The Renault Kadjar is a stylish approach to a market segment marred by designs that some say are becoming increasingly bland.
When it was launched in 2015 with a price tag of £17,995, one of the other key draws of this family SUV was its value for money. And prices are even more enticing today, as used Kadjars with fewer than 30,000 miles on the clock start at around £10,000.
What exactly are you getting for the money? While the Kadjar can’t quite match its Mk2 Nissan Qashqai relation for refinement, it offers hatchback-like handling, good performance, strong standard kit and, to our eyes, a prettier design.
Practicality is good too. With its two-tier boot floor lowered, the Kadjar offers a respectable 472 litres of luggage capacity (more than the Qashqai, at 430 litres), growing to 1478 litres when the rear seats are folded flat.
The Kadjar was available initially with three engines. The sole petrol option was a 128bhp turbocharged 1.2-litre unit (TCe) getting 50.4mpg. A 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine (dCi) opened the diesel range with 108bhp and up to 74mpg; and then there was a 1.6-litre four-cylinder diesel with 128bhp, 58.8mpg and the option of four-wheel drive.
The best and most refined Kadjar engines, however, were added after the model’s 2019 update, which also brought a more modern-looking design. The new 1.3-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol (co-engineered with Mercedes-Benz and therefore also used in the A-Class) was introduced in 138bhp and 158bhp guises.
Both these petrol units are good choices, with improved low-range torque over the previous ones, so much so that 70% of buyers opted for one over a diesel. Both were also sold with either a manual or an automatic gearbox.
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