We drive the affordable Renault Kiger, the not-so-compact SUV

It's not often that manufacturers have one car straddling both segments, but in the case of the new Renault Kiger (Like Tiger, but with a 'K'), it competes in both the hatch and B-SUV segments. The spacious Kiger serves as a replacement for the Sandero, at a price point that will have budget-orientated buyers sitting up and taking notice. We attended the local leg of the Kiger launch in Cape Town.

By Ané Albertse

Published: 9 September 2021, 20:04

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Styling

Looks-wise, the Indian-built Kiger is a Triber and a Kwid rolled into one. Mostly, it resembles an SUV (and Renault tells us that it is), and those roof rails have a real carrying capacity of up to 50 kilograms, too. Impressively, the Kiger's ground clearance is only 5 mm less than the Duster's, enabling it to go a little further off the beaten track than a Triber or a Sandero. At the rear, C-shaped 3D taillamps cut a striking picture. The Kiger has all the latest SUV prerequisites such as wheel cladding, LED lights, diamond-cut alloys and an aggressively styled grille.

Interior

With a starting price of just under R200 000, no one is expecting the Kiger to feel like the Audi Q3 inside, but in our flagship Intens model, things were at least looking the part, thanks to some glossy black trim bits and a leather steering wheel. The cabin quality is average, with a fair share of hard plastic. The ambience is lifted by the 8-inch floating touchscreen, and in the turbocharged models, a digital cockpit is not often seen in this price range. The design is practical and ergonomic. I love the fact that there are shelves and recesses everywhere to keep phones or a mi-fi close by, but a few cupholders in front would have been quite welcome.

The platform that it shares with the seven-seater Triber, enables a spacious interior, and in this department, the Kiger is a bit of a rockstar, especially for those on the rear seat. One of the fleet manager's team members told me that en route to the event, three adult men were seated side-by-side on the second row, in absolute comfort. "Jy sal nie glo hoe lekker sit ons almal hier agter nie", were his exact words.

I got in behind the driver's seat to check for legroom, and it is ample. And you would think the boot would be smaller to make room for the passengers at the back, but this is not the case. The Kiger boasts 405 litres (which is massive for its class), as well as a collective 29 litres on board in the way of cubbies and other storage solutions. The second row even has designated air vents at the back of the centre tunnel.

The drive

Only 1.0-litre turbocharged Intens models were available on launch, and I made a run for a red CVT model, so I would have the convenience of a self-shifting transmission in the heavy traffic on the way out of town. Usually, we'd be two to a car (one would drive, the other would navigate, and then we'd swap), but there were so many Kigers that I drove on my own. This allowed me to test out the Kiger's wireless CarPlay functionality, which works well once you've gone through the whole pairing process. Renault's PR team also sent us our launch route via the Google Maps app on our phones, to follow the route via the touchscreen in the middle. You can also just plug in and use CarPlay / Android Auto as you would with a traditional charging cable, or enable wireless CarPlay while you just use the USB port for charging your phone.

Our launch route through the back roads of the Swartland did not include any gravel sections, but there was a nice collection of sweeping bends on the way back. The new Kiger is equipped with a trio of driving modes namely Sport, Eco and Normal, which adjusts the steering and throttle response as well as the gearbox mapping to suit the chosen mode. Eco-mode is very sedate but suitable for the city and stop-start/slow-moving traffic situations. Sport mode livens things up considerably, and this is where I spent most of the morning, but the steering becomes vaguer as it tightens, which is slightly odd when you steer around corners, but not so much so that I'd switch back to Eco mode, however. Normal will probably be your happy medium. The 1.0-litre turbo (a three-cylinder), is a gem of an engine and keeping up with the track-enthusiasts in the group was easy. Even at the engine's upper limits, I didn't think a 6th gear was at all necessary. Renault says that the turbo engine delivers "an outstanding power-to-weight ratio and the best torque-to-weight ratio in the compact SUV segment".

The sophisticated CVT transmission is one of the quieter types, but still a little noisy when you press on, and I had much more fun piloting the manual model over the mountain pass just outside Riebeeck-Kasteel and beyond, listening to my favourite Spotify playlist through the Arkamys sound system's 4 speakers (and two tweeters). The Kiger felt stable and sure of itself as I put my foot down to get rid of the pesky journalist who was tailgating me, which is one of my pet peeves. (Has nobody heard of 'following distance'? This allows you to come to a stop in time, should the driver in front of you suddenly slam on the brakes, for whatever reason.) Speaking of safety, my Intens model came with four airbags and a rearview camera, as well as stability and traction control. All models have ABS and EBD, as well as two airbags, parking sensors, and Isofix fittings, as well as strategic crumple zones for pedestrian protection

The naturally-aspirated, 3-cylinder, 1.0-litre models (52kW and 96Nm) were not available on launch, but we know this engine from the Triber. If you can stretch to a turbo model, however, it will be money well spent, but it's significantly costlier than the 52kW models. Those who seek a funky city crossover that will keep their budgets in check will be satisfied with the 1.0-litre, but avoid the AMT version and opt for the manual gearbox instead.

Verdict

People who want an affordable, good-looking car with handy ground clearance and plenty of features, will be smitten. The top-spec Kiger goes up against some stiff competitors such as its Nissan sibling, the Magnite (with whom it shares an engine as well as a variety of under-the-skin gubbins; its starting price is R256 999 for the 1.0T Acenta model), the Suzuki Vitara Brezza / Toyota Urban cruiser and the recently-launched Kia Sonet. For 200k which is how much the entry-level models cost, you're looking at much smaller competitors such as the Mahindra KUV100 Nxt 1.2 and the Suzuki Ignis.

The Kiger is rather agreeable on every front and I have a feeling that South Africans are going to go crazy for this car. Watch this space, because we will have the Kiger on test soon for a full, in-depth review.

Did you know?

The entire Renault nomenclature for trim level has changed. Life starts off the range, while Zen is the mid-level spec. Intens models spearhead the line-up.