Renault Kiger Design and Engineering: 7/10
Lots of flair with a sporty crossover look, rather than upright SUV.
Like the Triber, with which it shares its CMF-A + platform, the Kiger too receives an update that’s centred around the front and interiors while the mechanicals remain unchanged. The bonnet top carries over and that power bulge still looks nice and sporty, the lower edge is now straight unlike the previous car which had an indent to accommodate the large Renault diamond logo. Speaking of which the new Kiger carries Renaults new logo which is a lot smaller here and looks nice and neat nestled in the slim grille that also gets the straight-line treatment; earlier the grille drooped below. The facelift also brings LED foglights joining the LED DRLs and headlights from the previous car. The lower bumper area has a large trapezoidal area ringed by a brushed silver finish.
Updates include a slimmer grille, redone bumper and the new Renault logo, too. In profile things remain the same save for newly styled 16-inch alloy wheels and the fender garnish now carrying ‘Kiger’ lettering with a nice touch being the ‘R’ done in red. Also painted red are the front brake calipers which contrasted nicely on our yellow test car, which is a newly introduced colour on the Kiger. Roof rails top off the profile which unlike some others are functional and can take a load of up to 50kgs.
As for changes at the rear, it sports the new Renault logo along with a new ‘Kiger’ lettering, the taillights are now LED units and the bumpers lower edge sees a reprofile. The rest carries over so you have the cool looking spilt spoiler and shark fin antennae at the top.
On the whole the update is nicely done though while the front end does more upright the Kiger is still more sporty cross than upright SUV.
Renault Kiger Interior Space and Comfort: 8/10
Interiors look premium and like from a segment above and space is plenty.
The inside sees a big change in colours and materials and on the whole areas that immediately catch your eye look premium and well finished. Where the earlier car was more all-black, the new Kiger sports a lighter interior with the lower half of the dashboard, door arm rests and inner sections of the seats done in light grey. Looking particularly cool was the liberal but tasteful use of yellow contrast stitching on the steering wheel, gear lever shroud, seat borders, bolsters and the arm rest. The front seat backs also have the new Renault logo embroidered in the same yellow threads and look really neat and premium.
As before interior space is good with sufficient headroom and plenty of legroom especially for rear passengers. Taller drivers though will find the footwell cramped. The seats are comfy and the front ones have nice and comfy bolstering and upping the comfort factor a lot is the addition of ventilated seats. Rear seating is also comfortable with the outer two seats nice and broad with a wider than average center seat too. There’s also a flip down armrest with cup holders.
In terms of storage space, as before there’s a lot inside with dual gloveboxes a deep center console, large door pockets and two phone trays, one with a wireless charger. Boot space stands at 405 liters which can be extended via the 60:40 split rear seats.
Renault Kiger Features and Safety: 8/10
Ventilated seats, 360 deg camera up the equipment list; 6-airbags now standard.
The new Kiger comes with a few new features the highlight being the ventilated seats at the front and a 360 deg camera which has a clear enough feed, it lacks a 3D view but given the poor execution that many have, this isn’t that much of a miss. The cooled seats work well and are operated via buttons on bank just above the auto climate control dials. The dials too work nicely with defined increments and look neat with the integrated function displays. There’s ambient lighting too, not via LED strips but white bulbs placed beneath areas like the door handles and the center console, it doesn’t look quite as elaborate as pinstriping but adds a nice glow to the recesses.
The digital instrument cluster carries forward as does the 8-inch touchscreen and while it does offer wireless smart phone projection Renault should have upgraded the screens resolution which does look quite lackluster especially so against competitors. Also added are auto headlamps and rain sensing wipers.
Safety gets a boost with all variants of the new Kiger sporting 6 airbags as standard along with ESP, traction control, TPMS and hill start assist. While the new Kiger crash test rating has not been released, its worth nothing at the pre-facelifted car secured a 4-star rating under the previous protocol.
Renault Kiger Performance and Refinement: 8/10
As before turbo unit is peppy and CVT works well with minimal rubberband effect.
Unusual for a drive of what is a facelifted car, Renault organized the drive of the new Kiger within the ICAT testing facility in Manesar. This did give us however a chance to test out the Kiger turbo in a safe space. Powertrains remain the same with the 3 cyl, 1.0 liter naturally aspirated engine mated to a 5-speed manual or AMT and the 3 cyl, 1.0 litre turbo engine pared with a 5-speed manual of CVT auto box. Power outputs remain the same, the naturally aspirated unit puts out 72hp and 96Nm of torque while the turbo makes 100hp and 160Nm (152Nm on the CVT).
We drove both manual and auto version of the turbo engine and as before came away impressed. The engine is a peppy unit and a quick stab of the throttle provides for a quick response and unlike a typical turbo power stays strong and linear even a little past 5000rpm. It does whine a lot though when pushed hard but driven at normal pace refinement is good, even the typical three-cylinder thrum is well contained.
The manual gearbox isn’t very feelsome and between the two it’s the CVT that we would pick. It’s got very little of that rubberband effect, even absent when driven at everyday pace and it does a good job of staying in the powerband, something you have to be mindful of with the manual.
There’s drive modes too; Eco, Normal and Sport with sufficienct differentiation between them. In terms of acceleration the previous turbo Kiger clocked a 0-100kph time of 11.54 seconds and this will be similar on the new car too.
Renault says there has been a lot of insulation added, like in the cowl area and there’s thicker carpets too, but there’s a fair amount of mechanical sounds that do make their way inside, right from a engine when revved further, to the suspension and brakes with even the rear wiper motor very audible inside.
Renault Kiger Ride Comfort and Handling: 8/10
Ride and handling is good and well composed even at speed.
Having driven the Kiger inside the test facility it’s hard to judge ride quality though it will remain the same as before, which is to say good. The ride is compliant and at speed there’s a nice surefootedness about it. On the whole it rides like a bigger and heavier car. It handles well too and in some emergency lane change manoeuvres at the track its well composed.
Renault Kiger Mileage and Fuel Economy: 7/10
ARAI claimed mileage of 20.38kpl for the turbo
The claimed ARAI mileage of the Kiger is 20.38 kpl for the turbo manual while naturally aspirated engine with the manual gearbox has a claimed efficiency of 19.83kpl.
Renault Kiger price and verdict: 7/10
Could have done with a few more features but good value for space and performance.
The Kiger won our 2022 Autocar Compact SUV of the Year award and it’s not hard to see why. Four years on though, the update should have had a bit more kit like a sharper touchscreen and other bits like fast USB charging slots. Insulation needs to be better too as there’s still mechanical noises that come through to the cabin. These issues aside though there’s a lot to like, the turbo engine remains a delight and is a high point in this segment, it’s responsive, and paired with the CVT still remains nice to drive with a natural feel and minimal rubberband effect. Inside its spacious and decently equipped and the facelift has really upped the premium look and feel. There’s also handy features like ventilated seats and a lot of standard safety kit added.
Priced from Rs 6.30 lakh for the base naturally aspirated engine to Rs 10.00 lakh for the fully loaded turbo manual its good value and while the top spec CVT comes in at a 1.3 lakh premium its still good value given the automatics performance and overall price position in the segment. As far as updates go then, this is a good one, and will definitely keep the Kiger alive and well in the crowded and competitive compact SUV segment.
Also See: