New Samsung SM5 hints at Renault Safrane 2011
Samsung Motors, the South Korean joint venture with Renault and Nissan, has released the first official photos of the 3rd-generation Samsung SM5 sedan, set to go on sale by late January in its home country. Incidentally, the outgoing SM5 forms the basis for the GCC-spec Renault Safrane, so this new car is likely hitting the UAE market sometime next year as a 2010 or 2011 model.
The SM5 is based on the current-generation Renault Laguna and features Nissan’s 2.0-litre petrol engine with a 6-speed automatic transmission. There is no mention of a V6 option yet.
Available features include adaptive HID headlights and massage front seats. The car doesn’t look too bad either, both inside and out.
Keep track of updates in the Renault Safrane buyer guide.
Comments
BJD
I knew Samsung makes cars but didn’t know they make luxury cars! O_O looks pretty good too.
hawkeye
hmmm…any idea what happened 9 months after a Saab 9-4 and a Toyota Camry went out and got drunk …pssst look above…;)… the interiors look really nice…
Ciprian
Hey Mash! What about the new smal sh8y cars that Renault brought in UAE recently?? they are sold in Romania, Serbia, hungary and other countries as LOGAN. It’s practically the slap of Renault on romanian manufacturer DACIA. i saw it in Bur Dubai the other day and a friend told me that it’s not imported, but brought by GCC Renault. Can you please inform?
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
They’ve been showing the Logan here since the 2007 Dubai Motor Show, and even vaguely mention it on their website. And I saw an Omani-plated one. But they seem to spend zero bucks promoting it.
Ciprian
@Mash:
drove one back in Romania. 1.5 DCI with 75 hp manual. Cheap, crappy bu extremely fun 2 drive… wouldn’t mind 2 have one here just for fun.
Thanks.
shafiq
the speedo on this shows 240 max? would renault 2.3v6 go there eventually? maybe they planning to put a vq35de 😀
Michael 1963
FROM ITALY –
Adattata ai gusti europei, con almeno un diesel di ultima generazione e soprattutto con un prezzo concorrenziale, potrebbe avere buoni consensi sul mercato europeo.
Anche perchè, in questa categoria, molte sono le Case che si sono ritirate (Fiat, Lancia, Alfa R, Ford, Opel, Peugeot), sono rimasti i soliti tedeschi e qualche altro marchio, quindi se si centra il modello, lo spazio di mercato c’è.
freddy
if you know where I can get the Samsung Knack User Manual, I’ve been looking but have not found it
M G
COOOLLLL!!!!!!!
BP
RSM is practically a Renault subsidiary while Samsung has kept only a minor stake in the company. On the other hand Nissan has been a supplier of the know-how, equipment and parts since day 1 of the Samsung car project which was frozen during the financial crisis and sold to Renault some ten years ago. No serious quantity of cars has been manufactured until Renault (re?)started the production of Nissan based RSM models. Recently the Nissan Qashqai’s powertrain based crossover RSM QM5/Renault Koleos meant the first shift from the basically Nissan products while the new SM5 indeed looks as a 4-door luxury sedan version of the Renault Laguna III. As far as I know the European made Laguna doesn’t come with massage seats… yet?