brought home by a drive in Renault’s Clio TCe. The 1.2-litre engine is lost in the bonnet, and it’s easy to miss the tiny turbo. But it’s this that turns it from languid to lugubrious.
The torque curves show why. Here, on the left, is the torque plot for the teeny 1.2. On the right is that for the teeny 1.2, plus turbo. The shape tells you what you need to know: on the left, it’s peaky. On the right, it’s flat.
For torque, peaky is bad. Flat is good. It means, with the TCE, you’ve got 135Nm NM from 1800 rpm – so it’s responsive in normal running. Has guts. At the same engine revs, the non-turbo is muscling out just 90Nm.
In other words, at the same engine speed, the TCe has 50 percent more muscle!
As most drivers both don’t like revving engines all the time, nor continually changing gear, this means that, everyday, the TCe is the more pleasant car. easier, punchier, more refined, nicer. Confirmed by a charge on the road; it’s a peach.
But this torquey profile made me realise that, actually, I could have garnered all this simply by looking at the torque curve. There was my evidence – merely confirmed by a test drive.
There’s something else, too. Weight. The Clio is a heavy car – 1080kg. So it needs a hefty slab of torque to counter this. A Peugeot 107? That’s got just 93 Nm of torque overall – but weighs just 800kg. So, doesn’t feel as torque-deficient as a Clio 1.2 non-turbo.
There’s a fair bit to all this – I’m looking forward to investigating more in the coming months.
Why Ford Econetics break the rules
RenaultSport past to inspire turbo future
What I learnt this week: 04.09.09 September 4, 2009
Posted by richard in : What I learned today , add a commentMG nearly launched an SUV
ARONLINE has come up with a real gem – a prototype of an MG off-roader!
Based on the SsangYong Rexton, it shows the genius of Peter Stevens; his restyled bit, the front end, really is properly smart, I reckon.
It was to be called MG due to licensing issues over the Rover name, and would most certainly have enraged MG die-hards.
I, for one, can maybe see the merits, though – despite the mediocrity of the base vehicle. What sort of benefits could a tie-up with SsangYong have brought, for example? Yes, the firm’s been in trouble recently, but it also has a very promising new contemporary Qashqai rival waiting in the wings.
Imagine if MG Rover had been able to get in early on a co-development, Honda-style, with this? Coupled with a Fiat Stilo-based mid-range hatch, and perhaps a Renault Espace-derived people carrier? Even a tie-in with Lotus-owning Proton? We can but dream…
Twist-beam rear suspension is fundamentally flawed
My obsession over rear suspension on front-drive cars continues. You’ll no doubt be delighted to hear.
Latest view? That of a chassis suspension contact. His view is that twist-beam rears can never be as good as the far superior multi-link alternative.
This is because of two fundamentals. They lack lateral stiffness. And they allow the wheels to far too readily camber-steer when cornering. In journo-speak, this is the difference between and floppy and stiff rear end.
Tuning is still a massive part of how a car will turn out, he says. But the base multi-link engineers have to work from is that much better to start with, so they stand a better chance…
Fuel is going up
FUEL has risen by 2p a litre. With VAT, that’s 2.3p a litre. For the average tankful, it’s £1 a shot up.
One fuel retailer is trimming the rise for another week. But surely, as fuel has been bought in advance, they all should, until current stocks run out? One to watch.
Even so, I’m filling up today.
Saloons are dead in the UK
RENAULT for years went against the grain and offered saloon versions of its mid-range Megane.
Not anymore. It’s just revealed the tidy-looking Fluence, which is built in Turkey and based on the excellent current Megane platform.
But there are no plans to bring it into the UK. Proving that family buyers want family hatchbacks, not fuddy-duddy saloons.
When one of the market stalwarts leaves the sector, you know it’s now of minimal importance. Which is what makes it such a tragedy that Chevrolet’s fantastic Cruze is saloon-only.
Give this baby a hatch (for which there are no plans, given its world car status – what, with the rest of the world preferring saloons), and it could be the bargain-buy family hatch of choice.
Alas, we’ll never know. But at least it ensures there will remain a future contender for the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car.
Why do people hate the Lotus Elan?
Ride on time August 31, 2009
Posted by richard in : Minutiae of cars , 2commentsIN the olden days, ride quality used to be great on smooth roads.
Soft suspension, coupled with 70-profile tyres, meant it was like riding on space hopper. Rubbery absorption of all you don’t like.
