Attractive blend

The rapid spread of global ideas has caused various communities around the globe to come together, form alliances and work towards better ways of doing things, and this applies to almost everything we see around these days.

Cuisines from around the world have also gone global and star chefs everywhere are doing the best they can to create newer internationally blended dishes. It makes me wonder that if some day, everything in the world would have been mixed to a level accepted by everyone everywhere and suddenly everything looks and feels the same.

Speaking of alliances and global cuisines, there is the famous Renault- Nissan alliance headed by Carlos Ghosn, whose feats in the recent past have made headlines in newspapers and have also found its way into management books for aspiring leaders, and is one of the most successful alliances in the world of motoring. This French-Japanese alliance headed by a Brazilian- Lebanese CEO is an example of globalisation at work.

Combining strengths and thereby overcoming individual weaknesses is what people, companies and countries have been doing for a very long time and the end result is obvious. The path to such results and success is not easy and people like Carlos Ghosn had to face huge financial and cultural obstacles to get to where they are now.

He believed in what he was doing and went to the extent of promising to resign his position as CEO of Nissan and Renault if the company did not reach profitability by the end of the first year in which he headed the team. The rest is history. The way to get there, like many leaders have told us in the past, is to believe in what you are doing.

Belief is an easy word, but unfortunately for many it is combined with commitment, perseverance, originality, strong foundations and many such qualities that great leaders are made of.

The 2009 Renault Safrane is a product of such alliances. Built in Korea and based on the successful Renault Samsung Motors model the 'SM5', it is the second car after the Koleos to be industrialised by Renault Samsung Motors, the 80.1 per cent Renault owned subsidiary.

The Safrane is available in either the four cylinder 2.0-litre engine or the 2.3-litre V6 engine option. The test car for review provided by Renault came with the 2.3-litre V6 which was co-developed by the Nissan-Renault alliance. Considering all the different brands involved, what has all this genetic modification resulted in?

Betting on a brand image

Nissan is well known for its reliability and good engines. Renault on the other hand has stood out in the past for its authentic body designs in addition to its performance in Formula 1.

All these factors combined and built at an ultra-modern facility in South Korea has resulted in a car with a European heritage, Japanese reliability and a Korean car price segment. It's true.

The Renault has actually used Nissan's proven engineering capability to design a 2.3 litre V6 (which is unheard of in Japanese cars, but common among European cars) thereby providing its potential customers with the advantage of owning a 6-cylinder car with an engine of the same capacity as other 4-cylinder Japanese and Korean cars in this segment. Nissan's brand image and value in this region is probably what Renault is betting on while competing in this family car arena.

Throttle response on this car was very good and on the whole it did feel more Japanese than European and the body design does look a lot like the newer Korean cars in the market. The Renault logo could be the only thing reminding you that behind the alliance based technology, design and manufacturing, this car is in fact European.

The thing about European cars that most people adore is the fact that their engines feel tight and the handling is precise and balanced and gives the driver the immense satisfaction of owning a well engineered product. While it might have been in Renault's noble intentions to provide this to their drivers, they quite didn't make it in this area.

Features like the Smart Card technology, 7 speaker entertainment system, and climate control add to the 'Stress Free' driving experience as Renault calls it. The car also had an auto headlamp switch which would turn on and off depending on the ambient light conditions. Also part of the high end package is auto rain sensing windshield wipers and automatic driver memory seats.

Usage of special materials for the intake manifold and locker cover and the use of stainless steel for the exhaust manifold, a new balance shaft system incorporating the oil pump and pan as a single part, all helped Renault considerably reduce the overall size and weight of this car. This is probably why this car felt smooth, silent and balanced, but a little light especially above 100 km/h.

Nissan's CVTC (Continuously Variable Valve Timing Control), ESC (Electronic Stability Control) and ETC (Electronic Throttle Control) systems have come to the aid of the Safrane and have provided it with the finesse required to achieve the best possible driving experience. The cornering abilities of this car are much better than most Japanese and Korean cars in this segment.

The expected understeer was minimal as the Safrane effortlessly pulled itself out of the many curves and corners it was asked to face. The thing about providing a 6-cylinder option to smaller engine sizes such as this 2.3-litre engine is the fact that it becomes more responsive which is great for normal driving and the fact that they are usually more fuel efficient than their 4-cylinder counterparts on long distance runs due to lower rpms for the same speed. Renault really did make the Safrane stand out of the crowd by deciding to go with this configuration.

On safety

Features include ABS with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), on top of Electronic Stability Control (ESC), and six airbags. The Safrane's seatbelts also feature load limiters and traveller safety is further ensured with active protection headrests. Child safety has been enhanced with 'ISOFIX' Child Car Seat Compatibility and ' safe windows' that prevent the
window moving up when restrained by anything it assumes could be a child's hand in the way!

On the whole, I would say that the Safrane offers value for money by being a highly functional car that is reliable and safety oriented. While it may not be the car that motoring enthusiasts would dream of, it certainly combines the strengths of the different brands associated with it and provides the Gulf market with a kind of blend that would suit its taste.

A French croissant with a zatar filling instead of the usual cheese!

Philip Shane is a Dubai-based freelance writer