Renault Fluence put through its paces

As I sat in the Renault Fluence's comfortable, leather-clad interior, trying to brainstorm a suitable site for its photo shoot, I had a sudden flash of inspiration — a university campus. Now that's not to say that the Fluence isn't basically an every person's car at an accessible price. It is. But there's definitely something aspirational about the vehicle that made me think it might be a nice fit for a deserving student.

Thoroughly confused? Look at it this way: Dubai is a city that places a huge amount of emphasis on the automobile. We spend a lot of time in our cars and, for better or worse, they stand in asa sort of proxy for us when we interact with others in the city's principal public sphere — no, not the mall, the road.

So when a smart-looking economy saloon like the Fluence comes along, you have an affordably priced car that might work on a student's budget and, much like that student, the Fluence appears to be going somewhere.

I drove the 1.6-litre, 112bhp iteration of the Fluence and in all honesty it isa tad underpowered. After a long day at the office, I caught sight of our intern, Julius, in my side-view mirror as I pulled away from the curb. Seeing his goofy countenance coming towards me at such a late hour my fight or flight instinct kicked in and I put the pedal to the floor. To my shock and horror, he was able to keep up with the car, shouting something unintelligible about cats on Facebook.

Unfortunately, the kick-down bracket in the Fluence functions more like a volume dial than an accelerator pedal; the engine gets louder, but that's it, there's no appreciable surge of power. As a soon-to-be father, this is precisely the type of car I'd want my child to drive some day; its humble torque (156Nm) deters one from exhibiting the type of behaviour that might require a quick getaway.

On the highway, the Fluence hasa commendably quiet and smooth ride quality. The continuously variable transmission functions evenly, andI wound up preferring it to manual shift mode, which has a more hesitant — occasionally stuttering — quality that can be disconcerting.

While they're not all standard features, the test car's Arkamys 3D sound system, combined with Bose hi-fi speakers has full sound, and the car's Bluetooth telephony, hands-free entry and ignition card and rear parking assist all add to a feature-rich vehicle that will give business majors a taste of the good life to come. For literature majors, like myself, I suggest becoming accustomed to the bus. And while we're on the subject of features, kudos to Renault for paying whatever licensing fee Apple exacts to enable full iPod connectivity, a feature that is still lacking in certain German luxury cars. (Cough — BMW — cough.)

Renault deserves further credit for including ABS, emergency braking assist, ESC support, and three-point seatbelts with pretensioners and load-limiters,all of which would appeal to parentsof young drivers. My only safety qualm with the Fluence is based on a short-lived braking system error: while positioning the car for the photo shoot, the brake pedal became unresponsive. There was no travel in the pedal and I had to press as hard as I could to stop the car's very minimal forward travel. I restarted the car immediately, the vacuum returned, and the brakes functioned seamlessly from there on.

Verdict

If you're on the hunt for a car that, while not an athletic performer, has a nice overall aesthetic with plenty of standard and available features, then the Fluence might be worth a look.

Specs & rating