Get the wheels encountering something more challenging, though – such as a rut, or a pothole, or a fag-end, and all holy hell would break loose. Your 1982 Ford Fiesta’s ride quality would show the finesse of stepping off a cliff. One minute it’s OK, the next, it’s having you check the suspension top mounts hadn’t blasted through the bonnet.
Slowly, cars became heavier. And people became less willing to see the side of their Fiestas sink to one side when they got in, because of the overtly-soft settings. Bottoming out when you had the shopping and the kids in the back wasn’t brilliant, either. With an increasing demand for less boast-like handling, so car suspension became stiffer.
For years, car makers puzzled with this. For a while, we had stiffer cars that were now pretty inept everywhere. There wasn’t even the comfort of a chance encounter with new tarmac to make you think it was any good. And, no sooner had they sorted it, when the next model became even heavier. Thus, so it went on.
Now, though, we’re reaching a plateau. Cars aren’t getting any heavier. And suspension dynamics genii have worked out how to make cars pleasing. This means we require a new judgment of what makes ride quality good.
In a few days, I’ll be putting this to the test in a new Renault Clio. See, a while back, I tried the then-new Clio III, and left it with the nuggets of a theory in my head. With the Clio 2009, I’ve another chance to theorise on this, and compare it to both my mum’s rolly old Renault 5, and my quasi-rolly 1993 Clio.
I’ll keep you posted.
Vauxhall gives new Astra suspension a twist
Renault Clio 2009 photostream on Flickr August 28, 2009
Posted by richard in : flickr , add a commentRenault engineers have been busy, facelifting the best-selling Clio range. Enter, thus, the Clio 2009.
I’ve just waved one goodbye, after a week’s test. Here, via Flickr, is my image road test of what it’s like!
Feel free to rock on on over there, to see what you think.
And do please leave comments on all the images!
RenaultSport past to inspire turbo future?
Why RenaultSports don’t have rear spoilers
RenaultSport past to inspire turbo future? July 18, 2009
Posted by richard in : Technology , 3commentsRENAULT’S Clio RenaultSport 200 was destined not to get the turbo its torque profile needs back in 1988.
That’s when Renault announced a major change for its hot hatch engine policy.
See, up to then, turbos had ruled for the Regie. The maker was one of the first in the arena, with the brilliant Renault 5 GT Turbo. In Phase 2 guise, it even found out how to stop them going on fire.
But, come 1988, and the launch of the 140bhp 1.8-litre 16v, all that turbo expertise (garnered, remember, from bringing us F1’s first-ever turbo unit) was consigned to history.
For the hot Clio, due in the early 1990s, there was to be no GT Turbo version. Instead, we’d get a 16v version. (Which, admittedly, was brilliant. Mesmerising, in 2.0-litre Clio Williams form. I’d lose teeth to own one today.)
What was the first car to show off this new 16v engine? The now-forgotten Renault 19 16v. But it’s not by me: as a kid, I used to walk the dog on a special route, just so’s I could go past a red one, with that idolised ‘16v’ badge on the boot.
Those cars back then had one key advantage over today’s, though. They were light. Today, though, cars are much, much heavier. So, 200bhp the latest Clio may well have, but unless you’re on it, vigour is hard to spot. The power has gone up, but the torque needed to hit this sweet spot hasn’t.
It needs a turbo, to zizz up this lower end, and help you reach the good times quicker. That’s what we’ve become used to nowadays. That’s why the Vauxhall Corsa VXR is a bit of an animal.
And that’s why, I’m sure, Renault will eventually turn back time.
Why Renaultsports don’t have rear spoilers April 18, 2009
Posted by richard in : Minutiae of cars , 3commentsRENAULTSPORT Megane customers want sporty cars, but they also want low running costs. Apparently.
That’s why Renault doesn’t fit a rear spoiler.
See, it would up the drag, worsen the Cd, and push up mpg.
That’s also why, it was explained to me on the car’s launch, there’s a RenaultSport Megane diesel – with multi-stage Piezo injectors, the last pulse of which is charged with burning off soot emissions. Overall, 45mpg. Good, oui?
Fear not though, I was told. Being racy is still the prime reason for the RenaultSport.
The need for bigger brakes, for example, led Renault to develop trick double-axis front suspension. Another benefit of which just happens to be high stiffness levels.
As an engineer explained, it means there’s ‘no wobble under hard acceleration, so no geometry loss, so no steering squirm.
