Design and technical details
The Talisman is slightly larger than the Laguna,[5] 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.[5] 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.[9] 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.[10]
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.[11] The car had originally five trim levels for Europe (Life, Zen, Business, Intens, and Initiale Paris).[12]
In March 2018, Renault unveiled a sportier trim level powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine called the S Edition, aimed to be introduced in the market by September 2018. This model shares the same engine with the Mégane RS and the Alpine A110, but it is detuned for the Talisman.[13] 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.[14]
In March 2018, Renault Samsung introduced a minor facelift for the South Korean market, with some exterior changes, interior equipment updates and new colours.[15] In July 2019, Renault Samsung launched a new high end trim, called Premiere.[16] The car has a four wheel steering system (called 4Control)[9] which is not available in the South Korean version.[17] It also incorporates a system (Multi-Sense) which allows adjusting all car settings between four pre-set options called Comfort, Sport, Eco and Neutral, and a user configurable option called Perso.[18]
As an optional, the Talisman has a new infotainment system with an 8.7 in touchscreen[8][9] introduced in the fifth generation Espace, called R-Link 2[12] (S-Link in South Korea). The equipment also include adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, traffic sign detection with excess speed warning and blind spot alert.[12]
The car scored a five star rating at the tests for Euro NCAP in 2015.[19] Gearboxes are six/seven speed dual-clutch automatic, six speed manual and CVT (the latter only available in a liquefied petroleum gas version sold in South Korea). Suspension is made of Pseudo MacPherson struts on front and a semi rigid axle on rear, with an optional active suspension system.[20] Brakes are discs on both axles.
The Talisman received a facelift in February 2020, including new LED Matrix headlamps with adaptive lighting, 10.2 in digital instrument cluster, 9.3 in 'Easy Link' portrait style touchscreen infotainment system, and a range of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).[21]
