[Aviator_guy]

Very detailed analysis and balanced approach while selecting the car Wish you many miles and fun filled drives..

One thing struck me is that you were particular about not going for 2021 model to avoid depreciation hit but you took delivery of Dec 2021 manufactured car. The depreciation is based on manufacturing year and not when one registers the car. Just wanted to mention this since I am seeing many folks may be unknowingly falling for this and dealer might be making best of it by not offering year end discounts just because customer did not know about this.

[s_gams]

Originally Posted by Piyush Kanthak

Congratulations for your new car, wishing you hassle free miles ahead, how is the cabin feel good factor?

Hi Piyush, thanks. The cabin is quite good and spacious. The larger touch screen, one of the best TFT screens in the category, a good looking central console and well designed round knobs for AC controls etc give the cabin an elegant look. However, it doesn't look as fresh or plush as let's say Nexon. The dashboard and door areas are dark Grey in Kiger whereas it comes in off-White shade in Nexon which gives a plush and spacious feeling in Nexon. A friend of mine complained once that his children occasionally spoil the white Nexon interiors and he has to take some efforts to clean it up. I would give more points to Nexon interiors than the Kiger interiors overall. At the same time, I would rate Punch lower as compared to Kiger. As mentioned in my review, Punch interiors felt neither plush to me nor spacious. Hope this helps

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

Very detailed analysis and balanced approach while selecting the car Wish you many miles and fun filled drives..

One thing struck me is that you were particular about not going for 2021 model to avoid depreciation hit but you took delivery of Dec 2021 manufactured car. The depreciation is based on manufacturing year and not when one registers the car. Just wanted to mention this since I am seeing many folks may be unknowingly falling for this and dealer might be making best of it by not offering year end discounts just because customer did not know about this.

Thank you very much! May be I should have been more clear in my post about this. There was no monetary depreciation angle in it; I was actually referring to the way the age of the car is calculated let's say when I would be selling it future. Registering a car in last week of December means the whole year would have got considered in the age of the car if I were to sell it for example. It happened to my first car which was registered towards the end of October which was still OK. Here I did not want it to be considered a 2021 car (age wise) just due to a week. Waiting for a week or so now makes it a 2022 car at least when it gets referred for any age calculations or references.

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

Very detailed analysis and balanced approach while selecting the car Wish you many miles and fun filled drives..

One thing struck me is that you were particular about not going for 2021 model to avoid depreciation hit but you took delivery of Dec 2021 manufactured car. The depreciation is based on manufacturing year and not when one registers the car. Just wanted to mention this since I am seeing many folks may be unknowingly falling for this and dealer might be making best of it by not offering year end discounts just because customer did not know about this.

Thank you very much! May be I should have been more clear in my post about this. There was no monetary depreciation angle in it; I was actually referring to the way the age of the car is calculated let's say when I would be selling it future. Registering a car in last week of December means the whole year would have got considered in the age of the car if I were to sell it for example. It happened to my first car which was registered towards the end of October which was still OK. Here I did not want it to be considered a 2021 car (age wise) just due to a week. Waiting for a week or so now makes it a 2022 car at least when it gets referred for any age calculations or references.

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by s_gams

Thank you very much! May be I should have been more clear in my post about this. There was no monetary depreciation angle in it; I was actually referring to the way the age of the car is calculated let's say when I would be selling it future. Registering a car in last week of December means the whole year would have got considered in the age of the car if I were to sell it for example. It happened to my first car which was registered towards the end of October which was still OK. Here I did not want it to be considered a 2021 car (age wise) just due to a week. Waiting for a week or so now makes it a 2022 car at least when it gets referred for any age calculations or references.

Age of car for resale is calculated based on manufacturing year and not registration year. That is why the year end discounts came into being otherwise there is no incentive to buy dec model if one can wait just another month to get a néw year model (unless it is super popular model with long waiting and one is just too happy to get the car)

Learnt it the hard way for my first car so now I am more careful

[NiInJa]

Congratulations for the new car! A nice writeup that will help prospective buyers too!

The Kiger CVT is my recommendation whenever someone asks for my opinion on buying a new premium hatchback. The Kiger is a looker in dark shades, I absolutely love design of the car and would have got one if I had an extra parking space.

Do keep updating this thread with your ownership experiences.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by s_gams

I hope my review below will add some value to the group and will be of some help to anyone who is considering to buy Renault Kiger.

I have to say, I concur to each and every observation of yours regarding Kiger!
I too, started the hunt for an automatic CSUV with a budget of upto 14 lakhs . My requirements were very similar to yours. I did test drive all the vehicles you did, except the Punch. My observations were very similar to yours after a round of TD ing all those cars ! I too finally shortlisted Nexon and Kiger. As you said, It was very very tough deciding between these two. Where Tata scores in interiors, safety, fit and finish, Kiger claws back with the superb CVT-engine combo, better music system, bigger boot and wonderful pricing. I felt the AMT in Nexon is not as bad as it has been generally perceived to be, but it still cannot hold a candle to the super smooth CVT of the Kiger. Eventually , zeroed in on the Kiger due to its overall more VFM feel and booked the RXZ 1.0 CVT in silver color last Sunday. The 4 star GNCAP rating which came one day after I booked was like an icing on the cake. The dealer whom I went to had a few Jan 2022 manufactured units in stock and I am expecting delivery by February 26th. I will be writing a detailed buying experience and initial ownership review a month after I take delivery of the car.
Overall, in this segment, with the excellent pricing of the Kiger/Magnite twins, I feel they should be on top of anyone's list shopping for a CSUV under 13-14Lakhs! It is indeed very surprising that they are not selling in large numbers.

