[Twiny]

Hi, Would like to know the options for adding a second set of horns to Kiger. Why I am enquiring this is, because the sound of the oem horn, is felt more inside the car than outside. This maybe mostly due to the fact that one horn is fully covered by the bumper.
Thanks

[jomyboy]

So last evening on a drive, suddenly for a patch of road I felt I had to give more acceleration to get the car moving, the engine was also revving more, car wouldn't move unless i pressed the accelerator and even after getting to a speed of 40, on taking the foot off the accelerator, the car felt like engine braking. I stopped the car, switched off the a/c and switched to economy mode to understand what was happening, but everything was normal after that. Switched back to normal mode and I couldn't replicate the problem. Another of hour driving and nothing. Just wondering what could have been the problem? CVT related or something else? Thanks.

[saurav_s]

Hi,

I am seriously considering the Kiger RXZ CVT. Did a test drive and loved almost everything about the car.

The only thing that is making me think twice, is the lack of a decent service network. In Mumbai, they have just 2 service centers While they provide pick up and drop service, what I am worried about is the time the car may need to spend at the service center waiting for spare parts. From what I have read on some other Team-BHP threads, owners have mentioned that at times they have had to wait for 3-7 days to get the car repaired and back.

Is that the general experience?

While I don't drive the car to office everyday, but it's required by the Missus to ferry the kid to school and back, plus classes, etc. Given Mumbai monsoons, car being in the workshop for a week is a nightmare scenario for us

Need some advice to help take the right decision.

Other cars under consideration are the automatic variants of Fronx and Venue.

[sid3091]

Originally Posted by saurav_s

Hi,

I am seriously considering the Kiger RXZ CVT. Did a test drive and loved almost everything about the car.

The only thing that is making me think twice, is the lack of a decent service network. In Mumbai, they have just 2 service centers While they provide pick up and drop service, what I am worried about is the time the car may need to spend at the service center waiting for spare parts. From what I have read on some other Team-BHP threads, owners have mentioned that at times they have had to wait for 3-7 days to get the car repaired and back.

Is that the general experience?

While I don't drive the car to office everyday, but it's required by the Missus to ferry the kid to school and back, plus classes, etc. Given Mumbai monsoons, car being in the workshop for a week is a nightmare scenario for us

Need some advice to help take the right decision.

Other cars under consideration are the automatic variants of Fronx and Venue.

Can't speak to their quality of service in Mumbai, but my Kiger Turbo MT handled Delhi's crazy monsoon this year like a champ.

[jomyboy]

Originally Posted by saurav_s

Hi,
Is that the general experience?

I haven't given the car for any repairs yet, but servicing has been a good experience thus far. Small scratches were all taken care off within the day. Had my rear LED tail light broken, they had it in spare, opted for scotch tape fix though. It helps that I live 5-minute walking distance from the Andheri service centre

[saurav_s]

Originally Posted by jomyboy

It helps that I live 5-minute walking distance from the Andheri service centre

I think that makes a big difference, I stay 15 kms away, hence the apprehension.

Anyway, thank you for your reverts, I have made my decision, booked a maruti fronx automatic (putting ease of service/spares availability over heart).

Hopefully, will interact more on the fronx thread now

[jomyboy]

Earlier in the week, while driving out of Mumbai for a wedding function, I noticed a grinding sound as well as car vibrating when I pressed the accelerator hard to get an overtake done, I couldn't get the problem to replicate. Again, drove for many kilometers, but could not replicate the same. Today, whilst driving to drop someone off at the airport, again the same griding sound with car vibrating. This time I tried to prod it more than to ease off the accelerator to understand what is happening, and its almost like some tin can is getting crushed at the rear of the car with the car vibrating. Took the foot off the pedal and tried again and everything was hunky dory, pressing as hard as I wanted, the car had linear pull without problems, but I have had enough of it now. Called the service center and they have asked me to get the car in on Monday, looks like a belt slip issue.

[jomyboy]

Finally got my car back yesterday. The good news is that there is nothing wrong with the CVT transmission. The car spent a day in the workshop with them trying to figure out what could be the issue including test drives and they did whatever they could and asked me to test the car myself. So today morning (election-day holiday, meaning free roads at least while exiting Mumbai) went for a 100 km ride and spent a good time accelerating and breaking and it was all butter smooth, so incredibly satisfied with that.

Whilst in the centre, they did a fuel injection programming update. Also, finally got the auto-lock to work after over a year, never missed it anyway . Most importantly, I don't know what they have done, but now I can switch off my car and then close the windows, which I couldn't earlier and was a massive sore point.

[envira]

An update to the ownership after 26000km in nearly 1 year and 11 months.

