Is The Renault Kiger India’s Most Underrated Car?

Launched in March 2021, the Kiger sub-4 meter compact SUV marked Renault’s entry into India’s hotly competitive sub-4 meter compact SUV market. Back then, the Maruti Brezza was the undisputed champion in this segment, and the Kiger had its task cut out. Initial sales of the Renault Kiger were decent, with the compact SUV managing to clock a steady 3,000 units, for nearly a year and a half after launch.

After that though, sales began to slow down and fell to a monthly average of about 2,000 units. From the middle of 2023, Kiger sales fell to under 1,000 monthly units and as time passed, the Kiger found itself as a back marker in the segment.

This, despite stablemate Nissan Magnite (virtually a Kiger with different styling and the Nissan badge) doing about 2,000 units consistently. While Nissan has about 270 dealerships, Renault has nearly double this number – 472 dealerships. For perspective, the Renault Kiger’s starting price of Rs. 5.99 lakh makes it cheaper than even hatchbacks such as the Maruti Swift and Baleno.

What makes the Kiger an underrated car that manages such few numbers despite offering great value? Let’s explore!

Sharply Priced

Let’s begin with the pricing. Ex-showroom prices for the Renault Kiger start at just Rs. 5.99 lakh rupees for the 1 liter petrol engined manual transmission (MT) equipped version. At this price point, the Kiger is cheaper than both the Maruti Baleno and Swift despite being a much larger car. In fact, it offers more ground clearance – 205 mm, and much better street presence.

Even the entry-level automatic version of the Kiger, with a 1 liter 3 cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine and AMT automatic gearbox is priced at 7.09 lakh, making it one of the most affordable automatic SUVs that money can buy in India. So, for those seeking value, the Kiger 1.0 MT and AMT is a no-brainer really.

Turbo CVT engine: Effective and effortless

And for those who want sprightly performance, there’s the 1 liter turbo petrol engine. This triple cylinder motor makes a healthy 100 Bhp-150 Nm, and is offered with two gearbox options. A five speed manual that brings out the engine’s rev happy nature and peppy performance, and a CVT automatic gearbox with stepped shifts that’s both effective and effortless. In fact, the CVT version of the Kiger is a great pick for those who are looking at a great city car that can also munch highway miles at high speeds.

Sturdy build: 4 Star GNCAP rating

For 5,99 lakh rupees, Renault also offers a 4 star Global NCAP crash test rated car that also has a stable body structure. A sturdy build quality and a safe structure are two other strengths of the Renault Kiger that are hard to ignore, really. In fact, for those who want a very affordable yet sturdy car, the Kiger makes a great case and w feel that Renault must do more to highlight this aspect of the car.

Comfortable ride quality

The French have honed their suspension tuning skills on cobblestoned roads of France, and this means that nearly every French car comes with excellent ride quality that’s a mix of comfort and stability. This is no different on the Kiger, which manages to deliver a very comfortable ride quality on the worst of roads while being stable enough to take curvy roads at high speed. If you want great ride quality that makes short work of bad city roads, the Kiger is the one to pick in the affordable SUV segment.

Distinct styling

Though the Kiger is nearly 4 years old, the low numbers it’s sold at means that it has novelty value on the road. The styling of this compact SUV has the typical French flair, making it a head turner. Everyone looking at a compact SUV/crossover that looks quite stylish and different from the current options in the market will do well to the consider the Kiger. It’s a car that stands out on the road just because of its styling.