Renault Kiger SUV to break cover today: What to expect from Sonet, Magnite rival
- Renault Kiger is expected to attract eyeballs courtesy its sporty visual profile and a feature-packed cabin.
- Kiger from Renault will lock horns with a long list of players in the sub-compact SUV segment, including Kia Sonet and Nissan Magnite.
Renault India will finally take the covers off of Kiger SUV which will become the latest sub-compact SUV to hit Indian roads once officially launched. The field is littered with options galore in this segment and while there is a market share for the taking, it is also a very closely-contested space with the likes of Hyundai Venue, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Mahindra KUV300 and the newer Kia Sonet, Toyota Urban Cruiser and Nissan Magnite fighting each other tooth and nail.
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What could help Kiger's cause, apart from the fact that it will be the latest in this growing list, is the promise of an eye-catching design and a feature-packed cabin - two of several factors that decides the fate of a product in the sub-compact SUV segment. If the photos of the concept Kiger are anything to go by, the latest Renault may well be one of the best-looking products ever from the French car maker. A floating roof design, coupled with split head lights, tri-LED projectors, C-shaped LED tail lights and alloy wheels are just some of the exterior highlights to look forward to.
Not much is yet known about the cabin but Renault has made big promises about packing in several-segment firsts.
Under the hood, the Kiger is likely to borrow the same 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol from its technical cousin - Nissan Magnite. Transmission duties may be handled by a five-speed manual and an AMT unit.
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Renault, much like Nissan had in December, is pinning a lot of hopes on Kiger to become an instant hit. And while it is unlikely to be as affordable as Magnite, it may well offer a whole lot of bang for the buck. Another point of difference vis-a-vis Nissan could be that Kiger isn't really a make-or-break product even if it carries the weight of expectations. This is because the likes of Kwid and Triber continue to do good business in their respective segments.
What Renault is also concentrating on though is ramping up its sales and post-sales network in the country. The company recently informed it had added 40 sales channels here in December alone. (Full report here)