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-   -   Renault Kiger Crossover launched at Rs. 5.45 lakh. EDIT: Driving report on page 19 (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/229701-renault-kiger-crossover-launched-rs-5-45-lakh-edit-driving-report-page-19-a-17.html)

There is one big flaw in Kiger compared to Magnite. Kiger does not have ESP. They should have offered ESP atleast in the top variants. Magnite is the SAFER car in turbo variants.

Went to the showroom to check out the Kiger. Some observations:

1. While there are certain styling elements which seem similar to the smaller Kwid, the Kiger is most definitely not a grown up Kwid. It has a butch stance and presence

2. So far the sales executive did not habe details about variants and pricing. Should come in the next couple of days

3. Already a 2 month waiting period

4. Interior is spacious enough as per other competitors in the 4m size. Plastics are hard wearing but put together well

5. Rear visibility via interior mirror is average. Side mirrors are a good size

6. Doors feel solid like the Altroz which I had seen the day before

7. Boot is deep. Feels larger than the Baleno and Altroz, should be able to carry a holidays worth of luggage easily

8. You can make out the bonnet edge when in the drivers seat. For average sized drivers i would recommend the height adjustable seat versions

9. Seats feel comfy and can accommodate larger sized individuals

10. At the price it is launching at, it provides an SUV body style for the price of a hatchback or sub 4m sedan, and I can see many people who would have otherwise considered the Baleno, Altroz, Dzire etc going in for this one

Visited Renault for my Duster 20000 km service and had a quick look at Kiger RxZ MT diplay car.

My observations:
It is bigger than it looks in the pictures.

Interior space is well appointed with enough storage areas.
Apart from the two gloveboxes, centre consol has a huge storage(comparing to my Duster's utilitarian interiors)

The display car had blue paint and quality seems better than my Duster in terms of sheen and depth. Perception of a display car may be at play here.

Looks are sharp and it is not a bigger kwid.

Rear bench is comfortable for 2 Adults. 3 would be a stretch. Legroom is quite generous in rear with front seat in my driving position. (I am 5'11")

Boot is big enough but has high loading lip. Spare tyre in boot may require effort to lift in case of a puncture, as it is seated deep in the boot.

The dealer had 60 odd bookings till date and is assuring delivery in the month of March for all/most. Did not dicuss further as no plans for purchase.( I do not want to give cold leads when they can chase after confirmed bookings/purchase)

Attached below price list for NCR which was shared over whatapp

Here is the full Brochure of the Renault Kiger updated with all the details. The Kiger does seem to miss out on ESP.
KIGER.pdf

I can see a good coordination between Renault and Nissan in pricing the variants. With the RXL AMT there is an affordable automatic and then comes the Turbo CVT in Magnite/Kriger for the enthusiasts!

With this strategy they want to target the budget conscious buyer who wants an auto box as well as the buyer looking for a premium product.

The Kriger will be the much better choice just because Renault has a good dealer network and with the good sales of Triber/Kwid the dealers would be well oiled to handle the after sales service etc.

They have under cut the Sonet/Venue/Nexon and this should result in good market share. Only if they would ramp up production in order to keep the waiting periods down.

I am a person who does not go by the perception of how good a car is going by the waiting period. I prefer to get the car when I have decided to go for it after a research with immediate delivery.

Made a quick comparison of features based on this brochure



Note: Anything that is common between both vehicles were not considered

Wonder why Renault left out Cruise Control. They could have given it in top CVT variant at least. That gives Magnite an edge. Cruise Control is not a luxury any more. It gives much sought relief to your right foot on highways. Even if only for a few minutes, because our traffic density even on highways is high. CVT gives relief to your left leg. Cruise Control gives relief to your right foot. If you keep speeds at moderate 70-80 ( FE Zone) , you can drive for several minutes with both feet resting.

Well I saw a Youtube video when they are claiming to install the cruise control, not sure how true/effective it is, probably we will see it soon for Kiger also :)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nYnP1EjL_c

I don't think we'll get it for Kiger. Since Magnite already has it on top variants, they swap the switch-gear onto the lower variant. But, even here, I am not sure how they plug into ECU or whatever which operates Cruise Control. But I am sure that no variant of Kiger has Cruise Control, it would be impossible to fit one.

Thanks for the comparison. Don't see drive modes in the list. Am I overthinking this feature?

If Renault had given all the features that are already present in the top end variant of magnite , they would have had a lot of people writing cheques for them. People who were sitting on the fence about Nissan's service and build quality would have easily opted for a larger Renault service network and better quality/fit & finish. I was one such person but looking at the missing features in comparison to magnite, i have decided not to go with Kiger at least for now.

Here is the price list for Bangalore

Any idea why there is a 10k handling charge? When I got price lists from Maruti, Tata and Honda, there was no extra handling charge in them.

Being a Triber RXZ owner, I contacted the shop on whatsapp, and he is assuring me that it will even fit on the Triber, same steering shared between all 3 vehicles, and he can get the Cruise Control to work, I'm not sure how.

I asked him that as no model of Triber comes with factory fitted Cruise Control, where will he join the coupler and how will he program it, then he went silent and hasn't got back to me.

At Rs.3500, it would have been a steal deal to get the Steering Controls and Cruise Controls in my Triber as well. But, gotta wait till they actually do the installation and put up the video somewhere. The Instrument Cluster has the blanks for Cruise Control lights, but not sure if it'll work with the buttons even if installed!!

Saw the Kiger in flesh today and must say it looks much better in person than in pictures. Right next to the Renault was a Tata showroom which had Tata Nexon parked next to it. The Kiger looked similar in size to the Tata Nexon while the Altroz looked pretty small in comparison. Definitely has a better presence than premium hatchbacks. To me its front bumper seemed like the one the Baleno RS and the rear design is somewhat similar to the Toyota C-HR. Would appeal to the younger audience.

I really like the looks of the Kiger and the package that it offers. I’m on the hunt for an automatic crossover for city use for the past few months now and I’m seriously considering the amt variants of the rxl and rxt trims of the Kiger. I would appreciate other bhpian’s advice on this. :)