Compact SUVs are raging in India. It’s an ever expanding segment and most carmakers are now aiming to grab a share of this pie. Renault is somewhat late to the party, but nonetheless the brand seems to have a promising product in the pipeline. The brand has revealed the design of their new compact SUV, the Kiger and Renault believes that this offering will contribute majorly in pushing their sales to over one million in India.
The Kiger show car that you see in the pictures has been developed by Renault’s design teams in France and India and it’s as much as 80 per cent production ready as far as design is concerned. It will share the CMFA+ platform with the Triber, another car that has been able to garner respectable volumes for the French carmaker in India. Along with the existing powertrain options, the Kiger will also debut the new 1-litre turbo-petrol motor, the same HRA0 unit that underpins the new Nissan Magnite along with five-speed manual and CVT gearbox options.
In terms of overall design, the Kiger reminds you of the Kwid facelift, mainly because of the split headlamp design with LED DRL strips at the top and LED headlamps housed in the bumper. The DRLs run along the width of the car and are united by a large Renault logo. The show car also sports a floating-roof, sloping rear window and tapered mirrors to keep up with trending B-SUV designs. Renault also wants to highlight the rugged SUV character of the Kiger with chunky 19-inch MRF off-road tyres, roof rails, front and rear skid plates and 210mm ground clearance.
Save for the chunky wheels, grooved tyres and fancy lighting elements, the production version of the Renault Kiger will share most other things with this concept. We’re expecting the Kiger to be heavily localised, just like its siblings, and that should allow Renault to price it aggressively in this highly competitive segment. After launch, the Kiger will lock horns against the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Nissan Magnite, and Tata Nexon among others.