With upgraded QM6, Renault Samsung hopes to cement top spot in midsized SUV market

Facelifted QM6 becomes only LPG-powered SUV in the domestic market

Published : Jun 18, 2019 - 15:15 Updated : Jun 20, 2019 - 16:22

Just days after a dramatic consensus with its labor union ended a year of confrontation and strikes, Renault Samsung unveiled a facelifted version of the QM6, the automaker’s most popular midsized sport utility vehicle, in Seoul on Tuesday.

The QM6 is the automaker’s most trusted model, accounting for 61.2 percent of the country’s midsized gasoline SUV sales from September of 2017 to April this year, selling 41,191 vehicles.

With the upgraded model, which is also the country’s first liquefied petroleum gas-powered SUV, Renault Samsung hopes to cement the top position in the market for midsized gasoline SUVs here.

Renault Samsung’s new QM6 GDe Premiere (Renault Samsung)

The new QM6 model has been upgraded after three years and can be characterized by its tougher interior and exterior look and improved powertrain options -- gasoline and LPG.

The automaker has also introduced the high-end model Premiere to its QM6 lineup, which has diversified the exterior color, front skid plate design and interior details such as Nappa leather seats.

“It will give you a distinctive experience, something you have not seen in the Korean SUV market. As the only LPG SUV in the Korean market, it will follow the success of gasoline SUVs and we will be able to again open a new opportunity for customers,” said Renault Samsung CEO Dominique Signora during a press conference.

He also said that based on the pride of “made in Korea,” the company will continue to push for more sustainable growth for the Korean economy, adding that the new QM6 is part of that commitment.

The LPG-powered QM6 LPe has gasoline-like quietness, economic benefits and safety, the company said.

The automaker said it had developed the 75-liter Donut Tank exclusively for the QM6 LPe model, having improved the design, production material and thickness compared with the original cylindrical LPG tank.

By charging 80 percent of the Donut Tank, a driver can travel up to 534 kilometers.

The LPG engine model makes peak horsepower of 140 at 6,000 revolutions per minute and peak torque of 19.3 kilogram-meters, while the gasoline engine produces a maximum of 144 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and torque of 20.4.

The price for the new QM6 begins at 24.4 million won ($20,578) for the gasoline engine version and goes up to 30.1 million won, while the new QM6 LPe model starts at 23.7 million won and goes as high as 29.4 million won with all the trim. The new QM6 GDe Premiere model costs 32.8 million won.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)