Renault Kiger review: Compact SUV checks all the boxes

Half the battle won with a brand new car is the way it looks, in my opinion, and in this regard, the new Renault Kiger blasts it out of the park. This is the best-looking car in its segment right off the bat, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that it’s one of the best- looking cars in India, period. The fact that its segment reads ‘Compact SUV’ is a matter for another day, because frankly it’s become difficult to keep track of what qualifies as an SUV these days; for the sake of brevity, let’s leave it at that.

The Kiger shares its sub-4 metre platform – called CMF-A+ - with its stablemate, the Triber, and the recently launched Nissan Magnite and, as I’ve just said, it looks just great. To make it look larger than it is, the designers have incorporated a number of sculpted elements, scoops, lines and inserts all over the car, and they work brilliantly – the car looks like it’s moving while standing still.

It has a sloped back profile, aided by the roof rails (on the top spec model, at any rate), and its road presence is made more prominent by the fact that its haunches flare out in a wide manner at the rear. The slim LED DRLs and the twin set of triple cuboid LED headlights look very sleek, as do the C-shaped taillights. The 16-inch alloys also look smart, and the overall picture is that of a car into which a lot of thought has gone in the external design department.

Let’s Talk Interiors

The cabin has also clearly been given some thought, especially in the storage and space areas. There are plenty of useful storage spaces – twin glove boxes, cupholders, spaces in all the doors and a large storage bin under the arm rest between the front seats – and in terms of head, elbow and leg room, there’s plenty for four adults. A fifth one will fit in the middle seat at the back, but this is not an ideal situation, because that seat is rather thin and stiff (the floor is flat, though).

The Renault Kiger also comes with a boatload of features. It gets an 8-inch infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, voice commands, Arkemys audio, keyless entry and go, auto climate control and a PM2.5 filter. You also get a 7-inch TFT digital instrument cluster and audio controls on the steering wheel.

I have to say that the plastics quality isn’t the greatest, and the piano black shiny element around the gear lever will get scuffed in a matter of days. Also, the faux leather under the gear lever is a receptacle for dust and will need to be cleaned regularly. Another drawback is that it’s quite difficult to clip the front seat belts in, given that the receptacles are placed too deep on the sides.

On the top spec RXZ variant, you get plenty of features – an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, automatic climate control with a particulate filter, a reversing camera and parking sensors, steering mounted controls, wireless phone charging, cooled storage spaces, a digital instrument display that changes colours along with the different driving modes, a 405-litre boot (the largest in its class, but one with a high loading lip), four airbags and several others. You can also choose from several accessory packs during your purchase.

Let’s Talk Performance

The Kiger is available only with a 3-cylinder petrol engine, in keeping with Renault’s overall decision to stick to this kind of fuel for all its products. It comes in two variants – a naturally aspirated one with 72 PS and 96 Nm of torque and a turbocharged one with 100 PS and 160 Nm of torque.

On offer are a 5-speed manual gearbox along with an automated manual and a CVT (which sees a drop in torque to 152 Nm). You can choose from among these in any variant, which is a good move, but frankly, I would suggest you get the turbo petrol with the manual gearbox, because it’s quite an entertaining combination (I have not yet driven the CVT, so I can’t comment on it). You also have access to three driving modes via a rotary dial (a segment first) – Eco, Normal and Sport, each of which selects a different engine map and steering wheel character.

The Kiger uses radar sensors and a reverse camera with guiding lines for added safety. Higher trim levels get white ambient lighting in the passenger compartment. It lights up the storage compartment at the front of the centre console and the back of the front door grip handles. (Image: Renault)

The turbo petrol/manual I drove is a refined and peppy unit, with the turbo kicking in at around 1700 rpm and adding some extra shove to the proceedings. Eco mode severely caps the engine’s capabilities, so I’d stay away from it and leave the car in Sports pretty much all the time, because it’s here that the engine gives full voice.

There’s plenty of torque available at low revs, so that you don't have to keep working through the gears to stay in the ideal rev range. The gearbox shifts surely enough, but requires a little more effort than necessary to use; it should have had lighter throws.

If you’re in the mood for some spirited driving, the Kiger will happily play along and rev its heart out. Noise levels are on the high side, though – quite a bit of wind, tyre and road noise intrude into the cabin.

Renaults usually ride and handle very well, and the Kiger is no different. It is a little softly sprung, which means that it absorbs bumps very efficiently but also pitches a little bit and exhibits some body roll on hard cornering. Otherwise, it feels very stable in a straight line and also brakes confidently, using its discs up front and drums at the rear.

In an already overcrowded SUV market, the Kiger does make a case for itself based on two elements – its design and its pricing. A bare-basic Kiger will run you Rs 5.45 lakh (ex-showroom), and a top-spec turbo petrol with a manual gearbox is an alluring Rs 8.7 lakh, both of which are excellent price points. It remains to be seen what prospective buyers make of this.