Amidst immense speculations, Renault Scala was launched on Indian turf on September 7, 2012. The French auto maker Renault has a global Joint Venture (JV) with the Japanese auto maker Nissan Motors and the alliance operates a joint manufacturing unit in Chennai. Nissan introduced it Sunny sedan in the Indian passenger car market last year and the new Scala sedan has become its direct competitor and both of them are manufactured at the Chennai facility.
The 2012 Renault Scala sedan is a product of badge engineering and is essentially a Nissan Sunny with few cosmetic modifications. However, the French auto maker has incorporated some catchy additions in the new Scala, which completely overshadows the fact that the car is basically a twin sister of Sunny. The Scala sedan carries all the basic attributes of Sunny but scores points on the stylish appearance and refined style cues derived from its older brother, Fluence sedan.
In comparison of exterior appearance of Sunny and Scala, one can make out easily, which of the two cars is younger with Scala looking more attractive of the two. The 2012 Scala sedan features Fluence inspired front grille and a chrome strip joining the tail lamps, while Sunny appears a bit more raw due to simple curves and lines along with bulky bumpers.
Coming to the specifications under the hood, both the cars feature the same engine and driving characteristics.
The interiors of Scala appear similar to Sunny in quality and design with the exception of leather upholstery featured in the top-end variant of Scala. Both the cars will dwell in the entry-level segment of the Indian car market and it will be interesting to note how the twin sisters fare against each other.
Re-badging concept is not new to the Franco-Japanese alliance, as Nissan had earlier launched its Pulse hatchback, which is nothing but Nissan Micra with some make-up.
At first glance, the new Scala looks a slightly more refined than its Japanese twin but is priced more than a lac higher than Sunny, which does not do full justification to price tag set by Renault. Unless the French auto maker adds more to the overall package of Scala, we don't see how the vehicle will attract Indian buyers.
The Scala starts from Rs. 6.99 lacs while Nissan Sunny starts from Rs. 5.93 lacs in the Indian passenger car market.
