THE PRICE IS RIGHT

Enter a new breed of compact SUVs: the value-engineered offerings from Renault and Nissan. Practically though, are they good enough to take on the best-sellers?

- SIMRAN RASTOGI

If you’re looking to buy a compact SUV at the moment, it’s but inevitable that the conversation shifts to the value offered by the two newest compact SUVs in India, brought to you by the Renault-Nissan alliance - the Kiger, and the Magnite. Especially considering everything they bring to the table. You’ve got two brand, spanking new compact SUVs (debuted in India, mind you) with fresh look-at-me styling, a thickly padded features list, and fairly modern powertrains, including turbo petrol motors and automatic gearboxes.

A far cry from the value-centric cars we’ve got in the past, no? Still, with the compact SUV segment throwing more than a few blockbusters our way, such as the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, and the more recent Kia Sonet, it begs the question if you can do well enough without spending the extra money — and that’s why the Sonet is here, for reference, considering the pricing does put it right at the very top of the segment, and away from being a direct competitor. Still, the answer is surprising, even to us.

Styling

It seems that with these compact SUVs, styling has gone from classic to futuristic, sacrificing a little of the SUV nature along the way. Between the Kiger and Magnite, the Magnite is marginally longer and wider, but the Kiger is 33mm taller, with both riding on a similar 2,500mm long wheelbase, incidentally the exact number for all the cars here.