Renault Kiger compact SUV revealed officially before India launch

French automaker Renault has just revealed its next big thing for the Indian market – the Kiger sub-4 meter compact SUV. The Renault Kiger will share its platform with the upcoming Nissan Magnite sub-4 meter compact SUV. Both vehicles are based on the CMF-A platform, which underpins a range of cars such as the Renault Kwid, Triber and the Datsun RediGo. Coming back to the Kiger, the vehicle that Renault has revealed today is a concept version, and the actual production model will be showcased early next year, ahead of the official launch, which will happen in the first half of 2021. Here are the first images of the Renault Kiger, in concept form.

Renault has indicated that the production version will be 80 % similar to the concept. In other words, this means that bits such as headlamps, futuristic wheel design and funky front end styling will be toned down on the production bits. The Kiger will take on the likes of the Maruti Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Toyota Urban Cruiser, Kia Sonet, Ford EcoSport, Mahindra XUV300 and the Tata Nexon in the hotly competitive sub-4 meter compact SUV segment, which is also getting quite crowded.

The Renault Kiger will sit below the Duster in terms of price and positioning, and will be the first sub-4 meter compact SUV from the French automaker. Apart from being sold in India, the vehicle will be exported to many emerging markets around the world. It’ll be produced at the Renault-Nissan joint manufacturing facility at Oragadam, off Chennai.  A high amount of localization is a given, and we expect the Kiger’s starting price to be close to Rs. 6 lakh, making it extremely attractive to a vast majority of buyers.

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In fact, Renault’s alliance partner Nissan, plans to set the cat among pigeons with the price strategy for the Magnite, with a starting price of Rs. 5.5 lakh. We won’t be surprised if Renault follows suit and prices the Kiger very sharply. The Kiger will be offered with 2 engine options: a naturally aspirated 1 liter petrol engine with 72 Bhp-96 Nm outputs and a turbocharged version of the same engine with 99 Bhp-150 Nm outputs. Both engines will get manual gearboxes as standard while the turbocharged engine will also get a CVT automatic option. No diesel engine will be offered as Renault has clearly steered away from diesel for the Indian market. Even the Magnite offers only petrol engines.

Other expectations for the Renault Kiger include a segment leading ride quality – an aspect that Renault cars are renowned for, a touchscreen infotainment system, dual glove boxes, digital instrument cluster and some other bits borrowed from the Triber. The Renault Kiger will be a five seater, and will be aimed at first time car buyers and also at those upgrading from smaller hatchbacks such as the Kwid. Maintenance costs are also likely to be quite affordable on the Kiger given its low cost CMF-A platform underpinnings. Watch this space as we bring you more details about Renault’s exciting new compact SUV.

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