For now, only the volume-selling normally aspirated powertrain has been made available. The more powerful turbo has, however, been approved for 2026.
Whereas its fellow Indian-made siblings, the Triber and most infamously, the Kwid, have copped significant flak and ridicule since their respective unveilings, the Renault Kiger has, arguably, made a lighter if not entirely clean escape.
Sales success
An unexpected replacement for the hugely popular Romanian-sourced Sandero four years ago, the SUV-inspired Kiger has been a notable success, thanks mostly to its price and more rugged appearance.
ALSO READ: Wraps come off South Africa-bound facelift Renault Kiger
Sold in batches of 28 000 units since going on-sale in South Africa out of 123 000 globally, the arrival of the facelift Kiger last week completes the revisions of Renault’s lower-end models after similar updates to the Kwid and Triber last month.
Boost later
Unveiled in India in August, the respective changes apply not only to the Kiger’s exterior and interior, but also its range denominators as the Life, Zen and Intens trim grades have been discontinued.
Although powered by the same, and unchanged, 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine used in the Kwid, Triber and Nissan Magnite, the local market launch in Cape Town only involved the internally named B4D normally aspirated unit.
An option that has accounted for 15 000 of the mentioned 28 000 sales, the free-breathing triple will, however, be joined by the Nissan-made HR10DET unit next year in both five-speed manual and CVT configurations.
Compared to the Magnite, though, which offers the turbo on a broader range of trim levels, the Kiger’s streamlined range will see the forced-assisted be exclusive to the newly named Iconic grade that replaces the Intens next year.
For the Evolution that replaces the Life and the Zen-replacing Techno, the normally aspirated three-pot is the sole option with outputs of 52kW/96Nm.
As standard, this engine is still paired to a five-speed manual gearbox, or as an option on the Techno only, the five-speed Easy-R automated manual (AMT).
The launch, which meandered around the winelands near Stellenbosch, only saw the three-pedal Techno being provided as it is tipped to be the eventual volume-seller.
More aggressive face
Similar in appearance if more angular than the Triber, the Kiger’s easy-to-spot external differences, derived from the now previous generation Clio and Captur, includes thinner headlight clusters now with standard LEDs on both grades, a restyled front bumper, new fog lamps and a revised faux front skidplate.
More prominently, the Kiger also gets a new grille complete with Renault’s latest corporate diamond logo, a new lower air intake as part of the new bumper design, and 16-inch imitation alloy or flex wheel covers on the Techno.
At the rear, the changes are more subtle and comprise a darkened finish for the light clusters, the new badge on the bootlid, and a new bumper and skidplate combination.
Unlike in India, the Kiger’s colour palette has been cut from six to four options with no naming designation -the choices being white, grey, silver and blue.
New spec
Dimensionally as is, and still riding on the Kwid’s stretched CMF-A platform known as CMF-A+, the Kiger retains its 205 mm ground clearance rating and boot capacity of 405-litres with the rear seats up.
Comparatively though, its frame has been updated to have more sound-deadening materials, thereby improving noise, vibration and harshness levels.
At the same time, six airbags are now standard across all trim grades, as is traction control, Electronic Stability Program and Hill Start Assist.
Subtle interior refresh
Inside, the revisions are more moderate and consist of the steering wheel from the Clio and Captur, and, in the case of the Techno, a dual-tone black-and-white fabric upholstery finish with grey stitch work.
On the specification front, both the Evolution and Techno retain use of the eight-inch infotainment system, however, the former sports a four-speaker sound system versus the latter Arkamys-sourced six-speaker.
Otherwise standard items are the cooled upper glovebox, electric mirrors, a reverse camera, a digital instrument cluster, rear parking sensors, and, for the first time on the Evolution, rear electric windows not offered on the outgoing Zen.
New for the Techno is rain sense wipers, a tyre pressure monitor, auto on/off headlights, automatic air-conditioning and a surround-view camera system.
Despite the mentioned infotainment system, only the setup in the Techno offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto versus the wired arrangement of the Evolution.
In addition, the dual-tone interior on the former is replaced by conventional black fabric and the flex wheels by what Renault calls “voyage” covers of the same diameter.
The drive
At a smidgen over 60 km, the launch route, although at the coast and not at the Highveld as the original launch four years ago, didn’t translate into any huge gains for the normally aspirated engine.
In spite of the Kiger tipping the scales at less than 1 000 kg, the engine exhibits a typical but also rough three-cylinder thrum that, partially, settles down on the move.
As in the Triber, progress is hampered by a coarse and mushy five-speed gearbox, as well as a noticeable dead spot after every change up and down.
Not helping matters is the way-too-high clutch bite point, which will result in excessive revving to avoid stalling.
Given its outputs, even at the coast, the engine runs out of puff quickly and will require constant rowing of the ‘box to keep it on the boil.
What the Kiger lacks in driveability it makes for by a more than acceptable ride quality thanks to its ground clearance, a light steering feel, and more than upscale levels of fit-and-finish considering its price tag.
As noted before, the infotainment system is a straightforward piece of kit to use, while space is equally as good, especially for those seated in the rear considering the Kiger adheres to India’s sub-four metre regulations.
Conclusion
While the arrival of the turbo with its 74 kW and 160 Nm -152 Nm in the case of the CVT – will likely result in most buyers holding out till next year, the normally aspirated Renault Kiger, more than ever, provides a significantly impressive base after its update.
Although still hamstrung by its drivetrain, it is an otherwise well-devised package, and arguably more so now after its makeover.
Price
If still not enough, it still undercuts the Magnite on price, even after adopting the same price cuts as the Nissan, which sees the Evolution being R30 000 cheaper than the pre-facelift model.
For the pair of Techno models, the drop amounts to R20 000 regardless of the transmission option.
As before, all three models’ price tags include a five-year/150 000 km warranty and a two-year/30 000 km service plan.
- Kiger 1.0 Evolution – R219 999
- Kiger 1.0 Techno – R244 999
- Kiger 1.0 Techno Easy-R AMT – R254 999
