Renault Kiger Long Term Review, 1 Year Report, Mileage, Features, Faults – Introduction

Kiger leaves our fleet after almost 14,000 comfortable kilometers and many memories.

The Renault Kiger CVT has been my ride to work for a year. It replaced the Kiger Turbo MT in our fleet, which I used for the last few months of its service with us. Of the two, I liked the CVT more, thanks to its relative effort. The long-term vehicles I bring home are mostly hatchbacks due to tight parking spaces in my locality, and the Kiger, with its sub-four meter footprint, is one of the few SUVs I can handle.

I love the high seating position and its commanding view, which makes it easy to get used to very quickly, especially if you’re upgrading from a sedan or hatchback. This also means you are less likely to make direct eye contact with the bright and misaligned LED headlights found on many two-wheelers, which can be very annoying.

Renault Kiger Long Term Review, 1 Year Report, Mileage, Features, Faults – Introduction

The front seats are comfortable for long periods of driving.

For a compact SUV, its cabin is very roomy and I’ve had five full-sized adults in the car without any hassle. There have been many airport trips and several city trips with five passengers and I have never heard any complaints about space.

I loved the three-spoke steering wheel with its backlit controls, but there was some noise coming from the steering column over the past few days, especially when turning the steering wheel to more than one lock.

The 1.0-liter turbo engine with CVT is well-suited for city use, which is where our long-term goal is Looking munch most of his kilometers. The pedals are well placed and unlike the manual, the CVT version gets a proper dead pedal, which is a boon on longer drives.

The trip meter resets itself randomly.

The digital driver display changes with the driving modes, and strangely you don’t get a tachometer in Normal mode, which is best suited to the city. Sport mode adds the tachometer (and better response) but fuel economy drops quite a bit. I tried the Eco mode a few times, but it’s not something I’d recommend unless you’re on a really tight fuel budget. In this mode the engine response is terribly weak and I found the car almost undriveable.

The CVT transmission doesn’t get a manual shift option (it doesn’t have any “gears” to begin with), but all you need is a light tap on the gas pedal to get it into the torque band for a quick overtake. What I didn’t like much is the engine noise that permeates the cabin. It sounded sporty at first, but it has since become annoying.

Swallowed four medium-sized suitcases easily.

What I also liked about Kiger is its unique look. You still don’t see too many of these on the road, but when you do, they’re unmistakable. The wide nose with sharp LED headlights makes the Kiger look much more expensive than it actually is. Many people ask me about its price and are surprised to learn that it is cheaper than most other mainstream rivals. The low-mounted headlights have an excellent throw and illuminate corners well.

Kiger’s AC performed well, especially during the heat wave earlier this year. The cabin does take a little longer to cool down at first, but it maintains the temperature throughout your commute. However, the Kiger’s infotainment system gave us an overheating warning a couple of times. That said, it connects quickly and seamlessly with wireless Android Auto.

Handbrake placed next to the front seat passenger instead of the driver.

Much like its sister car, the Nissan Magnetowhich recently got a facelift, Kiger is about to get one soon. After driving the SUV for quite some time, here are my suggestions for the update. First, Renault should add a sunroof, at least on the higher variants. Although not necessary, it is an important feel-good feature that follows current market trends. The interior trim or trim could be lighter to brighten up the cabin, much like what was done with the Magnite. The much-loved CVT experience can be improved by adding paddle shifters, at least for the higher variants. Finally, Renault may also add cooled seats to the Kiger.

During his time with me, I had passengers of all ages, both family and friends, experience Kiger, and they all had great things to say. My experience with the SUV has also been good, and it is a car that I would certainly recommend to a buyer who wants a comfortable and spacious city commuter.