Renault Kadjar coming to Aus
“It is with great excitement that I can confirm that the Renault Kadjar SUV will be coming to Australia in the second half of 2019,” said Managing Director of Renault Australia, Andrew Moore. “The Kadjar boasts sleek lines that flow in a sporty, yet elegant European fashion and is well placed to take the challenge right up to the established Japanese and Korean competitors as a refined European SUV, with torquey turbo performance and an upmarket interior.”
The competitors Moore’s referring to are most likely Nissan’s Qashqai and Kia’s Sportage. While the Kadjar is slightly larger than these rivals, it’s also likely to be more expensive, which will make it a tough sell in its segment. At the Paris Motor Show in October, a facelifted version of the Kadjar was revealed and it’s this version that will be sold here, sitting in between the smaller Captur and larger Koleos in Renault’s current Australian SUV range. That should mean a starting price around $30,000.
Rolling on a 2646mm wheelbase, the upcoming Kadjar measures 4489x1836x1613mm (LxWxH) and offers up to 1478 litres of luggage space. The current Kadjar range is available with a choice of four different engines – a 1.2 and 1.6 turbo petrol and 1.5 and 1.6 turbo diesel – but the recent update has added a new 1.3-litre petrol engine co-developed with Mercedes-Benz. Six-speed manual and seven-speed auto transmissions are offered, too.
In the upcoming range, only one drivetrain is offered with AWD, but an ‘Extended Grip’ system is available on two-wheel drive Kadjars, pairing snow tyres with a three-mode anti-skid function. The all-wheel drive system was developed by Nissan and can run in FWD, deliver up to 50 per cent of drive to the rear wheels at speeds up to 40km/h and lock drive 50:50 to the front and rear axles.
Full specs, further details and pricing on the Renault Kadjar will be announced closer to local release.