[SPONSORED REPORTS] Renault Samsung's XM3 continues strong sales

Renault Samsung sold 2,034 XM3 SUVs in October, a 17.6 percent increase compared to the previous month.The XM3 has been selling rapidly since its release in March. The car sold 3,218 units in its release month and has gone from..

Renault Samsung’s XM3 offers customers the comfort of a sedan in the body of a compact SUV. [RENAULT SAMSUNG MOTORS]

Renault Samsung sold 2,034 XM3 SUVs in October, a 17.6 percent increase compared to the previous month.

The XM3 has been selling rapidly since its release in March. The car sold 3,218 units in its release month and has gone from strength to strength ever since, selling 22,252 units over the past four months, making it the highest selling compact SUV over the period.

The car’s success comes down to the array of features packed into the vehicle, but the one thing that stands out from the rest is the driving experience. The combination of the 2,720-millimeter (107-inch) wide wheelbase, the 1,570-millimeter height, the lowest among compact SUVs on the market, and the ride height of 186 millimeters makes the XM3 feel like a proper driving machine, not just an SUV.

Its interior is filled with soft form-based materials and other luxurious sedan-like touches, quite different from the rough-and-ready design of the typical SUV. The undulating dashboard design, ambient light inside the vehicle and wireless smartphone chargers installed in the center beam show off Renault’s confidence in the XM3’s high-end exterior.

The XM3’s mechanical prowess is also a factor that makes it so enticing to customers.

The XM3 1.6 GTe applied a continuously variable transmission system which gives the driver the feeling of an automatic transmission. Its maximum 123 horsepower and fuel efficiency of 13.4 kilometers per liter (31.5 miles per gallon) shows its economic driving capability.

Additionally, the XM3 TCe 260 is equipped with a four-cylinder direct gasoline injection turbo engine, created after a joint research project with Renault and German automotive corporation Daimler.

Thanks to the Delta Cylinder Head, a new system by Renault that vertically installed cylinder head and direct injection apparatus, the XM3 TCe 260 reduced carbon dioxide emissions to just 125 grams (4.4 ounces) per kilometer while making fuel efficiency as decent as 13.7 kilometers per liter.

The numerous gadgets are the icing on the cake for the XM3.

Every trim of the car is equipped with LED Pure Vision headlamps and paddle shifts. The RE Signature trim also comes with 18-inch two-tone alloy wheels and rear chrome accents.

With ambient lighting on the doors, a vertical 9.3-inch navigation display, 9-speaker surround sound system from Bose, advanced driver assistance system and a 360-degree parking assistance system, it would be safe to say that the XM3 is packed full of surprises.

By Ahn Tae-lahm [ahn.taelahm@joongang.co.kr]