Renault Kadjar

The Renault Kadjar is a sister car to the Nissan Qashqai, being born out of the long running Renault – Nissan Alliance. Despite using parts and sharing engines with the Qashqai, the Kadjar is slightly longer and has a bigger boot as a result – up from 430 litres in the Nissan to 472 litres. Passenger space remains the same with room for four six-foot adults. As with the Qashqai, the Renault is easy to drive thanks to its tall ride height giving the driver an excellent view of the road ahead. Body lean in corners is comparable to that of a normal hatchback and the ride is comfortable. The Kadjar makes for an excellent buy, the Advance Payments are more competitive than the Qashqai presently, the car is brimming with equipment and you have the advantage of a larger boot as well as a little exclusivity.

To Mobility customers the Renault Kadjar comes in four very well equipped trim levels: Play, Iconic, S-Edition and GT Line. Play cars have  17 inch alloy wheels, 7 inch infotainment screen with Bluetooth compatibility and a DAB radio, automatic headlights, hill-start assist and rear parking sensors. Iconic cars add automatic high-beam adjustment, rear passenger seat ventilation, heated door mirrors, 19 inch alloys, front and rear parking sensors and rear parking camera. The S Edition has a glass panoramic sunroof, LED headlights and fog lights, and USB sockets for the rear passengers. GT Line includes sporty GT branding, upgraded BOSE stereo, blind-spot warnings, traffic sign-reading tech, leather interior and autonomous parking.

The petrol engine for the Kadjar has been updated, the new 1.3 litre petrol (manual gearbox only on Scheme) which offers either 138bhp or 158bhp, both return a claimed economy of 47.9 miles per gallon and can reach 62 mph in 9.4 seconds, the 158 version increases the torque from 240Nm to 260 offering more grunt and potentially less gear changes.  The other option is the tried and tested 1.5 diesel which has been retuned to add 5 more horses, now 113, offering a 0-62 time of 11.7 and economy of 65.7 miles per gallon from a six speed manual or 6 speed dual clutch automatic. Please note that the figures are based on 17″ wheels, if you opt for 19″ wheels expect to see a reduction in mpg of 2-3 mpg.

Diesel Kadjar’s start at £95 AP manual or £595 automatic in Play trim. Automatic petrols start at £395 in Play trim.

Winter Best Buy – Renault Kadjar 1.3 Petrol 138 or 158 bhp Iconic Manual  –  Nil Advance Payment (£63.10 wpms) or £295 (£65.06 wpms) in S-Edition trim or £495 (£66.38 wpms) in GT Line Trim