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Renault has often been an innovator of new vehicles – after all, it created the mid-sized MPV class with the Scenic. But the French firm has moved at an escargot's pace to exploit the rapidly growing crossover market while its Alliance partner Nissan has been harvesting huge profits for years from its Qashqai.
In 2013 Renault finally got its act together and released the Clio-based Captur which has proved a big hit with around 30,000 sales in the UK to date. But it's that car’s larger brother, the Kadjar, which promises to reap bigger rewards.
Set to hit UK showrooms in September it will take on the Peugeot 3008, Volkswagen Tiguan and, of course the market-leading Nissan Qashqai.
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The Kadjar uses the modular platform from the Qashqai - some of the parts are even assembled at Nissan’s Sunderland Plant then shipped to Spain where the Renault is built. It also shares suspension, tyres, gearboxes and engines with its sister car. And this gives the Renault a great start in life, because unsurprisingly it feels pretty much identical to drive.
So while you’d never describe it as fun the Kadjar is very competent, with precise steering and grippy handling. Visibility is good, and this combined with light, precise controls make the Kadjar relatively easy to manoeuvre in town.
The car rides well too, thanks to supple suspension that soaks up the bumps. Only on really broken surfaces it does start to lose composure and fidget about, though. The Renault doesn't feature the Active Body Control that Nissan uses to stabilise its car in undulating bumps by using the ABS to nibble at the rear brakes - Renault’s engineers thought such gadgetry unnecessary. And our first impression is that they are right.
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Renault clearly believed the entry-level 1.2-litre turbo petrol needed a bit more power too, as here in the Kadjar it has 128bhp – 15bhp more the Qashqai. While it’s not a huge leap, it does make the car feel slightly more sprightly and cuts the 0-62mph sprint time by almost a second, yet delivers the same 50.4mpg in the base trim Expression+ model.
For those people who will mainly be driving in town the Kadjar 1.2 TCe will do the job just fine. But for those doing more miles they will be better off with one of the two diesels available: a 1.5 (available with a six-speed dual clutch automatic) or a 1.6-litre (available with all-wheel drive), not only for their superior economy but also for their added punch.
At higher speeds the 1.2-litre petrol starts to struggle and requires you to change down a gear or two to overtake, and when accelerating in higher gears the little turbo makes a faint whining sound like there’s balloon being deflated under the bonnet.
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The Kadjar also suffers a bit of wind whistle round the A-pillars, while there’s noticeably more tyre roar from the 19-inch wheels on the range-topping Signature Nav we tested. Other models fitted with 17-inch wheels don’t suffer quite so badly with this.
Still, the larger wheels look great and overall the Kadjar is a very stylish car. While it may share most of its mechanicals with the Qashqai, almost everything you see and touch is new. For example the interior design is more sporty and this extends to the graphics on its easy-to-read digital instrument cluster.
All but the entry car gets Renault’s latest R-Link 2 touchscreen infotainment system. This includes navigation and lets you can download various apps from the R-Link store. But it’s the exterior design that really sets the Kadjar apart from the crossover pack.
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Obviously beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in our opinion the Renault is one of the most distinctive soft-roaders out there. With its concept car-like nose, swooping side panels and sculptured rear lights, there is a distinct Gallic flair. Brave, considering the Kadjar has been built as a global car that will spearhead Renault’s attack on previously untapped markets such as China.
The exterior dimensions are almost identical to the Nissan apart from at the rear where the Kadjar has marginally more rear overhang. This yields 42 litres more boot space than the Nissan, with a total of 472 litres.
There are some neat touches too such as a modular boot. This features two panels that can be arranged vertically to divide up the space or, when fitted horizontally, raise up the floor, to create a flat load bay when the rear seats are folded. Unfortunately, these and the movable floor are only available on the two top-spec cars.
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Our test vehicle was the most expensive Signature Nav trim. This includes fluid LED headlamps, ‘signature’ cloth and leather upholstery, a BOSE stereo and a panoramic sunroof – which, while a nice feature, does eat into rear headroom slightly. Thankfully there is still just about enough room in the back seats for a six-foot passenger.
However, in this range-topping guise, the Kadjar does start to get a little bit expensive – though overall Renault claims that like-for-like its car is still slightly cheaper yet better equipped than the equivalent Qashqai. The difference is marginal and unlikely to be the deciding factor when choosing which to go for.
Renault may be rather late to the mid-sized cross over party, but what an entrance it is.
- Price: £21,695
- Engine: 1.2-litre turbo petrol
- Power: 128bhp
- 0-62mph: 10.1 secs
- Top speed: 119mph
- Economy/CO2: 48.7mpg/130g/km
- On sale: Now
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