Car Moon

It’s only three years old, but it’s apparently time for the Renault Koleos compact SUV to receive its first facelift. The changes include an exterior makeover and new interior trim, plus noticeable CO2 and fuel consumption savings in the case of the crossover model’s range of diesel powerplants.

The first thing you’ll notice on the updated model is the brand new fascia, evidently inspired by the newly launched Latitude sedan, which like the Koleos, is the product of Renault Samsung Motors in Busan, South Korea.

The Renault-Nissan alliance’s South Korean subsidiary Samsung has presented the production version of its SM7 sedan model, which was displayed as a thinly disguised concept car at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show this past April.

Putting aside some minor details such as the lower parts of the front and rear bumpers, and the less extravagant choice of alloy wheels, nothing else has changed from the concept model.

We first heard about the Renault Latitude in June, but today, the French carmaker revealed its new flagship sedan to the public for the first time at the Moscow International Motor Show. What is in effect a replacement for the controversially styled Vel Satis positioned above the Laguna in Renault's line up, is also a 2010 Samsung SM5 sedan in disguise - if you can call a new grille and different badges a "disguise"...

Renault has lifted the covers off a new flagship sedan named Latitude that will in effect replace the discontinued (and rather controversial) Vel Satis.

Described by the French carmaker as "its latest international status-enhancing family saloon" [sic..], the Latitude will get its first public outing at the Moscow Motor Show at the end of August, while Europeans will get their first view of the car at this Fall's 2010 Paris Motor Show.

For those of you that keep a close eye on global automotive news, the new Latitude won't come as a surprise as it's based on the Renault Group's 2010 Samsung SM5 sedan that recently went on sale in South Korea. And by "based", we mean re-badged and VW- re-grilled... [see pictures of the SM5 below]

French carmaker Renault has revealed a new mid-size luxury sedan that revives the Safrane nameplate after an eight year hiatus. The original Safrane was a rather bluntly styled 5door executive saloon built from 1992 to 2000 that was replaced in the European market by the ill-received Vel Satis. However, the new Safrane, which as you may have already noticed is virtually a rebadged version of the Renault Samsung Motors SM5 sedan, won’t be sold in Europe as the French firm plans to sell it exclusively in the Gulf States where it will be offered with a V6 engine matted to an automatic gearbox. -Continued

Like the Samsung SM5, the new Safrane is manufactured in Renault Samsung Motors’ Busan plant in South Korea, an 80.1% owned subsidiary of the Renault group. The Samsung SM5 is developed on the same platform as the Nissan Teana and the North American Nissan Maxima.

Thanks for the tip Omar N.!