[naru80]

Originally Posted by abhisheksircar

Conclusion, Renault Kiger, Celestial Blue, 1.0 Turbo CVT, RXZ. Booked.

Congratulations!

Looking forward to a detailed post on buying experience/first impressions for the benefit of potential buyers (including me!)

[BugginBugsy]

To All Renault Kiger aspirants :
My friend bought a CVT against my advice for an EV. He had about 70km travel s day through the crowded roads of Kerala. First week he enjoyed it a lot - when I called he was raving about the performance in Sport mode. Next week I called him, he said he was driving only in Eco because the consumption was too much (6-8kmpl). 2 weeks later he started driving below 40kmph only to conserve petrol. The first month he spent 30k on fuel. Next month he started driving without AC on through the warm and humid summer of kerala and managed to bring up the consumption to 17kmpl. 2nd month fuel bill was 25k. Third month he started using his old Fiat Pinto Diesel. Fuel bills are now around 12-14k and he is regretting not buying the Nexon EV.

[starke]

Originally Posted by BugginBugsy

To All Renault Kiger aspirants :
My friend bought a CVT against my advice for an EV. He had about 70km travel s day through the crowded roads of Kerala. First week he enjoyed it a lot - when I called he was raving about the performance in Sport mode. Next week I called him, he said he was driving only in Eco because the consumption was too much (6-8kmpl). 2 weeks later he started driving below 40kmph only to conserve petrol. The first month he spent 30k on fuel. Next month he started driving without AC on through the warm and humid summer of kerala and managed to bring up the consumption to 17kmpl. 2nd month fuel bill was 25k. Third month he started using his old Fiat Pinto Diesel. Fuel bills are now around 12-14k and he is regretting not buying the Nexon EV.

Turbo petrol engines are known for their fuel-thirsty nature if you drive them hard, but turning On/Off airconditioning won't do much difference as old days as the new compressors are more efficient and have lesser wattage.

Sub 10 kmpl if you drive hard is normal, but my close friend who nearly clocked 20k kms on his MT Kiger turbo is getting around 14-16 in City normal driving mode and 16-18 in the highway.

Again buying an EV in the current scenario in India depends upon the use case of the specific user and can not compare with Kiger, rather it should be any ICE vs EV.

Let any car crosses in run-in period and after 2nd service or 5k + kms, it should get better

[s_gams]

Originally Posted by BugginBugsy

To All Renault Kiger aspirants :
My friend bought a CVT against my advice for an EV. He had about 70km travel s day through the crowded roads of Kerala. First week he enjoyed it a lot - when I called he was raving about the performance in Sport mode. Next week I called him, he said he was driving only in Eco because the consumption was too much (6-8kmpl). 2 weeks later he started driving below 40kmph only to conserve petrol. The first month he spent 30k on fuel. Next month he started driving without AC on through the warm and humid summer of kerala and managed to bring up the consumption to 17kmpl. 2nd month fuel bill was 25k. Third month he started using his old Fiat Pinto Diesel. Fuel bills are now around 12-14k and he is regretting not buying the Nexon EV.

Deciding the type of fuel, based on your usage pattern, for the car that you are going to buy is one of the first selection criteria one has to consider. Doing the home work for estimated mileage of the selected cars is one of the next steps. Your friend probably seems to have missed on these steps. It's not Kiger versus EV in this case so it's unfair to put the blame on Kiger and warn all Kiger aspirants. If the use case for your friend is not in favour of a Petrol CVT car then he would be in the same situation irrespective of which car he buys.

Secondly, there are pros and cos of EVs as well and it does not make a by default ideal or perfect case for every use case. EVs are still maturing and there are constraints, unknowns and some irritants for EVs.

One has to evaluate multiple factors before investing in a car and look for the right car for him or her. A right car for one may be an absolutely wrong car for someone else.

Hope your friend finds the solution for his situation.

[BugginBugsy]

Originally Posted by s_gams

Deciding the type of fuel, based on your usage pattern, for the car that you are going to buy is one of the first selection criteria one has to consider. Doing the home work for estimated mileage of the selected cars is one of the next steps. Your friend probably seems to have missed on these steps..

The truth is that my friend did go through these steps but the promised/quoted mileage was way off. This was never an EV vs Renault post. It was just a warning for Kiger aspirants who might be bothered about mileage - that mileage isn’t great- sometimes it’s not even usable. My 2.8L NA Petrol Crysta gives mileage equivalent to a 1.0L Turbo petrol! When Ford introduced the EcoBoost engine this was not their plan. Their small engines with turbo had way better mileage. Renault is not matching that.

[arijitkanrar]

Originally Posted by AMKAM

I purchased a new Renault Kiger RXZ CVT and took the delivery on 27Mar2022.
From the very first day, I’m experiencing a peculiar fogging issue on the front windshield. This fogging happens only in the mornings (before 8am) and late evening (post 7pm).

