Renault Revives Safrane Nameplate with a New Luxury Sedan

Monday, August 25, 2008 | 9 comments » Categories | , , | Bookmark and Share

Renault Safrane 2009French carmaker Renault has revealed a new mid-size luxury sedan that revives the Safrane nameplate after an eight year hiatus. The original Safrane was a rather bluntly styled 5door executive saloon built from 1992 to 2000 that was replaced in the European market by the ill-received Vel Satis. However, the new Safrane, which as you may have already noticed is virtually a rebadged version of the Renault Samsung Motors SM5 sedan, won’t be sold in Europe as the French firm plans to sell it exclusively in the Gulf States where it will be offered with a V6 engine matted to an automatic gearbox. -Continued

Like the Samsung SM5, the new Safrane is manufactured in Renault Samsung Motors’ Busan plant in South Korea, an 80.1% owned subsidiary of the Renault group. The Samsung SM5 is developed on the same platform as the Nissan Teana and the North American Nissan Maxima.

Thanks for the tip Omar N.!





Renault Safrane Samsung Motors SM5




9 comments

  1. Omar // August 25, 2008  

    np, heres some more info, apparently ts a 170-hp 2.3-litre V6 mated to a front-driven platform and an automatic 5 speed gearbox. :\

  2. Anonymous // August 26, 2008  

    Looks like a carbon copy of the previous version Nissan Teana/Cefiro. Hardly luxury.

  3. Tony // August 26, 2008  

    Actually, it IS a Teana/Cefiro (known as the Maxima in Australia/NZ). The older Maxima/Cefiros were nothing more than large Japanese sedans. The Teana actually feels like a luxury car, more like a Buick than a large Sentra. At least THIS Renault won't break down a lot.

  4. Anonymous // August 26, 2008  

    is a new Dacia !!! a low-cost big sedean !!!

  5. Anonymous // August 26, 2008  

    Doesn't it look like an Infiniti M35/45?

  6. Anonymous // August 26, 2008  

    Tony, have you actually sat in of driven a cefiro/teana this "Renault" is based on? The interior is cheap, steering's numb. It is actually a competitor to the camry and accord on many markets, so this definitely isn't luxury by any strwtxh of the imagination unless you are inclined to believe the PR shills at Nissan/Renault.

  7. Tony // August 27, 2008  

    Yes, I have. The steering at least has a bit of feel compared to the latest Honda Accord V6 (well, the one marketed in the Antipodes anyhow) in city driving, whose steering wheel I could turn with my pinkie finger (didn't know they still made cars like that, certainly the exact opposite of its sister car the Accord Euro/Acura TSX).

    Pity - the Accord V6 looks great, the doors thunk nicely, the plastics are now to Audi level, and I really had high hopes for it until I drove it. Even the engine isn't as smooth as the Teana/Cefiro -- odd for Honda, though it may be the variable cylinder system.

    The Teana/Cefiro/Maxima not a luxury car in the Audi sense, sure -- but actually sit in it (front or rear) and drive it, and compare it to the older Maximas (which feel like large Bluebirds with big uncomfortable seats) it doesn't ride like a large Japanese family car. It's more compliant -- that's why I said "Buick," not Mercedes. It's also better with road noise than the Accord V6 (I was surprised).

    The dash contour is more Scandinavian minimalist than Japanese (I usually hate Japanese dashboards with switches scattered all over the place), though certainly not German.

    Whether or not it passes as a Renault is one thing, but for luxury, hey, Americans think the older Maxima is a luxury car, it's just a Falcon/Commodore competitor elsewhere which doesn't raise any eyebrows at all.

    It's no BMW-bashing Autobahnsturmer, it's a boulevardier with comfortable seats, a very smooth V6 engine, and room, which as I said doesn't feel like the enlarged Japanese family sedan of yore. In many countries, that's what a luxury car is.

  8. J. // September 03, 2008  

    when changing all of the samsung logos to Renault logos they forgot the one in the rear seat where the drivechaft hump is in the interior shot

  9. Anonymous // December 30, 2008  

    That is truly some amateurs photoshops... every Renault-diamond is out of line/angle. :D
    And the forgotten one on the carpet is hillarious...

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