Renault Samsung's SUV gaining popularity

Renault Samsung's new QM6 dCi model / Courtesy of Renault Samsung

By Kim Jae-heun

There has been a growing number of customers here preferring SUVs run on gasoline.

According to Encar.com, one of the top secondhand car dealer platforms, SUVs show to be the most popular type of car in Korea. Often March is the month when the most used cars are sold, and Encar.com asked 1,267 customers what type of vehicle they planned to buy. Interviewees said that SUVs, especially gas-powered ones, have lower fuel efficiency and less torque than diesel vehicles, but they are quiet and comfortable.

Carmakers have been competing to dominate the market in advance already.

QM6 is Renault Samsung's representative SUV model running on gasoline and it is included in the medium-sized category. The name took the initials from “Quest Motoring,” which shows the company's philosophy behind this SUV model.

Renault Samsung adopts sound absorption, noise insulation materials and windshield glass for the QM6 GDe model running on diesel for quiet driving performance.

To keep engine noise down, the carmaker also uses a “silent timing chain,” the latest technology replacing rubber material.

The QM6 GDe is the only medium-sized SUV model with a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine and it has a fuel efficiency of 12 kilometers per liter. Its output is 144 horsepower and its maximum torque is 20.4 kilogram-force per meter.

QM6's main rival is the Kia Sportage. Among the three powertrains installed in the latest Sportage model, the 1.6 turbo gasoline engine has a maximum output of 180 horsepower, a maximum torque of 27 kilograms per meter and a combined fuel efficiency of 12.5 kilometers per liter.

Kia equipped the QM6 with a four-wheel drive system that determines road and driving conditions in real time and distributes driving force to the front and rear wheels automatically.

When the SUV is in “terrain mode,” it provides stability by integrating control of four-wheel drive, engine, transmission and braking systems according to the terrain conditions, such as when it is driven on mud, snow or sand.

The full length of the new Sportage is 4,660 millimeters, increased by 175 millimeters from the previous model. Its wheel base that determines the interior space is also increased by 85 millimeters to 2,755 millimeters.