‘During cornering, forces on the front outside corner are high, which distorts the suspension. Not on double-axis though, which is twice as stiff as MacPherson strut.’
And that’s not all. ‘Less parasitic movement means less need for steering correction, so it’s more precise…’
Blimey. But yet more precise still is the Cup version. This has ‘reinforced dampers, 37 percent more rear spring stiffness, and ESP that can be turned completely off.’ Hardcore features for hardcore drivers.
Clio Cup Runneth Over
He was a handling geek, my insider. And how I delighted in speaking with him, over the fizzy water. I soon got him onto the Clio RenaultSport, where his revelations were just as cool.
Did you know, for example, the Clio’s seats help lower the car’s centre of gravity? It’s also 27 percent stiffer in spring, and 10 percent firmer in damping… ‘And the double-axis front suspension separates steering efforts from the damper.’
Now, it was a veritable flurry of gems from him. Four-pot Brembos come on the Clio, which he revealed to me (but not the guys within Renault who control costs) are ‘oversized’.
The rear diffuser? It has a 26 degree angle, creating a depression under the car, which ‘weights’ the back down at speed. Not only does it reduce lift by a factor of 3, but it also ‘primes’ the suspension for best response at speed.
Genius. And for real.
I can’t repeat what he said about makers who fit false rear diffusers.
‘The diffuser also does away with the need for a rear boot spoiler,’ he added.
Which takes us back to the start. That’s why Renault doesn’t fit one to the Clio RenaultSport, either. But why, ahem, Vauxhall has to fit one to the ‘diffuser-equipped’ Corsa VXR. Ahem, ahem.
How Chevrolet today became cool
BMW X5 – reviewing the 2007 launch
The latest thing to sell cars April 2, 2009
Posted by richard in : News clues , add a commentFirst it was Honda. Then, Volvo. Then, Renault. With what? Something so brilliant, I’m amazed nobody’s offered it before.
Free payment protection insurance for those buying on the car makers’ finance schemes.
In other words, peace of mind that, if they buyers sign for a new car and then lose their job, payments on the new car will still be covered.
Genius, or what?
The more you think about it, the more sense it makes. It illustrates, for example, that while banks may not be lending, cash-rich car company finance houses most certainly still are.
After all, their very business is pitching out money secured against new cars, then pulling in the interest from the monthly payments.
If they don’t lend, they don’t trade or function. So, car makers tell me, they’ve certainly got the reserves to lend. And are trying their damndest to do so.
The whole car industry crisis has been borne of fear. Buyers, not buying, because they’re fearful. This one simple incentive reassures them, in three ways – by…
• Proving the cash is there
• That eye-watering finance deals such as Civic Type-Rs for £199 a month are available
• That buyers will be protected if the worst does indeed happen…
… I’d wager a successful uptake will mean these three companies won’t be the last to implement such schemes.
Volkswagen Golf looks to history for GTD inspiration
F1 insight – Lewis Hamilton speaks
Why car scrappage is now inevitable
What I learnt… from Autocar, 11 March 2009 March 18, 2009
Posted by richard in : What I learned today , 1 comment so far… Top VW product man Ulrich Hackenberg says customers are prepared to pay more for Bluemotion ‘green’ cars. That’s because they’re 5-10mpg more economical. Win-win for VW, then. It gets more cash for each car, which customers are happy to buy in decent numbers.
With such a business model, why would it thus apply the Bluemotion changes to all models, cutting such a profitable revenue stream?
VW’s rivals may snipe and say that ‘all our cars are green, not stand-out green specials’ – but they ‘aint getting the profits of VW. That’s why Bluemotion’s here to stay.
Hackenberg also says customers are understand that they must look at engine technology, not size, to gauge performance. Good news for the downsizing trend.
… Next year, MINI will start selling patterned soft-top Convertibles. Not easy to productionise down at Oxford, but extremely lucrative, I’d have thought.
… Renault reveals the Megane Renaultsport 250’s carryover platform has been re-engineered to take a short-shift 6-speed gearbox. Why go to the trouble? Unless there are future transmission developments we’re not aware of…
… The Golf R32 will lose its heavy V6 for a more eco four-pot turbo. Probably the TTS’s 268bhp unit. It’s for handling as well as emissions, says VW.
… the origins of the TTRS’s five-pot turbo are revealed. It’s actually a tuned-up version of an engine seen in the US-spec VW Jetta. Not, as Audi claims, half a Lamborghini V10. Ahem.
