Well, if there was ever an award for a car which is very very talented, it has lots of abilities, but unfortunately cannot turn those abilities into sales success, then the Renault Kaiger 2025 would be one of the top five contenders.

Yes, this is one of the best compact SUVs out there. It’s great in terms of the value, great in terms of the space, great in terms of the engine performance because it’s a turbo engine, but unfortunately, a lot of people don’t buy this car. Very few numbers sell.

That’s probably because people like to go with the safe option or maybe people aren’t aware what this car has to offer and what its abilities really are all about.

But before you say that this is going to be a paid review or it seems like a paid review, let me just tell you that whenever I’ve reviewed the Kaiger, even the last gen version of the car, it’s always been positive, always been very nice because this is a very capable car. And I’ll tell you all about it and the updated version in today’s video.

 

Exterior Design – A Complete Makeover

Well, so if you see the face of the car, it’s been completely changed. It’s a complete makeover on the face.

 

Front Design and Styling

Now, let’s begin from the bottom part. You see multiple elements over here on the bumper. It’s a very heavily sculpted bumper. You also, of course, get these corning lamps over here.

You get the headlamps over here. And this unit looks more or less the same like the early version of the car. You also get the LEDs over here like the early version of the car, but this center portion and of course the logo has been modified quite a bit.

And the hood now, the bonnet now gets this power dome in the middle which just gives you that little bit of aggression, a little bit of sportiness and of course that bold look that makes this car stand out from a set of other compact SUVs.

In fact, if you look at it, it doesn’t really look like a compact SUV. It looks like a midsize SUV. Even though it’s under 4 m in length, it looks as if it’s slightly longer than that.

 

Side Profile and Details Of Renault Kiger 2025

Now, if you see the side profile, again, more or less the same, but you do get this new turbo badging over here. And you also get a new look and new feel for the 16-in wheels.

The alloy wheel design is different and of course the side mirrors now get cameras in them because this car has a camera on this side, on that side, and of course at the back as well along with a new list of features which I’ll tell you once we jump inside.

 

Rear Profile and Boot Space

Now if you go on the back side, we’ll turn the car around and show you how the look of the back is as well.

Boot Space and Practicality

Well, let me quickly show you the boot of the Kiger because this car’s boot has been one of the biggest selling points of this car.

Now once you open it up, you can see that it’s a nice and spacious boot. So, it’s a very square booten design and what that means is that you can load in a lot of luggage into this. Two big large suitcases can easily go in and one small bag can go in. So, your weekend getaway is taken care of.

The only thing is there’s a huge silhouette. It’s a very deep and huge sill. So, whatever bags you’re loading in, you’ll have to really pick them up and put your bag into it. You can’t slide them in and pull them out.

But that’s something that you also find on the Fronx. Yes, if you think the Fronx is better, no, it’s exactly the same. And even the Nissan Magnite, a car which this car shares its components with (same platform), basically has the same kind of issue.

The Brezza, the Tata Nexon as well as the Kia Sonet though are slightly better because they have an easy system where you can pull it in and pull it out. So it’s a flat loading area.

But this one of course you have to use your back because you have to lift things out and put them in. Other than that, it’s a nice and spacious boot. I’ll give a respectable score of 8 out of 10.

 

Interior and Cabin Experience

Now, time for me to take this car out on track and rev it up like the rest of the journalists doing behind me.

 

Dashboard and Technology

Well, I’m inside the cabin of the new Renault Kiger. Now, in terms of the overall design of the gauges, exactly the same. So, you get complete digital gauges, lots of information, tire pressure monitor, distance to empty, and the same kind of paraphernal you got in the other car, the older car.

You also get automatic headlamps, you also get cruise control. The way that you use cruise control is a little odd because you have to press this button here to activate it. Then you have to set it from here. So that can be a little confusing for first-time users. But once you get the hang of it, it’s quite okay.

You also get this four-vision camera or bird’s-eye view camera. You don’t, of course, get a top angle view, but you can get the four edges of the car. So it’s not really a bird’s-eye view camera.

You also get now cool front seats as well as ESP. And the touchscreen is decent to operate. It’s not the best in terms of the usage. It’s a little laggy still, but is it better than the Fronx and the Brezza system? No, it’s not.

The Fronx and Brezza still have a better system, but this one is quite okay to use and no complaints considering the price of the car.

 

Interior Upgrades

The new thing on the car, of course, is that you get leatherette seats over here. So that’s something new. The earlier version had only regular cotton upholstery, but this one is now leatherette.

You also get this huge box over where you can keep a lot of stuff. Driving modes, that’s something that the Fronx does not offer. And these modes actually do work.

