renault safrane

Our fleet swap-over for this year is finally complete with the sale of our 2009 Renault Safrane V6 to a friend. My father had left it behind when he retired earlier this year and got shipped back to the homeland, and so the car wasn’t really getting driven much any more, once we bought more interesting machinery. Still, it’s a fine car that we’ll recommend to anybody looking for cheap transportation. We’d even go as far as to say that it’s a more “honest” car than the new Safrane that replaced it, and an even better deal now that it’s out of warranty and you could get it maintained elsewhere instead the dealer.

Read More …

Our 2009 Renault Safrane continues to chug along reliably thanks to its Nissan underpinnings, as we predicted back when we bought the car new in 2010. Well, reliably except for the power windows that is.

Read More …

Our previous-generation 2009 Renault Safrane V6 has been a reliable-enough car, but certain interior parts had prematurely worn out in just 2 years — a sign of cost-cutting if there ever was one. So we asked for those parts to be replaced under warranty.

Read More …

Our Renault Safrane continues to chug along without issues since the last service. It’s been several months now since we asked for some prematurely-worn interior panels to be changed under warranty, but it finally looks like it will get done this week as the parts have arrived from Mars. Anyway, last month we gave the car in for an exterior detailing at Farba Guard.

Read More …

Renault Samsung Motors have revealed the new 2013 Samsung SM5. The SM5, better known as the Renault Safrane in the UAE, receives a minor facelift on the latest generation model which has been around since 2010.

Read More …

We’ve made it a point to upgrade our self-owned fleet with iconic cars, ditching anonymous cars like the Peugeot 307 and the Mitsubishi Galant and replacing them with stuff like the Honda S2000 and the Range Rover Vogue. But then why are we keeping the lowly Korean-built 2009 Renault Safrane around? Well, it just became the most iconic car in our fleet, having appeared in the hottest music video of this decade and the next.

Read More …

We got our Renault Safrane serviced last month, it having hit the 30K mark this summer. It is carrying on without any drama.

Read More …

Our two-year-old Renault Safrane just had its first proper problem. The driver-side power window, which had been acting hesitant for more than a year, finally decided to crap out. The window glass went down and never came back up. Naturally, my father was pissed, as he had to go to work on a Friday, driving at 120 kph with a face-full of wind, and then having to leave the car overnight, open to the elements. He kept comparing it to his “reliable” 1997 Toyota Corolla, which didn’t even have power steering, let alone power windows.

Read More …

There isn’t much to report on our 2009 Renault Safrane, the car that we’ve owned from new, and driven by my father. It was my top pick for a reliable car to replace his old 1997 Toyota Corolla. And so far, my decision is proving to be right.

Read More …

The Renault Safrane has a bit of an awkward history. It is essentially a rebadged Samsung SM5 built in Korea and based on a Nissan Altima platform. It was first offered in the GCC around 2008 and was on sale in that older form right until earlier this year as a 2011 model. And then it was replaced by this all-new version, while still labelled as a 2011 model. Interestingly, we recommended the older version as a value-packed family commuter, even went ahead and purchased one for our long-term fleet, and whether anyone admits it or not, helped sell a whole bunch of them thanks to our endorsement,

Read More …