Renault Kiger CVT Review: All You Need To Know About The New Compact SUV

Kiger comes with either a standard 1.0l petrol with an AMT or manual gearbox while the turbo petrol version comes with a CVT automatic and a manual.

Renault Kiger CVT.

Subcompact SUVs are currently trending and we can see why with less space available in our cities plus with them packing in features or performance similar to bigger compact SUVs. A case in point is the Kiger CVT from Renault. We have driven the manual turbo version sometime back but recently we got to drive the CVT automatic version.

To recap, the Kiger comes with either a standard 1.0l petrol with an AMT or manual gearbox while the turbo petrol version comes with a CVT automatic and a manual.

We think the turbo petrol is the USP of the Kiger along with this CVT. You see, most SUVs at this price have an AMT which, though getting much better, cannot match a CVT in terms of being a proper automatic. The turbo petrol makes 100bhp and that does give the Kiger a lot of performance since the Kiger is a light/compact package.

The CVT no doubt adds to that experience with smooth shifts in the city and fast enough when you want that quick overtake. However, back in the city is where the CVT Kiger shines and why people would buy this car.

The automatic is smooth and makes bumper-to-bumper traffic painless to be. The Kiger turbo comes with three drive modes and normal is the best but Sport seriously makes this a quick car with a sense of urgency. For highway performance, sport mode makes the most sense while normal remains suited for city use. 

For hill driving, you can slot the gear lever in L mode where it holds gear and enables more power for climbing hill sections. Further on, the ride and handling of the Kiger remain a strong point like bigger brother Duster.

You have the confidence to tackle bad roads at high speeds and it does handle bad patches of the roads very well. The Kiger also feels agile and nimble along with easy-to-use steering too. We only wish for fewer vibrations and noise from the engine else the Kiger CVT with the turbo is a very good package.

In red we would say it looks good too with being more futuristic than rivals while it does come with a lot of kit like an 8inch touchscreen, wireless smartphone connectivity, cruise control, cooled glovebox, air purifier, ambient lighting, rearview camera and four airbags. Priced at Rs 10 lakh the Kiger CVT might be a sizeable premium over the manual turbo but the convenience of an automatic is worth it and as an overall package it is still cheaper than other automatic subcompact SUVs. As a city-based small SUV with an automatic, you can look at the Kiger CVT.

What we like: looks, features, CVT automatic, performance

what we don't like: refinement could be better