Renault India becomes first car manufacturer to officially scale world's highest motorable road

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Renault India on Friday announced that it took its entire product range in the country to officially become the first car manufacturer here to scale Umling La pass, the world's highest motorable road. Located in the upper reaches of Ladakh, the Umling La pass is at a height of around 19,300 feet above sea level. HT Auto was part of the media drive which saw all Renault car models offered in the country - Kwid, Triber and Kiger, make way to the top of the challenging terrain.

As part of its efforts to showcase the capabilities of all its India models, Renault India took Kwid, Triber and Kiger - cars without any 4x4 capabilities, to the Umling La pass. The entire drive spanned around 1,000 kilometres, stretching from Leh to Pangong Lake, Hanle, Umling La pass before culminating back in Leh.

Through the course of the drive, Renault aimed to underline that vehicles otherwise considered as city-commute options at best, can also tackle high-altitude conditions. “We are extremely proud to be the first OEM to bring our entire product range to Umling La pass, showcasing the true spirit of adventure that defines Renault," said Venkatram Mamillapalle, Country CEO & Managing Director, Renault India Operation. “This journey is a testament to the robustness and versatility of our vehicles, and it underscores our commitment to deliver unparalleled driving experiences to our customers."

Renault Kiger at world's highest motorable road

While Team HT Auto drove Kiger and Triber during the course of the journey, the primary focus en route to Umling La pass was on the Kwid, the entry-level model from Renault in India. The Kwid benefits from a very favourable power-to-weight ratio which helped its journey towards Umling la pass. Having a manual gearbox also offered more control to the person behind the wheel even when power output fell continuously owing to the steep climb and high-altitude conditions.

It is important to note here that while the Kwid is also available with automatic gearbox, the Climber variant part of this particular drive was with manual transmission unit. It is powered by a 1.0-litre petrol motor and there were no additional modifications of any kind made to this or any other unit for the climb to Umling La pass.