French car manufacturer Renault said on Thursday that they have officially started accepting pre-launch booking of its upcoming hatchback Kwid.

The car, which the company claims to be the most fuel efficient petrol model in the country delivering a mileage of 25.17 kmpl, is expected to be launched in the next few weeks.

"Renault Kwid... will be first launched in India and thereby reflects the importance of India in Renault's global expansion plans," said Renault India CEO and Managing Director Sumit Sawhney.

Based on the latest CMF-A platform co-developed by Renault and Nissan, Kwid caters to the entry-level hatchback segment which is the domain of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. Kwid comes with pseudo SUV stance and that is the USP of the car over the rivals. In terms of dimensions, Kwid measures 3679mm long, 1579mm tall and 1471mm wide.

Kwid is powered by a 799cc 3-cylinder petrol motor that develops 53bhp and 72Nm. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. At the later stage, the company might also introduce an automated manual transmission (AMT) version.

The car comes with various features, including class leading ground clearance of 180 mm and a boot capacity of 300 litre with a seven-inch touchscreen Media Nav system and a digital instrument cluster.

Kwid will be launched in four variants (Standard, RxE, RxL and RxT) and will be available in five exterior body shades.

As a sub-four metre vehicle, Kwid will get excise duty benefit. It is likely to be priced in the range of Rs 3-4 lakh.