By Otsile Kadiege

We recently attended the launch of Renault’s all-new Kiger. The Kiger is the French automaker’s compact crossover SUV based on the CMF-A platform it shares with its stable mate Triber and competitor Nissan Magnite. Competitors include the Urban Cruiser, Venue, Sonet and Brezza.

Model grades and exterior design 

The Renault Kiger is available in 3 grades, namely the base Life, mid-spec Zen and range-topping Intens. Looks are subjective, however, we think it looks attractive. It’s two-part LED daytime running lights (DRLs) and striking tri-octa LED PURE VISION on higher grades. 

The Kiger’s contrasting wheel arches, 205 mm ground clearance functional roof rails, which can carry up to 50 kg luggage and prominent faux skid plate highlights that this is an “SUV” in compact crossover. Its rear is also eye-catching thanks to a sporty-looking spoiler and C-shaped tail lights. 

Interior design and technology 

Entering the Kiger is made easier thanks to a smart access card. Inside, the interior design is quite appealing, however, as expected from a car in this segment and price point, hard plastics dominate the interior. The Kiger is equipped with an 8-inch touch display with an intuitive infotainment system featuring wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The Intens grade uses a configurable 7-inch digital instrument cluster and it’s fitted with a 3D Arkamys sound system with 8 speakers producing decent sound quality. 

The Kiger’s cabin is fairly spacious and its fabric seats are comfortable. It has a luggage capacity of 405 litres with parcel shelves underneath the boot floor. The capacity can be increased to 879 litres when folding the 60:40 split rear seats. 

Powertrains

Powering the Kiger is a 1-litre normally aspirated and 1-litre turbocharged petrol engines. The former makes 52 kW/96 Nm and whilst the latter develops 74 kW/160 Nm Renault claims fuel consumption of only 5 litres/100km for the latter. Depending on the chosen grade, the Kiger is either paired to a 5-speed MT, AMT or CVT. At launch we drove the manual versions of both the naturally aspirated and turbo engines. The naturally aspirated engine isn’t as responsive and peppy as the turbocharged Kiger. Its 5-speed manual transmission isn’t as smooth as its competitors. 

Safety

The all new Renault KIger is equipped with numerous safety features in line with 3-star global NCAP requirements, namely A reinforced body structure, ABS with EBD, ESP on the turbocharged models, ISOFIX (for child seat safety), 4 Airbags (front + passenger + front side airbags), seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters, rear parking sensors, impact sensing door lock and pedestrian protection. 

Pricing and warranty 

Here’s the pricing for the new Renault Kiger:

> Kiger Life 1L MT – R199,900;

> Kiger Zen 1L MT – R214,900;

> Kiger Zen 1L AMT – R224,900;

> Kiger Zen 1L Turbo MT – R249,900;

> Kiger Intens 1L Turbo MT – R269,900; and

> Kiger Intens 1L Turbo CVT – R289,900.

The Renault Kiger comes with a 5 year 150,000 km warranty, a 2 year 30,000 km Energy Engine service plan and a 3 year 45 000 Turbo Engine service plan.

Final word 

Renault’s Kiger is entering a highly competitive segment. Thus far we are impressed with the automaker’s offering. However, we look forward to experiencing the vehicle over an extended period of time for a more comprehensive review.