Review 2016 Renault Kadjar

Sand Blast!

At first glance you wouldn’t regard the new Renault Kadjar as a dune buggy. And it’s not, but you’d be surprised at how much fun you can have with it in the sand.

When I was summoned to drive Renault’s brand-new Kadjar in the dunes of Atlantis just north of Cape Town, I had my doubts. I saw myself shovelling sand all day while being heckled by Landy owners.

So it came as a surprise when I found myself zipping over the soft white powder. I’m sure the guys from the local 4x4 club were equally shocked to see the red Renault scampering up and down the dunes. (We did deflate the tyres to 1.2 bar, which obviously helped.)

If the Kadjar looks familiar, it’s because it shares a chassis and a number of other components with the Nissan Qashqai. An alliance between manufacturers is nothing new, but the Qashqai was launched a full year before the Kadjar and you can’t help but wonder if Renault used this time to improve on Nissan’s efforts.

The French did indeed make a few changes: The Kadjar has a slightly bigger bum, which means a larger boot than that of its Japanese cousin, and it has a more modern and playful appearance.

Inside? When you slide in behind the wheel you’ll be impressed by the all-black interior and the chrome strips that frame the switch clusters.

It is only when you start tapping on the plastic with your fingernails that you realise the materials used are not quite as genteel as they first appeared. At least the surfaces are hard-wearing and the spartan design should be easy to keep clean.

The all-wheel-drive version I tested has a dial close to the gear lever, with settings for two-wheel drive (front wheels), auto mode and lock. In auto, the Kadjar’s brain will detect wheel slip and send power to that wheel.

Lock mode send s an equal amount of power to the front and back axles, but you have to stay under 40 km/h. If you go above that speed, the engine mode will automatically switch back to auto. (The standard two-wheel-drive Kadjar has coin slots where this dial would otherwise be â€" good for storing a few R5 coins for parking garages and car guards.)

The rear bench has plenty of legroom, but the ceiling seemed a bit low. That being said, my test car was equipped with a fixed-glass roof, which lowers the ceiling a bit. I’m also quite tall at 1,9 m. If you’re of average height you won’t have any reason to complain.

With all the seats up, there’s 470 litres of boot space. Not exactly cavernous, but it beats the Qashqai’s 430 litres.

What’s the ride like? The 1.2 petrol version felt fairly responsive to drive, although I did notice some turbo lag. However, there was a near complete lack of engine and road noise, which more than made up for this shortco ming. The steering was well weighted at speed and became as light as a feather when I had to park.

For me, the gearbox is the Kadjar’s biggest failing: The lever has an unusually long throw, which negates any sportiness the Kadjar would otherwise have.

If you have your heart set on the all-wheel-drive model, your only engine option is a 1.5-litre turbodiesel. And it’s not such a bad idea â€" if you’re not bothered by the sound of rattling valves. You’ll save fuel and you’ll have more torque at your disposal for climbing sand dunes.

Extras? The glass roof costs R8 000, but you’ll lose a bit of headroom as mentioned. Heated leather seats cost R12 000, a self-parking system co sts R10 000 and you can spend R8 000 to switch the standard 16" wheels for 19" wheels, which might look cool but they deliver a harsh ride â€" not recommended. If you can’t stop yourself from offloading even more cash on the Kadjar, consider the fold-out tow bar, alarm system (an immobiliser is standard), and a durable boot liner.

How much? The Kadjar is available in two spec levels: Expression (from R359 900) and Dynamique (from R384 900). The all-wheel-drive system is expensive, but it works well and it will enable you to take the Kadjar far off the beaten track.