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Renault Talisman: The One That Was Missing
RENAULT TALISMAN
Words by Roberto Marrone
Photos by Ron Morgenstein and Roberto Marrone
With the Talisman, at first glance, you notice a spot on design and while recalling other mid-size sedans, however, it shows its own personality, with a balanced front grille that integrates well with the lights, both with the classic stylistic feature of the brand, resulting pleasant to see. I particularly appreciate the silver mask, which does not recall other cars and also avoids the too frequent weird look that some other models have today. The same goes for the back where we find a precise layout and the design of the lights, well-integrated and harmonized with the capacious trunk. The sides keep going with the lines that start from the bonnet and go back to the rear end. It’s quite big (nearly 5 meters long) and offers great comfort, its seats are made of leather and fit electric adjustment, memories, massage, heating, etc – even the dashboard is very classy, a thin dark wood profile but still not flashy runs all over the dash and continues onto the door panels. At the center there’s a large screen – a sort of tablet – that acts as a navigator and which is really easy to use, even if during my test it happened that it crashed (maybe due to overheating) showing a white screen but updating the voice prompts.
Roominess in abundance at front and even for the passengers who sit behind – in the center integrated armrest you find cup holders and a storage compartments. Always in the back there is a useful USB socket. The flat key stays in your pocket and so the car opens itself as you approach by automatically opening the door mirrors, you sit comfortably even if you are overweight, since the seat goes back automatically to facilitate the entry, then it comes back in position once you press the Start button. The parking brake is released via a button on the center console and by putting a foot on the brake pedal. To hear that it’s a Diesel is necessary to open the window, because it is very quiet and well soundproofed, the gearbox is a precise and smooth-shifting manual six-speed, even the clutch is soft, but now let’s drive it.
I must admit that when I drove it for the first time I did not know what kind of engine it had, but judging by the torque and by its fluidity, I assumed it should be ranging from 2.000/2.200cc also because of the generous size. The engine however is a 4-cylinder 1600cc Turbo Diesel and develops 130hp at 4.000 rpm with 320Nm of torque at 1.750 rpm. Front-wheel drive, 6-speed transmission, a top speed of 204 Kph and a sprint from 0 to 100 in 10.4 seconds, really respectable data. Needless to say that grip is also great and the braking system is effective and powerful – during parking maneuver you can count on various sensors and to the rear view camera and you can easily notice that you are using rear wheel steering too. Versatile around the city, great on the motorway where you can travel hundreds of kilometers without any effort and also without stopping, except for a cup of coffee, because its fuel consumption is really remarkable. We tested it on various types of road, from city traffic to mountain roads and although it is not flashy, it has some good strong points that Renault indeed needed for giving us a beautiful sedan. I remember many years ago (1980) the R30 TX model, (2.700cc petrol) which I also drove for a long trip: it was packed well and was very comfortable, but the not so convincing line was probably the reason that did not allow it to establish on the market. This time is different, this Talisman can really stands out.
RENAULT TALISMAN (2016-)
Layout – front-engined, front wheel drive
Engine – 4 cylinder 1598cc – turbo
Transmission – 6-speed manual gearbox
Power – 130 hp @ 4000 rpm
320 Nm @ 1750 rpm
Weight – 1430 kg
Acceleration – 10,4 sec.
Top Speed – 204 kph
Price – from 31.200 €
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