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Renault Pulse matured with the launch of petrol model: neck to neck fight with rivals

Finally, Maruti India is proved right by sticking to only petrol for its entry level cars. Renault India that banked much on diesel has launched the small car Renault Pulse in petrol today. The entry level trim Pulse petrol price is Rs 4.25 lakh. Also, now after being offered in petrol and diesel options, the small premium car Pulse has also added more rivals to its already long list. These are Hyundai i20, Ford Figo, Maruti Swift and Volkswagen Polo. The only diesel strategy seemed to work but the launch of Petrol trims will help Pulse get some more figures on the sales chart.

So what is there in Pulse that the car buyers should prefer it over its rivals when there are some excellent offerings such as the long tried, tested and best selling Maruti Swift and Hyundai i20. Besides why would people buy it when there is Ford Figo available at only Rs 3.81 lakh. Lets us see what is in Pulse that could bring some walk in customers.

Price Factor

If we compare Renault Pulse that starts at Rs 4.25 lakh, then it is cheaper than Hyundai i20 ( starts at Rs 4.73 lakh), Maruti Swift (starts at Rs 4.44 lakh) and Volkswagen Polo (starts at Rs 4.67 lakh) while it is around Rs 44,000 costlier than Ford Figo. Thus there is clearly a win-win situation for Pulse as compared to i20, Swift and Polo but it could not prove it worth as far as price is concerned if it is compared to Figo.

Overall styling, looks and design

Not everybody knows that Pulse is a rebadged car of Nissan Micra and not everybody is able to identify the design similarities between these two. Thus for the common car buyers Pulse is a fresh new car from Renault. But what about the size? Not everybody could compare the dimensions but strikingly Pulse is longer than Swift and Figo but shorter than Polo and i20 which is the longest in the comparison. Width wise, Pulse is the slimmest of the five and it has almost the same height as Swift, and Polo. Design and appealing looks are inherent in Pulse and for those who are fed up of the nose dive looks of Swift, Pulse the bubbly car is there.

The under-the-hood department

With the launch of Pulse petrol, it is now able to compete with almost all its rivals. Comparing the new petrol version with i20, Swift, Polo and Figo, it is revealed that all have 1.2 L engine powered. Only i20, Swift and Figo have four cylinder engine while Pulse and Polo have 3 cylinder engine. In terms of power output, Pulse petrol is marginally better than Figo and Polo but less powerful than i20 and Swift that has 85 PS engine. The petrol car has a mileage of 14 kmpl which is better than Polo, Figo, i20 petrol but is less than Swift petrol.

The Features

Pulse features power steering and air conditioning and heater as standard just as all other cars in comparison. It is adjustable steering which is only found on Polo and Figo but is missing on Swift and i20. On the outside, the entry level Pulse features a rear window washer and integrated antenna. However, on the safety Pulse takes the lead as it has driver airbag as standard while none of the car in comparison has it.

Thus the entry level Pulse seems to be offering much at this price on the safety and features front that are known to introduce in the higher trims of its rivals. Therefore, following the advantage it will have as a new car along with the features, the Pulse is all set to be at a win-win situation now.