Introduction

The global unveiling of the Renault Kiger SUV happened at the start of this year. It's for the first time that this French carmaker has added a compact SUV to its India line-up, which includes the Kwid, Triber, and Duster. In fact, the Kiger is a global product manufactured in India and shares the same platform as its cousin rival - the Nissan Magnite. Still, it packs in quite a lot of interesting highlights making it a compelling option. And now that it's on sale, it has indeed heated up the already fiercely competitive sub-compact SUV segment in our country. Let's take a look at the positives and negatives of this vehicle.

Positives

1. Stylish design

Talk about its exterior or interior, you won't need anyone's validation, for the Kiger is abundant in style and character. Its design is inspired by the Kiger show-car that was revealed at the end of last year. And it looks like its concept, even if most of its design elements are from the latest iteration of the Kwid. This one's bigger, looks butch with its muscular cladding, and features a high ground clearance and bonnet with functional roof bars. Be it for the dual-tone paint options, sleek light clusters, LED lighting, funky alloys, or even the modern interior with the latest tech, the Kiger scores high in the looks department.

2. Turbo power

Renault only offers a pair of petrol engines in the Kiger. That too, a 1.0-litre naturally-aspirated (NA) and its turbo-powered version. The three-cylinder unit is a good little engine, even if it's not exactly bristling with power. As we've seen in the Triber, you might have to work it fairly hard to get up to higher speeds. So, if you think you'll find the entry-level car with its NA 72bhp engine swamped in traffic, you’ll be much better off going for its turbocharged version instead.

The 1.0-litre turbocharged unit churns out a healthy 99bhp of power and 160Nm of torque, which is higher than the peak torque of 96Nm that the NA engine provides. This makes quite a difference when you have to tackle traffic or make a quick sprint/overtake, or even cruise on the highway. There's enough pep to continuously make progress without a hiccup and in any driving mode you are in - eco, normal, or sport. It's quite smooth, refined, and civilised for such a small engine. Owners will find it more than adequate in urban driving conditions.

3. Very easy to drive in town

And if you spend most of your time driving in towns and cities, the Kiger will prove to be the more appropriate choice over other big bulky SUVs. With easy controls like a light clutch and steering, smooth gearshift with short throws, it feels right at home, pottering around town. Furthermore, its compact dimensions and light controls make it easy to weave through congested streets or fit into tight gaps. It's very easy to squeeze into narrow parking spaces, and good all-round visibility adds to the delight, as it gives you a clear view out.

4. Automatic convenience

As mentioned earlier, the ‘Energy’ 1.0-litre engine is available in the Kiger range as an NA or turbo-petrol engine. Interestingly, the NA engine can be had with either a five-speed manual or the brand's EASY-R five-speed AMT. Apart from this robotised automatic gearbox, there's also the option of a CVT. And that's offered only with its turbo-petrol, which otherwise comes mated to a five-speed manual as standard. All in all, Renault has ticked the right boxes when it comes to offering automatic convenience and in a wide range of options.

5. Multiple affordability price-points

We knew the ballpark figures for the Renault Kiger's pricing, but the carmaker just hit it out of the park with its aggressive pricing. It snatched the most affordable compact SUV title from its cousin -Magnite, and now is also offered in a wide array of options. The Kiger has been introduced in four trims - RXE, RXL, RXT, RXZ, and two engine options, with the choice of the two afore-mentioned automatic gearboxes. There you see, it gives the buyer plenty of choices to choose, starting from its entry-level version priced at Rs 5.45 lakh to its top-spec RXZ X-Tronic CVT variant that retails at Rs 9.55 lakh.

Negatives

1. Cost-cutting evident at places

Overall, the new Kiger is quite charming for what it is and can be a well-sorted entry-level SUV with many appealing traits. It has a lot going for it, is affordable to buy, and hopefully, it won’t be expensive to maintain as well. That said, it's an entry-level SUV, built to a cost, and still has a few rough edges here and there. No, I wasn't expecting soft-touch materials but some of the plastics are unfortunately hard and scratchy. Many components look to be carried over from the more affordable Kwid. That's not really a deal-breaker, but the rivals in this segment offer better quality. Thankfully, these bits are not many that meet the eye and more of the funky design elements compensate for these small shortcomings.

2. Limited shoulder room in second row

The interior space on offer is indeed quite impressive for such a small car. So is the boot space of 405 litres, whose capacity can be extended to 879 litres with the second row folded. But, don't mistake it to be a spacious five-seater as the shoulder room in the second row is still limited to fit three adults without their shoulder overlapping. Also, due to its high stance and raised ground clearance, the loading lip is quite high and that means loading big bags is going to be a task.

Conclusion

Despite the things that I didn't like about the Renault Kiger, the compact SUV remains to be a stylish city car with modern interior, good space, and a vehicle that's easy to thread about town. That said, I'm not sure if you'd be having much fun in the entry-level NA model, go for the turbo-petrol and you’ll have a good all-round city car with a peppy performance. The Kiger is anyway practical enough to live with, packs good amount of equipment, and is even pretty good fun to drive, all this makes it quite a convincing alternative.

Pictures by Kapil Angane