Renault Talisman
The Renault Talisman is a large family car manufactured by the French car manufacturer Renault since 2015. The name "talisman" means "a magical object providing protection against ill will, or the supernatural, or conferring the wearer with a boon such as good luck, good health, or powers". It replaces the Renault Laguna, as well as the larger Renault Latitude, for which no direct replacement was scheduled. It is produced by Renault Samsung in South Korea and marketed as the Renault Samsung SM6. Renault executives stated that, like the new crossover, the Espace V, it will not be engineered  for right-hand drive markets, due to the decline in the traditional saloon market. Characteristics. The saloon version of the Talisman was first unveiled on 6 July 2015, at the Château de Chantilly by Renault's CEO Carlos Ghosn, with an estate version scheduled to be revealed at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. The two versions were allegedly codenamed LFD (saloon) and KFD (estate). The car is based on the CMF CD platform, jointly developed by Renault and Nissan, and is the second Renault car to use it following the Espace. The use of the new platform is aimed at  giving the Talisman a production volume advantage, that its predecessor (the Laguna) never achieved. Design and technical details. The Talisman is slightly larger than the Laguna, with a lower centre of gravity. Renault focused on design, equipment and comfort with the aim of regaining market share in the large family car segment. Daimler personnel visited the car manufacturing site at Douai, and gave input on quality control and perceived quality. According to Renault staff, they wanted to give the car the "fluid and emotional" aspect of smaller models from the company. They also tried to achieve a more "classic" styling  than the used for its predecessor with the aim of gaining market share from the business fleets. The Talisman is the first large Renault car since the Renault 18 in the 1980s for which no hatchback body is available either as standard or as an option. The car had originally five trim levels for Europe (Life, Zen, Business, Intens, and Initiale Paris). In March 2018, Renault unveiled a sportier trim level powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine called S Edition, aimed to be introduced in the market by September 2018. In South Korea, the car was launched with up  to four trim levels (PE, SE, LE and RE), although their number varied according to the engine used. In March 2018, Renault Samsung introduced a minor facelift for the market in South Korean, with some exterior changes, interior equipment updates and a new colouring option. In July 2019, Renault Samsung launched a new high end trim, called Premiere. The car has a four wheel steering system (called 4 Control) which is not available in the South Korean version. It also incorporates a system (Multi Sense) which allows adjusting all car settings (on the cabin as well as mechanicals) between four  pre-set options called Comfort, Sport, Eco and Neutral, and a user configurable option called Perso. As an optional, the Talisman has a new infotainment system with an 8.7-inch touchscreen introduced in the fifth generation Espace, called R Link 2 (S Link in South Korea). The equipment also include adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, traffic sign detection with excess speed warning and blind spot alert. The car scored a five star rating at the tests for Euro NCAP in 2015. Gearboxes are six/seven speed dual-clutch automatic, six speed manual and CVT (the latter only available in  a liquefied petroleum gas version sold in South Korea). Suspension is made of Pseudo MacPherson struts on front and a semi rigid axle on rear, with an optional active suspension system. Brakes are discs on both axles. The Talisman received technological updates in February 2020, including new LED Matrix headlamps with adaptive lighting, 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster, 9.3-inch 'Easy Link' portrait style touchscreen infotainment system, and a range of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Engines. The Talisman is powered by a range of petrol and diesel engines in both Europe and South Korea. The diesel engined versions were  not initially sold in South Korea, while there is a liquefied petroleum gas version only for the market in South Korea. In August 2016, a diesel version was introduced for the market in South Korea. In November 2018, Renault announced the introduction of both petrol and diesel WLTP compliant engines. ! Engine !! Type !! !! Displacement !! Power !! Torque !|Petrol engines