Renault Samsung's New SM6: A Game Changer?

Renault Samsung's The New SM6

Whenever a new car is released, it often comes with the adjectives "The New" or "All New" in front of its model name. Generally, "The New" indicates an enhanced model or facelift, while "All New" signifies a complete model change.

However, these days, the distinction between facelifts and full model changes seems to have blurred. If the powertrain itself changes completely, like in the case of this Renault Samsung SM6, is it a full model change or just a facelift...?

Or sometimes, the entire body itself changes completely. Anyway, today I will introduce the Renault Samsung The New SM6, which can be classified as a facelift model. So, how much has the performance changed?

They seemed confident.

I was surprised... wait, are they really doing a mid-size sedan test drive on a circuit? Haha!

Here we are at the Inje Speedium in Gangwon Province.

The beautiful, sunny sky here feels like a famous overseas circuit. Let's kick off the Renault Samsung The New SM6 circuit test drive.

Today's test drive event will include product explanations, circuit experiences, gymkhana, and public road driving tests. Just seeing the phrase "Feel the Drive" shows their confidence.

Marketing Director Bang Shil of Renault Samsung Motors kicked off the briefing for the facelift of the The New SM6. Among executives in domestic automotive brand marketing, I believe Bang Shil is the best at handling cars on public roads, regardless of gender.

Despite his small stature, he drives aggressively! Haha.

If you think you can keep up... ^^

Before the circuit test drive today, we enjoyed some witty commentary from car creator Kkanam, who experienced The New SM6 first.

The main topics were the new powertrain and the ride comfort issues related to the rear torsion beam. Notably, the newly applied TCe 300 twin-scroll turbo engine is the top powertrain used in Renault's flagship high-performance models, Alpine and RS, which represent the heart of French motorsports.

On paper, it boasts a maximum output of 225 horsepower and 30.6 torque, similar to that of typical imported mid-size sedans. However, due to the maximum torque that kicks in from low RPM (2,000-4,800 RPM), the actual performance feels significantly higher. It showcases performance that far exceeds that of its domestic mid-size sedan counterparts.

I was able to fully confirm the performance of the TCe 300 in the Inje Speedium circuit. Particularly, during a sharp hairpin turn leading to uphill acceleration from a low speed, I could feel the charm of the maximum torque kicking in from low RPM.

Isn't the sky beautiful?

Here in Gangwon, it feels like the Nürburgring! Haha.

The instructors who will assist us during today's circuit test drive are here. Typically, during such circuit events, safety reasons lead to restrictions on speed at the front, making it hard to truly feel the car.

I can't speak for other teams, but I felt completely satisfied with my group today, as we faced none of those inconveniences.

This new The New SM6 requires special attention not only for the powertrain changes but also for the much-discussed ride comfort related to the rear torsion beam.

In fact, it’s hard to feel these aspects on a well-maintained circuit.

The ride comfort will be addressed in the public road test later this afternoon. For now, my first impression of the TCe300 powertrain is quite good. The harmony with the Getrag 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission deserves praise...

The smooth gear shifts during continuous acceleration in the circuit section and the ample power during full acceleration in the straight sections allow you to feel the top speed. Of course, since the SM6 isn’t a high-performance sedan, it doesn’t deliver heart-pounding output...

However, among domestic mid-size sedans, it undoubtedly ranks at the top in terms of performance.

The torque feel at low speeds is comparable to that of a 4-cylinder diesel turbo engine, and despite this, the application of active noise cancellation (ANC, applicable to TCe300) and soundproof windscreen glass significantly reduces the engine noise heard inside the cabin.

Active noise cancellation functions by measuring engine noise entering the cabin through microphone sensors and emitting sound waves with opposing phases through speakers to reduce the noise.

In reality, it doesn’t actually reduce the noise; it simply prevents it from reaching our ears. ^^

Regardless, at high speeds, noise is rarely an issue, and it serves excellently to reduce engine noise when accelerating vigorously at low speeds.

The interior details have also seen some changes, but I will address this in a separate test drive article later.

After a satisfying circuit test drive, we moved on to the gymkhana course!

The instructor introduced the gymkhana course. I usually place well in gymkhana competitions at new car events, so I was eager to do well this time as well. However, I must have focused too much on the briefing map... I later realized that the actual course was the opposite of what I saw on the monitor. ㅠㅠ

Gymkhana start! I mistakenly went around the first cone in the opposite direction. Haha!

The instructor kindly marked the direction next to the cones, but I don’t know what I was thinking...

The demonstration run was shown so kindly...

I must have been nervous because I saw race car driver Jeon Nan-hee after a long time.

I wanted to impress! Haha.

We follow each other on Instagram, and I recall seeing a comment from her once: "Kkamina, are you playing golf instead of driving?"

So I guess I was nervous. Haha.

Regardless, I think I overdid it out of nervousness during the second gymkhana. I needed to turn after passing the last slalom section, but I was going too fast and ended up oversteering!

The powerful body control system (ESC) of the Renault Samsung The New SM6 activated, and suddenly the accelerator became unresponsive.

1 second... 2 seconds...

Oh no, haha.

Someone caught that embarrassing moment on video...

I’ll have to watch it every day and reflect!