The Renault Talisman was meant to revive the desire for large sedans, but it just didn’t work.
Back in 2016, Volvo Car Malaysia flew a few motoring journalists to Spain to check out their then-new S90 and V90. It was an exciting time for all of us. We knew we were witnessing something special happen with the Swedish premium marque. However, one day before our test drive of the new Volvo executive sedans, I got a glimpse of this at our hotel lobby. It was a Renault Talisman.
I remember thinking that it looked unbelievably good for such a ‘regular’ car. After all, Renaults weren’t even competing in the premium space, yet here was a design that was definitely eye-catching. I snapped a few photos and vowed to get my hands on a test drive unit as soon as it became available in Malaysia.
Unfortunately, we never got the Talisman here, and now it appears that this flagship model has been discontinued by Renault altogether. The plans were apparently announced by Renault late last year after its poor sales performance in Europe versus other SUVs in its portfolio. Production came to an end for both the sedan and wagon variants at the end of February. No plans for a successor were announced, making this the end of the line for a long line of large sedans from Renault.
The Renault Talisman was the replacement to the Renault Laguna. It marked a step in a more aggressive direction in terms of design work for the company but still exuded a level of class worthy of its predecessors.
The Talisman was the only D-segment saloon car to combine 4Control® four-wheel steering with active damping. Both the sedan and estate variants were made at the Douai factory in France and was first shown in mid-2015. The Talisman was powered by a range of small displacement petrol, diesel, and LPG engines.
The one silver lining is that the Renault Koleos is still available in Malaysia. It shares the same Renault-Nissan CMF-CD platform and a similar face, but is a lot smaller in every dimension but height versus the Talisman. So if you liked the look of the thing, you can still get a taste of what it would have been like to have one either by buying one or subscribing to one.