This looks like cold air coming from the defogger vents is causing the outside air to condense on the widnshield. I'm assuming that the fogging is on the outside?
If so, then its mostly because the early morning and late evenings temperatures outside are cooler. Cooler temperatures mean the condensation is not getting enough time to evaporate. Any other time its hot/dry enough to not let the condensation settle and whatever does settle evaporates before you notice.

Originally Posted by AMKAM

The fog patch is located directly above the front windshield defogger vents and the shape of the fog path confirms the same.
This is turning out to be a major dampener for our new car enthusiasm and can also hamper the visibility , particularly towards the left front corner of the car.

The defogger vents are indeed throwing air. But your AC settings indicate that only the front vents should be throwing out the air. I'm not aware of how the Kiger air direction controls work. I would assume that there should be a light on the defogger button to indicate that those vents are active but your photo indicates that its off.
Maybe you can try cycling the Defogger button to see if the air stops coming out of the defogger vents. If it doesn't help, then there might be an issue with with the button or the flap controller which directs air to the proper vents.

Originally Posted by AMKAM

The Renault dealership has been absolutely dismal in terms of responding to the messages sent by me to the SA. In fact, after the delivery, the SA doesn’t answer my calls most of the time. On the rare occasions that he answered, all he could say was that he would get the service department to get in touch with me. But there’s been no action from the service team either. I’m planning to also escalate this to the Renault CRM department , in reply to their ‘Welcome to Renault’ emails.
Surprisingly, this issue has not been reported on any forum.
Usually, before buying any car, I browse Teambhp / YouTube / Google search for problems reported by users of that car, but this issue seems to be unique only to me.

Dont rely on the sales advisor for this. I suggest dropping in at the SVC directly. Should be easy enough to diagnose.

Originally Posted by AMKAM

Meanwhile, I’m now planning to seal off the defogging vents using foam + duct tape ,and then observing the situation for a few days.
Any other suggestions would be more than welcome.
I’m posting some photos, including a photo with the settings of the AC controls.

That measure is a bit extreme I think .
You can just put your hand over the defogger vents to see if the air is being thrown out of them. If so, the fix would be to simply make sure that the air direction controls work as intended. As I said, it should be the defogger switch but if that doesn't work, thats where you need to look at.

Let us know how it goes.

[vedirah]

Originally Posted by AMKAM

Meanwhile, I’m now planning to seal off the defogging vents using foam + duct tape ,and then observing the situation for a few days.
Any other suggestions would be more than welcome.
I’m posting some photos, including a photo with the settings of the AC controls.

Looks like the valve that controls airflow through the respective ducts after the evaporator is faulty - it seems to be leaking cold air through the defogger duct. This can be verified by hovering your arm around the defogger duct and checking for flow of cold air. Good luck!

[AMKAM]

Thanks @vedirah , @BugginBugsy for your suggestions.

Yes, I had also suspected that there was some fault in the airflow control , which was causing the cool air to hit the windshield exactly above the defogger vents.
After dashing off emails to various email addresses listed in their welcome emails ( using the escalation matrix listed in their emails) , finally a service engineer called me to inquire about the problem.
They took the car to their service centre and then confirmed that there was indeed a problem. They have agreed to replace the airflow control flaps , but as the part is not in stock, they sent the car back and assured me that they would rectify it in a week.
Four days passed, and yesterday, I dropped in a reminder message to the service engineer. He hadn't placed the order for the part yet, and was probably hoping that the problem gets rectified on its own . After some polite but firm language, he agreed to expedite the procurement of the part.
Lets see how it goes.

Long story short : The Renault service response seems to be considerably below average (in comparison to the Maruti / Honda / Jeep service engineers I have dealt with for my other current/previous cars).

Cheers !

[AMKAM]

Originally Posted by BugginBugsy

To All Renault Kiger aspirants :
My friend bought a CVT against my advice for an EV. He had about 70km travel s day through the crowded roads of Kerala. First week he enjoyed it a lot - when I called he was raving about the performance in Sport mode. Next week I called him, he said he was driving only in Eco because the consumption was too much (6-8kmpl). 2 weeks later he started driving below 40kmph only to conserve petrol. The first month he spent 30k on fuel. Next month he started driving without AC on through the warm and humid summer of kerala and managed to bring up the consumption to 17kmpl. 2nd month fuel bill was 25k. Third month he started using his old Fiat Pinto Diesel. Fuel bills are now around 12-14k and he is regretting not buying the Nexon EV.

Absolutely.
The mileage of my Kiger RXZ Turbo Petrol is below average. In Mumbai's traffic, the mileage is a measly 6-7 kmpl , while on the relatively emptier Western/Eastern Express Highways, it rises to 12-13.
Needless to say , mileage is very sensitive to the accelerator input. My driver , who doesn't apply his mind to such mundane matters, invariably ends up at the lower end of the mileage range.
However, with a light foot, without necessarily compromising on the AC comfort or on speed , it is very much possible to raise the mileage to 9-10 in the city traffic . Its a short learning curve, and once one gets used to the way the car reacts , I guess the mileage slowly creeps up.