[ashking101]

This is an excellent choice, bro. Congratulations.

This February is a much happening time for India made Renault Kiger - one of the Top-5 finalists at the "World Urban Car of the Year: 2022" awards and has also secured 4 stars rating at the GNCAP.

Now, slowly more people will lean towards Kiger, when they look for a sub-compact SUV.

[arnav17]

Loved the Review...Wish you many smiles with many miles in your beautiful beast!

Just one question.. How is the Cabin noise considering it's a CVT?

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

The 4 star GNCAP rating which came one day after I booked was like an icing on the cake.

Not to nitpick but I hope you noticed its bodyshell is rated 'unstable'? Magnite(with same engine gearbox combo) on other hand was awarded 'stable' bodyshell rating. Just mentioning as you still have time before its delivered.

[hashable]

Age of car for resale is calculated based on manufacturing year and not registration year.

Between 31 Dec 2021 and 1st Jan 2022, Kiger RXZ CVT sticker price went up by some 30k rupees for the exact same VIN. (I don't remember the exact number but I bought a Kiger RXZ CVT in Dec as well and this is what the dealer told me.)

Stick the 30k into a Nifty index fund and if you keep the car for 10 years, it will grow to 78k (@10% avg growth per year). I'm not sure if the depreciation difference for the VIN year will be that high when you are trying to sell the car. Also, the actual sale price is a larger function of vehicle condition + your negotiation skills when compared to a single year sticker difference.

[vasanthn21]

It felt so good reading your review. You are very thorough but also practical with your approach. All the 17 points from you "Other requirements/considerations" also made complete sense!

Once, every few years you will see like cars like this, which are built perfectly well, absolute value for money, but for some strange reason does not sell as much as the more expensive alternatives. As you pointed out, it might be due to herd mentality, or it might be due to early mover advantage. What it Kiger was launched before Nexon? Story could have been different - just speculating!

But don't fret about it, and enjoy knowing the fact that you have a better value for money car than others.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Not to nitpick but I hope you noticed its bodyshell is rated 'unstable'? Magnite(with same engine gearbox combo) on other hand was awarded 'stable' bodyshell rating. Just mentioning as you still have time before its delivered.

Thanks for the advice, but I have no change of plans.
May be 'unstable body shell' is not a criterion to write off a car! At least I do not think so.

Alejandro Furas, Secretary General, Global NCAP told carandbike, "Having an unstable structure doesn't mean that the car will be a poor performer, and the other way around. The stability of a structure just counts for one or two points into the 17 points that we are assessing. Of course if you have a poor structure it's likely that other things are affected. But something interesting that Honda is using is they add another element to the structure that goes over the wheel arch. What this does is you have a much wider structure available to absorb energy, to dissipate the energy and direct it outside of the (passenger) compartment. At the same time it's also good as you are somehow being less aggressive to whatever you crash into." - Credit:car&bike

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Thanks for the advice, but I have no change of plans.
May be 'unstable body shell' is not a criterion to write off a car! At least I do not think so.

Personally that matters to me more than the stars. So, to each his own I guess.

Wish you many happy miles with the Kiger

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

It felt so good reading your review. You are very thorough but also practical with your approach. All the 17 points from you "Other requirements/considerations" also made complete sense!

Once, every few years you will see like cars like this, which are built perfectly well, absolute value for money, but for some strange reason does not sell as much as the more expensive alternatives. As you pointed out, it might be due to herd mentality, or it might be due to early mover advantage. What it Kiger was launched before Nexon? Story could have been different - just speculating!

But don't fret about it, and enjoy knowing the fact that you have a better value for money car than others.

This is so true... I guess after Ford exit, people might be little skeptical about Renault /Nissan future and hence hesitant to take the plunge even though Kiger ticks so many boxes! Wish Renault could have been little more aggressive with Duster to give people more confidence about their long term future.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

This is so true... I guess after Ford exit, people might be little skeptical about Renault /Nissan future and hence hesitant to take the plunge even though Kiger ticks so many boxes! Wish Renault could have been little more aggressive with Duster to give people more confidence about their long term future.

Not sure about herd mentality but you will rarely find a renault/nissan owner who raves about after sales experience.

What does any one in India do when he makes a high ticket purchase? Consult with family and friends who own the same brand. Most of them will not recommend. Hence we come to real issue why Nissan and Renault are failing even with competent and VFM offerings.

[s_gams]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

Congratulations for the new car! A nice writeup that will help prospective buyers too!

The Kiger CVT is my recommendation whenever someone asks for my opinion on buying a new premium hatchback. The Kiger is a looker in dark shades, I absolutely love design of the car and would have got one if I had an extra parking space.

Do keep updating this thread with your ownership experiences.

Thanks NiInJa! I shall definitely make an attempt to update the thread with my ownership experience.