Renault’s Kwid: An appraisal of a sales phenomenon

By Stuart Johnston

 

Renault’s Kwid has really put Renault on the map, sales-wise, in the past few years. But it’s achieved this despite critical comment from the bulk South Africa’s motoring media. Here we assess why the Kwid remains un-loved by motoring experts but the darling of the first-time-driver brigade.

The Renault Kwid is one of the amazing (and we use the term advisedly)  success stories in South African new car sales in the past couple of years. Since its introduction in 2016 this little car has sold to the tune of over 20 000 units, and now in mid-2019 monthly sales figures regularly surpass the 1 000 mark.

By contrast, the Kwid’s most successful competitors in the entry-level hatch market sell to the tune of around 500 units each month. Sometimes the Datsun Go manages to top the 700 mark, but the likes of Kia’s Picanto and Suzuki’s Swift hover around the 500 mark. Hyundai with its Grand i10 also sells around the 500 mark generally, although it has reached the 900 sales-level  in one month on at least one occasion .

Does this mean the Kwid is the best car?

The Kwid, despite its sales success, has been regularly panned in the motoring media as being a car that flatters to deceive. It has been criticised for many reasons. These include:

1. Very vague handling at highway speeds, were the driver has to constantly make steering corrections.

2. A serious lack of body shell rigidity. This is manifested the moment you start up the three-cylinder engine, where a shuddering vibration passes through the whole body.

3. A low level of active and passive safety equipment.

4. Upholstery material that is likely to age very quickly.

5. An extremely vague response to the accelerator pedal when the car is fitted with the AMT (automated manual transmission), where no clutch pedal is fitted. The AMT clutch (the under-bonnet device, not the pedal which is missing on this model) on the transmission is actuated automatically  by a combination of electronics and hydraulics. In the case of the Kwid, this system results in non-responsiveness to the accelerator pedal, often at crucial times, such as when attempting right turns across traffic flow.

For a review on the Renault Kwid in AutoTrader, click here.

Given these faults, why the great sales?

1. The Kwid looks seriously cool in this entry-level league. At a quick glance, especially when fitted with alloy wheels, it looks like a scaled-down SUV and first-time buyers love its looks.

2. It is fitted with a central infotainment pod, previously unheard of in this entry-level of the market. This has now been improved where the pod provides smart-phone mirroring for easy navigation and audio. More and more young buyers see cars merely as an extension of their on-line life!

3. Free comprehensive insurance for one year. (The jury is still out on this benefit.) One wonders how many Kwid buyers on a tight budget will let their insurance lapse after one year.  This is already a trend amongst first-time buyers of all low-cost brands who cannot keep up with insurance payments. Nevertheless Datsun launched a similar limited-period free insurance scheme to stimulate sales of its Go.

4. Cost. As of now, the cheapest car you can buy is the base-model Kwid Expression at R134 900. That’s still R5 000 less than the second-cheapest car on the South African market, Suzuki’s Celerio.

And now the Kwid has ABS

Although the Kwid has been selling up a storm, Renault has been sensitive to the fact that the Kwid initially came with just a driver’s-side airbag and no ABS. ABS braking for all Kwid models was only officially announced in late April this year. Recently the writer received a new Kwid for test with ABS braking, and this was in fact proclaimed on the car with “ABS” stickers. It’s a big improvement, although it has to be said that all of the Kwid’s price competitors offer ABS and dual airbags, for both the driver and front passenger.

What are the advantages of ABS?

There is so much emphasis on airbag protection in cars that active-safety features such as basic stability and braking are often not taken into account. ABS braking is probably the most vital tool you can have in a car as far as accident-avoidance is concerned

ABS braking allows you, as a driver, to jump on the brake pedal as hard as you can in an emergency without the wheels locking up and skidding. The system uses electronic rotation sensors and hydraulic actuators to prevent one or more wheels from locking up ( or cease rotation) when the brake pedal is used with maximum force.

Tests have shown that a wheel that has locked up (skidding) increases braking distance to a standstill by a massive amount. These ABS systems were introduced to South Africa in the early 1980s on expensive cars (BMW and Mercedes-Benz) and in the past three and a half decades ABS has since been fitted to virtually all smaller and cheaper cars. So it was about time that the Kwid offered ABS braking.

It is much better to avoid an accident in the first place than having to rely on an airbag to protect you from injury after an accident has happened. The next step for the Kwid, to bring it up to “safety speed” in this entry-level class, would be to introduce a front passenger airbag to go with the single airbag it now has.

Is the Kwid a bad car?

It has short-comings in straight-line stability at highway speeds, mainly due to the inaccurate steering that requires constant correction. Judging by the amount of engine vibration felt through the body shell, it also lacks chassis rigidity.

As for the good parts, with its high ground clearance and firm suspension, the Kwid is remarkably adept at handling speed bumps and potholes. The manual version offers fair performance from its little 999 cc non-turbo three-cylinder motor and good fuel consumption in the 5,5-litres/100 km range. The fitting of ABS is a step in the right direction.

And as for the interior, it makes the first-time buyer feel a little more special due mainly to the infotainment pod. But that upholstery material doesn’t hold out much promise of looking good in a few years’ time!

Verdict

In essence, you may well consider buying, for example, a good used Suzuki Swift or a low-mileage  Renault Sandero for similar money. In fact the Renault Sandero (the base model sells for R179 900 new) is so dynamically superior to the Kwid  that you’d be amazed it is marketed by the same company! For our  listing on used Renault Sanderos, click here. Click on Suzuki Swift to see a similar large new and used variety of these well-appointed small cars.