Ambient lighting again something the Fronx doesn’t get. So yes, lots of features which this car has additionally which the Fronx doesn’t but which one do you prefer?

The seat comfort on this car is quite good in isolation but again if you compare with the Fronx it’s just half a point behind.

Lots of places to keep your odds and ends as well. And just in general the cabin ambience is quite good. The Euro plastic fit and finish though could have been better.

And as you can see, it’s not really the best in terms of the fittings as well overall. But still, generally good job done by Renault in terms of upgrading the interiors, just that the overall fit and finish could have been slightly better.

I’ll give the front end of the cabin a respectable score of 8.5 out of 10.

 

Rear Seat Comfort

 

Well, so now I’m inside the cabin of the Renault Kaiger 2025. Now, in terms of the knee room, it is quite good. Headroom is also more than sufficient. You also get this big armrest over here which you can pop out and keep a couple of beverages or your cell phone and wallet.

Unfortunately, there is no central passenger’s headrest. So that is a bit of a surprise. What’s also a bit of a surprise is the fact that the C-pillar is completely covered.

So you don’t have too much light coming and there’s no quarter glass at the back. So sometimes on those long distance journeys you can get a little irritated because it can get a little claustrophobic.

Other than that, I think it’s a nice and decent place to be in. Your hip and knee angle is at a nice 90°. You get your own cabinets over here or maybe you know places where you can keep your file and the AC vents are also there.

But the USB Type-C is missing. You only get a 12V charging socket. So no old school, no USB Type-C.

That’s something which is a bit of a surprise. But other than that, I think it is a fair place to be. I’ll give a respectable score of 8 out of 10.

 

Driving Experience and Performance

Well, so here I’m driving the Renault Kiger now and I have to say that this car impresses immediately with the ride comfort.

The ride comfort on this car is very good indeed. If you’ve ever sat inside a Renault Duster, then you will be knowing what I’m talking about.

 

Ride and Handling

It’s not as good as the Duster, still maybe half a step or one step below the Duster in terms of outright ride comfort. That car’s ride was completely flat. This one comes pretty close to it.

High speed stability also is quite good which has always been a big forte with the Renault cars especially with the Kiger.

The steering wheel, it’s neither very light nor too heavy. It’s got the right amount of weight in it but it’s not a very direct feeling steering wheel.

So that’s something that maybe could have been improved.

 

Engine and Gearbox

What you’ll also appreciate is the turbo engine because the turbo engine’s performance is really very good. It feels very peppy, feels nice and lively, especially if you use the sport mode instead of the normal or eco mode.

The gearbox – well, there’s a CVT option which I would definitely advise you to take because that’s a hassle-free gearbox. The manual one is decent, but the throws are very notchy.

It’s not like a Honda or a Hyundai or a Maruti gearbox. It’s very notchy. Throws aren’t very good and there’s no fun in changing gears basically.

 

NVH and Refinement

The engine noise – Renault said that they have worked on it. They have controlled it quite a bit. I’m not too sure if they’ve done a big job on it, but definitely there’s a slight improvement from the older version.

It’s not really the quietest of turbo engines. If you push it above 3,000 RPM, there’s a certain roughness and gruffness about the engine.

Nonetheless, for everyday users, it’s a good package overall.

 

Final Verdict

Overall, what’s my verdict? Well, I’ll give it a good score of 8.5 out of 10 because of the price, the kind of performance you get, the different driving modes you get, and of course, the ride comfort that you get is genuinely quite good.

The only thing is that the refinement could have been better.

And as said, if they had given you a better gearbox on this car, then I would have definitely given it a higher score, maybe even a 9.5 out of 10.

Nonetheless, 8.5 out of 10.

Now, let’s stop the car and give you a definitive summary report.

 

Summary – Should You Buy the Renault Kiger 2025?

Well, so what’s my final verdict with the new Magnite? No, it’s not the Magnite. It’s the Kiger.

If you compare this car with the Magnite and you plan to buy one, then my vote will be with the Renault Kiger simply because the way it looks on the outside.

It’s very aggressive, very dominant also because it has some additional features and because it also has very unique features like cool front seats, cameras all across which the Magnite still doesn’t have.

So yes, some features extra, the looks are aggressive.

That said, if you’re somebody who seeks performance, if you want value for money, if you want the automatic gearbox, a CVT gearbox, hassle-free, then also it’s a good product because the value for money quotient with this car is quite strong and that makes it a very good deal.

The only thing is that the interior quality could have been slightly better and maybe the ride could have been slightly better, but you know, every car has its positives and negatives.

You can’t get everything in the same package.

Overall though, it’s a nice well-rounded package which just needs a little more polish, but still I’ll give it a good score of 89 out of 100.