The Renault Talisman is a large family car manufactured by the French car manufacturer Renault since 2015.[2] It replaced the Renault Laguna, as well as the larger Renault Latitude, for which no direct replacement was scheduled. It was produced by Renault's Douai Renault Factory from 2015 to 2022 and it is produced by its South Korean subsidiary Renault Korea Motors (previously named Renault Samsung Motors) since 2016 and marketed as the Renault Korea Motors SM6 (until 2022, it was marketed as the Renault Samsung SM6).
Renault ended production of the Talisman in Europe in February 2022.[3]
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.[2] 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.[citation needed]
The use of the Talisman name is intended as a way of unifying Renault nomenclature across the world, as Renault already sells in China a similar car named Talisman.[2][7] Renault said the name "conjures up notions of both protection and power. At the same time, Talisman is an easy word to pronounce and understand the world over".[7]
Design and technical details
The Talisman is slightly larger than the Laguna,[4] with a lower centre of gravity.[8] Renault focused on design, equipment and comfort with the aim of regaining market share in the large family car segment.[4]Daimler personnel visited the car manufacturing site at Douai, and gave input on quality control and perceived quality.[8]
According to Renault staff, they wanted to give the car the "fluid and emotional" aspect of smaller models from the company.[7] 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.[9]
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.[10] The car had originally five trim levels for Europe (Life, Zen, Business, Intens, and Initiale Paris).[11]
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.[12] 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.[13]
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.[14] In July 2019, Renault Samsung launched a new high end trim, called Premiere.[15]
The car has a four wheel steering system (called 4 Control)[7] which is not available in the South Korean version.[16] 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.[17]
The Talisman received technological updates in February 2020, including new LED Matrix headlamps with adaptive lighting, 10.2 in (260 mm) digital instrument cluster, 9.3 in (240 mm) 'Easy Link' portrait style touchscreen infotainment system, and a range of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).[22]
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.[18][20] In August 2016, a diesel version was introduced for the market in South Korea.[23]
In November 2018, Renault announced the introduction of both petrol and diesel WLTP compliant engines.[24][25]
† WLTP-compliant engines introduced in November 2018.
a Only used in the European version.
b Only used in the South Korean version.
Recalls
Renault Samsung ordered a recall of 94,069 RS SM6 saloon due to concerns of loose plastic covers on accelerator and brake pedals uncovered in a safety investigation.[26] The company was fined 611 million won (US$530,000) by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for violating vehicle safety regulations.[26]
Talisman concept
The Renault Talisman concept
The first use of the Renault Talisman name is on an unrelated concept car designed along the 1995 Renault Initiale [fr] Concept by Renault chief designer Patrick Le Quément.[27][irrelevant citation] Initially known as the Renault Z12 it was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2001.[28] The Talisman concept was a three-door 2+2coupé with two gullwing doors and was fitted with a 4.5-liter V8 engine from Nissan.[28]
^Ducamp, Pauline (4 November 2015). "La Renault Talisman à l'assaut des flottes" [Renault Talisman to conquer the fleets]. usinenouvelle.com. InfoPro Digital. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
^Sebastian Renz (17 March 2016). "Feine Glücksache: Der Laguna-Erbe Talisman soll für Renault nicht nur Glücks-, sondern Erfolgsbringer werden. Zum Wettreit mit Ford Mondeo und Skoda Superb bringt er mit, was wichtig ist: einen starken Diesel, viel Platz, Sicherheit, Ausstatung und Ambitionen auf Südkorea. (3-way Comparison test of the Renault Talisman, Ford Mondeo and Skoda Superb)". Auto Motor und Sport. 6/2016: 60.
^Kim, Min-bum (1 February 2016). "르노삼성 SM6, 가격·옵션 총정리…풀옵션 3602만원" [Renault Samsung SM6, price and options. With all options, ₩36.02 million]. Motorgraph (in Korean). Retrieved 12 November 2018.
^Kim, Jun (4 March 2018). "르노삼성차 상품성 높인 2019년형 SM6 판매" [Renault Samsung increased marketability of the 2019 model year SM6]. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved 12 November 2018.