As I have described in my previous posts, the cons outweigh this car's pros.
1. The car rattles - a lot even on normal roads. Thanks to the cheap plastics, including the door pad clamps. Absolutely crappy.
2. Poor noise insulation - the wind gushes are heard above 80kmph.
3. Brake sound - Still persists.
Replaced the stock brake pads which were completely worn out in less than 20k km. Poor quality of spares. I replaced them with TVS Brakepads which are somewhat better in terms of braking.
4. AC cooling - poor cooling capacity and not enough for Indian weather conditions.
5. Mileage - it is a fuel sucker - just gives 8-10 kmpl within the city and 14-15kmpl on highways with sedate driving.

Things that were replaced under warranty in the previous months -
1. Battery died less than a year - replaced from the SC
2. Steering Rack - The stock steering rack was faulty and on complete turn used to produce clicking noise - replaced from the SC.

Issues with driving:
1. My Wife Met with an accident due to a biker who came in the wrong direction. She stepped on the brake to avoid a collision, the biker brushed off the right doors and the fenders which were damaged. A truck from behind hit the car after brakes were applied, which damaged the rear boot and its lid. Luckily no one was hurt, and the repair was done by the SC which was covered under the Insurance.

Additions to the car:

Minor upgrades to the car have been done recently, including
1. Damping the car doors, hood, and boot for better noise insulation.
The damping sheets were purchased online - Vibrofiltr 2.3mm, STP 2.0mm.
A total of 15 sheets were used. 2 and 1/2 sheets for each door, 2 for the hood, and 3 for the rear boot lid.
The work was done by a known mechanic who came to the home and installed the sheets in our parking. The work took nearly 8 hours to complete.
After damping was done, I noticed a significant reduction in the external noises and improved the door thud.

Audio quality improved by nearly 50% with the stock speakers. I have planned for an audio upgrade but I will now resort to stock speakers as they sound better with damping.

2. Changed the default horn to a Trumpet horn - Moco brand. The horn sounds better although I use it less. The horn is loud enough to warn the oncoming traffic. (Here bikers are a menace, as they are in a rush always, hence the accident which I mentioned previously).

There are a lot of deficiencies for this 13 lakh plus vehicle. Added to the already underwhelming vehicle, the service center woes are a bonus.

Although I personally am not a fan of this vehicle, I wish to keep it as it is used by my wife primarily for her office commute.

[cowboy45]

Hi everyone,

I couldn’t find any discussion about this, so I’m hoping someone here can help. In all the cars I’ve owned before my Renault Kiger CVT Turbo, the doors could be opened directly using the door latch when the ignition was off. However, in the Kiger, I have to press the lock/unlock button on the center console to unlock the doors—even when the car is stationary, in parking mode, and the ignition is off.

This has been a bit inconvenient, especially at malls or hotel valets, where they’re often unaware that the doors need to be unlocked manually via the button. It’s also something I personally keep forgetting.

I know how to activate/deactivate the speed-sensing auto-lock, but turning it off doesn’t seem to affect this behavior. Is there a way to enable automatic door unlocking when the ignition is turned off? Or is this just how the Kiger is designed to function?

[jomyboy]

18-month update
Apart from a slight niggle for which I had to give the car to the service centre with regards to excessive engine braking, which has been solved, the car has been otherwise trouble-free through the entire monsoon and now through to the new year. I haven’t had to pay anything for any repair work undertaken as yet, which gives me great comfort going further with my ownership.

I have been thoroughly impressed with the way the car has performed in the city. If I am in the market for a new car, I might just go for the Kiger facelift again. I damn care about the plastics and all, but had they done a better job with the insulation of the car and taken care of the rattles here and there, I would just tell anyone and everyone in my circle to get this car for at least Mumbai city driving, small things that would just elevate the worthiness of this car amongst its peers.

For all the aplomb that I have to give to this car, due should be given to that brilliant CVT-turbo combination. 18 months down the line, having made numerous outings to Lonavala and Pune through the ghats, not once has anyone in my car had any problems with nausea/vomiting – this is seriously wow!! Had booked an Innova Chysta for a week in Wayanad thinking it would take care of our comforts, but despite the driver’s best efforts to take it as easy as he can, we had to step out of the car and take a couple of breaks.

For a 1 litre, three-cylinder car, I would have thought I would getter mileage, but people in BMW and all seem to be posting mileage as good as 20+ while I am stuck between 7-8. The turbo CVT is certainly not for the weak-pocketed

Another thing that I have noted is rumble strips, especially the ones at Atal Setu. I am in shock when I see other cars whiz by, the Kiger don’t like no rumble strips, but other bumps and potholes in the city its suspension is the best that I have owned coming from Swift, Accent and Xcent. The shock of the rumble strips is such that it literally radiates across from the wheels to the steering wheel.

