The Renault Kiger RS would be a nice future addition to what is going to be a very important contender in the Indian mini SUV segment
The Renault Kiger sub-4m crossover SUV debuted amidst much fanfare and it looks promising. While prices are yet to be announced, it seems like the French automaker has a winner on its hands. If its sibling, the Nissan Magnite, is anything to go by, the Kiger is in for a warm response from its target audience.
Renault Kiger RS – Speculative rendering
With a snazzy design, the Renault Kiger would form an excellent base for a sportier RS variant. Renault has not announced any official plans to come up with an RS variant but our design specialist Pratyush Rout went ahead and envisioned it through this speculative rendering. As you can see, it doesn’t take much to up the Kiger’s sporty quotient.
The Renault Kiger RS, if at all becomes a reality someday, would feature a more aggressive front grille. The rendering’s honeycomb mesh and subtle chrome headline gives the mini crossover a sporty intent.
A new sleeker chin and large dual-tone alloy wheels add to the overall appeal. And it wouldn’t be a Renault RS without the trademark yellow exterior paint scheme with contrast black roof.
A sportier variant like this would also offer exclusive interior accents and colour themes. The regular variant’s full black interior is easily customizable and an exterior colour coordinated appointments would be a nice touch.
Renault’s shot at sub-4m segment
Renault has to be credited for kick starting the crossover revolution in India with the Duster. However, it took this long for the automaker to partake in the highly lucrative sub-4m segment. With heavy localization of the CMF-A+ platform augmented by economies of scale that comes from sharing the platform with brisk selling Nissan Magnite, Renault is poised to come up with a very tempting price range for the Kiger.
From what we see, the only problem the company may face after the launch is orders pouring in much faster than the Alliance’s Oragadam plant could roll the cars out. However, if Renault could ensure enough supply, the Kiger sales is expected to provide the struggling Renault Nissan Alliance a much needed shot in the arm. It would also do a world of good to the facility which has been suffering from under utilization for a prolonged time.
Rivals
The Renault Kiger will be joining a fierce multi-product battle that involves its sibling Nissan Magnite, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Maruti Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and Ford EcoSport. We think the soon-to-be-launched French crossover has what it takes to quickly emerge as one of the top contenders in its segment, especially if the starting price is in the vicinity of INR 5 lakh (ex-showroom).
