Renault Kiger off to strong start

Renault Kiger, the newest sub-compact SUV in the Indian car market is off to a positive start with Renault informing on Wednesday that it had delivered more than 1,100 units on Day 1 of the sales beginning. Kiger has been priced attractively and starts at INR 5.45 lakh and goes up to INR 9.72 lakh (ex-showroom prices).

Sales of Renault Kiger started on Wednesday and at least 1,100 units were delivered to customers. "We thank our customers for their encouraging response on Kiger and our dealer partners for their immense support," said Venkatram Mamillapalle, Country CEO and Managing Director, Renault India Operations. "Following Duster, which made SUVs accessible to a large set of people, not just in India but across the world, Kiger is all set to make SUV aspirations accessible to a whole new set of customers."

Accessibility, along with affordability, has become the new buzzword in the sub-compact SUV space which has seen a whole lot of traction in recent times. Kiger is now looking at creating a space for itself here and comes with two petrol engine options - a 1.0-litre naturally aspirated motor and a 1.0-litre turbocharged motor. Transmission choices range between a five-speed manual, AT and CVT.

Kiger also has an exterior design that is a departure from the rather boxy shape which defines most of its rivals. While a bulky shape is often preferred by customers in this segment, Kiger has a rather sporty appeal from the side and is coupe-ish to look at. From the front, it is similar to the Kwid with a few distinct elements of its own, the square-box LED DRLs for instance.

Inside, Kiger does offer quite a lot of space and a high seating position helps occupants get a generous view of the road ahead and of the surroundings.

Renault is also offering accessory packs with all four variants of the car which are RXE, RXL, RXT, and RXZ. These packs, at an additional cost, bring in more chrome, body graphics, mud flaps, choice of cabin carpet and more, depending on which pack is selected.

Kiger is going head-on against the likes of Nissan Magnite, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Toyota Urban Cruiser, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon and Mahindra XUV300 in the Indian market.