Initially, I was very unhappy with the car’s brakes, but come a year later I am more than comfortable. Just the other night, I had to pull off a mighty job with ABS kicking in big time and the car went from 40 to 0 in quick order; unfortunately, the Kwid behind me got whacked by an autorickshaw.

Will come back at the two-year mark and let y’all know how the service goes through. Till then au revoir et bonne conduit!

[carhead]

Query for fellow TBHPians - what is the level of commonality between Kiger & Duster platform? While they're from 2 different segments there would be some Duster DNA. Is there any similarity in the ride & suspension?

[Refan]

Originally Posted by carhead

Query for fellow TBHPians - what is the level of commonality between Kiger & Duster platform? While they're from 2 different segments there would be some Duster DNA. Is there any similarity in the ride & suspension?

Both are different platforms altogether. Duster is a different league when it comes to the ride and suspension. The French are always known for superior ride comfort and its their DNA. Renault has done good R&D and have taken their experience from India's version of duster and have utilized for Kiger. Kiger is one of the best ride handlers and suspension in its segment.

[Refan]

Kiger safety features in real-time:
I have been using kiger cvt for 1.5 years and i had occasionally the problem of brakes not having the bite which I expected. I went to the service centre and i told them the issue. I told them the brakes loses the bite but its difficult to reproduce the problem since it occurred rarely without any common situations. They checked the brake pads and told me the pads are in good condition and would easily survive another 10k kms. For my concern they said they have scrubbed the pads and have fitted them again and they told i should not get that problem again.

To be honest it worked and have driven 5k kms after that and i never faced that issue again despite going in wet roads.

There was a situation where it saved lives. I was cruising at around 60 in a 4 ways bypass road. A drunken man out of nowhere suddenly jumped from the divider towards the vehicle. In a panic reaction i pressed the full brake. The vehicle stood its ground and it stopped instantly without any skidding. It really saved his life who was still in his alcoholic state moved away without even realizing what has happened and how he is blessed to survive in few centimetres. The ESC in Kiger worked perfectly as well since the vehicle dint even move an inch to the left or right despite the hard braking at a decent speed.

There was another scenario where a there was a Baleno followed by two cars and i was the third. The Baleno stopped the car suddenly without any indicator to take the right turn. This created a ripple effect for the behind cars. The first car braked but kind of almost hit Baleno and the second car was in full braking and almost halted. To avoid the front car i had to oversteer to the left and to counter it had to oversteer to the right as well. The Kiger was like a tank and was in full control and i never felt the car was losing control despite the oversteer.

I felt the importance of steering stabilization, ESC and all those safety parameters came into the effect and felt i took the right decision in purchasing this car. Often Indian customers rarely look into the safety aspects but these are the important parameters one should look while buying a car. Its good decision by Renault and also by some other manufacturers to provide these safety features as a standard across variants. And at least in India we should realize that even with these features along with a high NCAP rating doesn't guarantee a help if the vehicle is overspeeding and doesn't obey the traffic guidelines. Stay within the speed limits and abide by the traffic rules and enjoy the drive.

[anuragsingh]

I took my Renault Kiger on another trip, this time in the first week of January 2025, from Mumbai to Ganpatipule.

Started at 6 AM from Mumbai and went through Panvel before joining NH66. The roads are good overall. But there are certain sections on NH66 still under construction and due to that there are a lot of diversions on the route.



The last 40 km of this Mumbai to Ganpatipule is on state highways, a lot of that on very narrow roads, passing through ghats and forests. Be very careful while passing through it as the road is wide enough for just 1 vehicle and if there is another one coming from the opposite side, 1 will have to move away from the road to give side.

Our stay in Ganpatipule was in the MTDC report which in my opinion is the best place to stay here. It is right next to the Ganpati temple and has a private beach.

About Kiger Now

I will complete 3 years with Kiger in April 2025. And so far it has been a perfect companion. No big issues so far. I have only gone to a service centre for periodic maintenance, that's it.

A few good things worth highlighting:

1- The RXZ Turbo variant has enough power to drive on all kinds of roads and overtaking is not an issue if you stay in the turbo range.
2- Wireless Android Auto works flawlessly. I have driven for more than 12 hours a day on many occasions and this feature always works.
3- The infotainment screen is not very fancy. But it works. Have never encountered a day when it stopped or got stuck.
4- Light steering helps in city drives and it gains enough weight at higher speeds.
5- Very good mileage

The only issue that I have with Kiger after close to 3 years of experience is the NVH levels and the ratting sound due to poor fitting. There is a lot of road noise which creeps in while driving on concrete roads at higher speeds.
And I hear a lot of ratting sounds while driving on bad roads. But it is not permanent and goes away when driving on good roads.

Overall Kiger has been a very reliable and low-maintenance car for me. And I plan to keep it for many more years before upgrading to a new one.