Renault has revealed the new Kiger and while it will be produced in India, we can expect to see it arrive in South Africa during the third quarter of 2021. Retaining much of the same design that we saw back in November 2020. Needless to say, we are happy about that.
The Renault Kiger is a good looking compact SUV.
As we mentioned, there is much of what we have already seen and we like that. The front end is strong but not overly aggressive, especially for the engine it’s packing. Still, with L shaped headlights and three square fog lamps on either side of the bulky front bumper, it’s as modern as the rest of its competition.
That strong look is bolstered by flared wheel arches and a rear skid plate while 16-inch alloys do their job at maintaining the look. They also help with the 205 mm ground clearance if you were to go off-road, but the Renault Kiger is very much an on-road compact SUV.
Colour options include Ice Cool White, Planet Grey, Moonlight Grey, Mahogany Brown, Caspian Blue and Radiant Red with Mystery Black Roof. There are more two-tone options as well as five accessory packs for customisation.
What we know about the interior thus far.
The steering wheel is wrapped in leather as standard and just behind that is a seven-inch TFT instrument cluster complete with different themes depending on which driving mode you choose. To the centre of the car is an eight-inch infotainment touchscreen complete with both Apple CarPlay and Andriod Auto. We are still scarred by the new Mini Cooper that only comes with Apple CarPlay.
This system includes voice activation and is linked to the Arkamys #D sound system which adds eight speakers around the interior. Automatic air conditioning will also come standard. Renault says there is 405 litres of space in the boot of the Kiger, 879 litres if you fold the rear seats down. We hope they fold flat with the boot.
Two engine options will be available in SA.
There are two engine options that will come with the Renault Kiger, both of them are 1.0-litre petrol engine that drive the front wheels. The first is a three-cylinder turbocharged engine with 74 kW and 160 Nm. It has a claimed fuel consumption of 5.0 L/100 km. It comes mated to a five-speed manual transmission or a continuously variable transmission (CVT).
The other is a naturally aspirated option with 53 kW and 96 Nm that comes with either a five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic transmission.
We can expect to see pricing closer to the launch in the third quarter of this year.
