I wonder what sort of "prestige" you hope to get from buying a renault? This is a budget car right up there with volkswagen, Opel, Citreon and skoda but asians think coz of the continental image, it has some sort of prestige. When you go european countries and hire rental cars, these are the brands right smack in the "standard" category and cheapest of all to rent (Even the BMW 1 series is also in the same category). If it's not a BMW, Audi, Merk, Volvo or SAAB, it has no prestige whatsoever of any kind as it is considered budget cars by the europeans after those above-mentioned brands in the mass sedan categories. Pls do yourself a favour and get a Honda City, you will be thanking yourself for the reliability and save the embarrassment thinking you got the conti "prestige" and save on higher maintenance costs. Most in sinkieland do not truly love these brands, but they are buying to get a "conti" car as they can't afford the luxury marques, which is where these brands fill in and the owners convince themselves they love the brands, ignoring the practical issues of reliability, which we cant in SG as the price of cars are so high. One exception is the Volkswagen Phaeton which is truly a luxury car VW wanted under the VW badge, but that is another different category altogether.
The reliability chart from CR above is the best industry guide, afterwhich go read on edmunds the specific review rather than top gear.
