Renault Kadjar EDC (automatic)

There's been a fair amount written about the Renault Kadjar. Many have compared it with similar offerings and due to the positioning of the Kadjar by Renault themselves, sees it going toe-to-toe with the likes of the Toyota Rav4, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage and even the Nissan Qashqai (with which it shares a platform).

This means that the plucky Frenchman has his work cut out for him.

The battle has been tough, with only three models introduced at launch and none of them offering an automatic version. Renault has, three months down the line, rectified this with the addition of two EDC (Efficient Dual Clutch) auto options and an additional manual to double up their efforts.

Now, there's no need to go through the entire spiel of what the Kadjar is and encompasses, as we've already addressed this here on our site. You can read our First Drive Impression of the Kadjar here or watch our video review of the Renault Kadjar 96kW dCi Dynamique 4WD version here.

I only drove the two EDC options available at launch, so we will skip out on the 1.5 (81kW) Turbo dCi 6-speed Manual and discuss the auto options.

Getting to grips with the 1.5 (81kW) Turbo dCi EDC 6-speed Auto

Coming in at R414 900, the 1.5-litre turbodiesel with the 6-speed EDC gearbox is the most expensive automatic Kadjar you can buy. The only option that is more expensive is the 1.6-litre dCi Dynamique 4x4 manual (R454 900, for those wondering).

It's a 4x2 and is only available in top-level Dynamique trim so it has the bells and whistles that make living with the Kadjar that much easier. You have the option of speccing it with ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) hands-free self-parking and blind spot detection, heated seats, a panoramic glass sunroof and 19-inch alloy wheels.

That last option is one that you could possibly forego though as I found the large wheel and tyre combination to hurt the ride somewhat. While they look great and have a real Italian design flair, the quite supple and responsive suspension bears the brunt of the low-profile tyres.

And that is pretty much my only criticism of the vehicle.

Other instances that cropped up that I thought may be regarded as faults, turned out to be justified when held in an objective light.

The lack of punch from the diesel motor is 100% justified when you look at the fuel consumption. It's not to say that the 81kW and 260Nm torque is lazy, but I would have liked a little more enthusiasm from this engine. This however, is completely justifiable when you look down at the fuel consumption figures. I was easily achieving figures of around 5l/100km on the combined cycle without even trying and without using Eco mode. This even dipped into the high-4s on a few occasions when the traffic subsided.

It's disturbingly quiet too.

Into the 1.2 (96kW) Turbo petrol EDC 7-speed Auto

I've said it before and it's worth repeating: there's no need to fret about displacement in this day and age.

If the thought of a 1.2-litre turbopetrol scares or dissuades you, then you need to spend more time in them. It's no longer about brute displacement thanks to F1 technology and turbochargers.

The 96kW and 205Nm inline 4-cylinder turbopetrol is nothing to be sneezed at. It has a get-up and go that is really pleasant and even has respectable throttle response. This isn't a sports car, it's a compact SUV that's not supposed to have pin-point handling characteristics and a gazillion horsepower. For the task at hand, which is the commute, highway travel and chewing up the occasional distance, it's spot-on. It has no problem sticking with traffic, overtaking or gradients.

Fuel consumption here is naturally a little higher than in the diesel, but still erred on the side of frugal with my figures hovering around the 7l/100km mark. I really enjoyed driving this one, and back-to-back with the 1.5 diesel, it's a tough call.

You see, the 1.2 Turbo petrol EDC is also only available in a Dynamique trim and is going to retail for R399 900, a R10 000 premium over the 1.2 manual and R15 000 cheaper than the diesel. So... save some fuel later or save some money now?

Tough call, but I'd be inclined to go for the petrol option. The throttle response just made it that little bit better to drive. But not by much.

But this is the introduction of automatic options and you haven't discussed the gearboxes once!

Isn't that the sign of a good automatic gearbox? When you don't notice it is there?

It is, and you'll battle to even remember a thing about the EDC gearboxes because they are near faultless.

I say near because my driving partner and I tried quite hard to catch the gearboxes out, feeding them random throttle inputs and gradient challenges and they gobbled it up and asked for more. The only thing that we would have liked is a little more creep at idle as to make manual parking manoeuvres a little easier (because we're lazy like that).

When the hill assist lets go of the brakes, the Kadjar rolls a tiny bit back, but then settles again as the gearbox holds it in place, patiently waiting for a throttle input. This isn't an issue, it's actually quite clever and shows that a lot of thought has been put into the programming of the gearboxes.

Stab at the throttle and lift off quickly and no, the car will not lunge forward. Some will regard this as bad throttle response but think carefully. If you were to quickly press the throttle and then suddenly come off because you've changed your mind (and this happens more often than you realise), you wouldn't want the car lurching into that intersection that you thought you could quickly cross. Depress the accelerator and hold it a fraction longer and the Kadjar will nip forward, as you asked it to, but for a random input, it won't have you bucking around.

The addition of the EDC 'boxes to the Kadjar lineup now makes this THE compact SUV to have.

It's trimmed, designed, engineered and drives like a car that should cost at least 20% more but Renault SA has been sensible here and priced it very well. They want to get you into a Kadjar...

...and you'd be silly for not climbing into one.