Renault Kiger 1.0T Iconic Review - Right Price, Right Segment, but is it the Right Car?
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
By: Dylan Naidoo
The updated Renault Kiger is finally here in South Africa, bringing with it updated styling and new features. The Kiger has already well-established itself in South Africa as an affordable, sub-compact crossover. The new Kiger turbocharged variants, however, provide a noticeable jump in power over the naturally aspirated (NA) variant, now positioning the Kiger on par with the Fronx and the Tiggo4 Pro/Cross. And it is this turbocharged “Iconic” variant that Grant Adlam and I would get to test out.
The subcompact car market
The Renault Kiger is entering a very competitive market in which nearly every major automaker in South Africa competes: a market consisting of affordable, subcompact crossovers. Currently, Chery leads the charge with their incredibly successful Tiggo4 Pro, whilst Suzuki treads in tenth place with their Fronx, according to Michael Taylor from Top Auto. We don’t even need to mention a slew of other car brands, such as Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Toyota and even Citroen, all battling it out to build a solid subcompact crossover for under R350k. As such, whilst the new Kiger has got a fresh look and beefier muscles, whether it sells well depends heavily on how it takes on this fierce competition.
Engineering & Technology
Whilst Renault decided to continue using their efficient 1.0L engine, this turbocharged variant delivers 74kW of power and 160Nm of torque. The power is okay, nearly matching the Suzuki Fronx. The car does feature multiple driving modes: eco, normal and sport. This engine is paired with a CVT transmission, however, manual variants of the 1.0l turbo are also available. Ride height is also a tad bit high, measuring at 205mm of ground clearance.
Entering the Kiger, you will find yourself quite taken back by the automatic lock and unlock of the doors, which in our testing, tended to be very consistent. At the heart of the Kiger you will find the 8-inch infotainment screen that is paired with wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay. The viewing angles of the screen are acceptable, and the size is perfect. We also got a surprisingly great speaker system on board delivering outstanding sound with great clarity and decent bass. The car’s features include a digital gauge cluster and multiple USB ports in the front. Your usual safety features are onboard, including six-airbags, ESC, and your multi-view camera that you get with our trim.
Design, Interior & Space
Renault describes the new Kiger as having an “athletic body” that encompasses Renault’s new design language, and I personally like it. I think online images don’t do this car justice, as the new Kiger does look very good. Clear rear-lights in the back is truly something I long for more cars to use, it just looks so good. Personally, I didn’t really like the look of the previous Kiger and much prefer this updated look. The design is more on the busy side, but overall it's still something that will catch your eye.
The interior is quite a positive for this car. There is that funky Renault styling but this time made with leather upholstery for the Iconic trim, making the seats feel soft, premium and comfortable. Seats offer great back support and come fully adjustable. As for other interior features, for the Iconic variants you also have your leather-wrapped steering wheel with physical infotainment controls, and adjustable climate control utilising physical controls.
Space is a big plus for the Renault. The boot is rated at a large 405l boot capacity, and we could see that. Interior legroom and headroom is acceptable.
Price & Overall Thoughts
Pricing of this Renault Kiger 1.0T Iconic begins at R329,999, however, lower trim, Naturally Aspirated versions of the Kiger start at R220,000. What I will say is that even though there are more competitively priced alternatives in the market, the Kiger holds its own. It’s a great, run around little crossover that offers a great blend of comfort, sportiness and overall value.
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