But , in summary , yes.
The Kiger automatic turbo's mileage is something that one wouldn't be pleased with.

[naru80]

Originally Posted by BugginBugsy

To All Renault Kiger aspirants :
He started driving below 40kmph only to conserve petrol. The first month he spent 30k on fuel. Next month he started driving without AC and managed to bring up the consumption to 17kmpl. 2nd month fuel bill was 25k.

While researching for an i10 replacement, I talked to a few Magnite CVT owners. The feedback was similar. Fuel efficiency was a sore point. Will apply to Kiger too with it being the same engine + tranny.

Of course it is all hearsey, not personal experience, but it checks out with what you're saying.

[NovemberKing_91]

Originally Posted by AMKAM

I purchased a new Renault Kiger RXZ CVT and took the delivery on 27Mar2022.
From the very first day, I’m experiencing a peculiar fogging issue on the front windshield. This fogging happens only in the mornings (before 8am) and late evening (post 7pm).
.

Hi,

I faced similar trouble in a Honda Jazz from Zoomcar years ago.

In that case, hot air passing through the engine bay was flowing over the windshield, which would be colder, hence fogging up, but on the outside.
Your case seems to be in the reverse. I hope you get the service quickly and the issue gets resolved.

[adg_andy]

Originally Posted by AMKAM

Thanks @vedirah , @BugginBugsy for your suggestions.

Yes, I had also suspected that there was some fault in the airflow control , which was causing the cool air to hit the windshield exactly above the defogger vents.


Cheers !

This is a known issue with many Renault Dusters. The jugaad is by putting a small towel on the dashboard. Try and see if that helps. Both my dusters have/had this issue. It is accentuated in humid weather. I see that you are from Mumbai

[Ananthang]

Originally Posted by SYSTEMIZED

I didn't face the exact problem but instead the whole windshield got covered with fog in my Kiger (Mainly rainy season). The solution I found is to defog the windshield manually at full high temperature. Do try this!!

During rainy season it might inside and during summer it might be on the outside.

I used to get a lot in my M800 until one day I put a wedding invite card accidently closer to the vent and that improved the situation. After that I used put a folded newspaper covering the vent which did the track except for a bit if glare, but all these stories are during 2004/05.

[PassivePolo]

Originally Posted by BugginBugsy

To All Renault Kiger aspirants :
My friend bought a CVT against my advice for an EV. He had about 70km travel s day through the crowded roads of Kerala. First week he enjoyed it a lot - when I called he was raving about the performance in Sport mode. Next week I called him, he said he was driving only in Eco because the consumption was too much (6-8kmpl). 2 weeks later he started driving below 40kmph only to conserve petrol. The first month he spent 30k on fuel. Next month he started driving without AC on through the warm and humid summer of kerala and managed to bring up the consumption to 17kmpl. 2nd month fuel bill was 25k. Third month he started using his old Fiat Pinto Diesel. Fuel bills are now around 12-14k and he is regretting not buying the Nexon EV.

I own a Kiger Turbo MT which has run close to 6k kms and I am getting an average of 17 kmpl (full tank method, tested few times; MID shows +/- 0.5kmpl). I owned a Polo 1.2P MT for 8.5 years and I used to get 14kmpl in city and 16kmpl on highways.

My driving conditions are as follows:

Normal mode 80%
Sport mode 5%
Eco mode 15%
I am from Bangalore and my usage is 30% city and 70% highway, with AC on all the time. I drive passively and maintain 80-100 kmph on highways.

During the first 1k kms, I used Eco mode to restrict myself from revving hard. I got an average of 20 kmpl. Later, I have settled for normal mode as this suits well for my city/highway usage. Sport mode is fun but you don't get the confidence to drive so enthusiastically on our roads! I had just used it for shorter runs on highway.

Though the figures vary depending on the road/traffic conditions and the driving habits, very poor mileage as mentioned in few other posts are all concerning. I hope the details mentioned in my post help others in assessing the reason behind.

I am happy to help if there are any other questions regarding the car. I have been trying to complete my ownership report/review of the car, and I will post it when time permits.

[P72NX]

Originally Posted by abhisheksircar

I got to test the Renault Kiger 1.0 Turbo CVT RZX for a brief 20 mins drive in good, bad, narrow, broad roads. These are some quick observations.

Nice review Abhishek!
I am in a very similar situation, need to buy a second car for the home, first for the Mrs. She hasn't driven in a few years, so auto made more sense.
Liked the Kiger seeing them on the roads. Took the test drive, and like a few of the others felt the interiors and the corner-cuts were not matching up to the asking price.
Funnily, don't seem to like most of the cars in this bucket, although there seems to be so much choice!
We are mostly going to go with the new i20, the way things look at this point