Renault Kadjars are becoming a more common sight, although for now they’re outnumbered by Nissan Qashqais by a ratio of roughly loads to one. I was wondering which offered the better value, so I did a bit of nosing through configurators.
Trouble is, spec levels aren’t directly comparable. The cheapest 1.5 dCi Qashqai, in Visia trim, costs £20,375, while the cheapest 1.5 dCi Kadjar, in Expression+, is £20,395, for which you get two similarly equipped cars. However, to get the Nissan with an infotainment system similar to our Dynamique S Nav Kadjar’s R-Link 2 set-up, you’d need to spend £23,810 on an N-Connecta Qashqai, compared with £22,995 on a comparably manual gearbox-equipped Renault (or add £1200 for our car’s dual-clutch ’box).
Then again, that Nissan gets some extra safety kit that the Kadjar has only as cost options or in higher trim levels. About as clear as mud, then.
Meanwhile, the alarm has been fixed. Never mind the Queen’s birthday; my neighbours had a street party celebrating that news. It’s likely that the problem was over-sensitive pressure sensors, as suggested by a couple of readers. As the car heated up or cooled down, the air pressure change in the cabin could set the alarm off, which would explain why it sounded every day at the same time for a week: the Kadjar was at first in shadow, then direct sun as the sun moved out from behind the tree under which the car was parked.
The problem can be alleviated or exacerbated by the air vents. With them open, heated air can escape the cabin, preventing a build-up of pressure; conversely, if it’s the right kind of wind, air can be forced into the cabin via the vents, increasing pressure and setting off the alarm. Anyway, it’s sorted.
Last time I was a bit dismissive of flat boot floors, but the Kadjar’s has been useful again. The absence of a load lip meant it was easy to slide a dead fridge in and then, once at the tip, out again. We’ve also been to Ikea, which is nothing to be proud of. Still, the boot volume was barely dented by my new chairs.
Boot storage
I’m ambivalent about false/flat boot floors and can’t recall the last time I was glad a boot had a flat floor or was annoyed it didn’t.
But the other day I found the perfect use for what amounts to the Kadjar’s secure underfloor storage compartment: taking my daughter’s birthday cake (this year’s theme: ‘dinosaurs and butterflies’) to her farm park party.
Renault Kadjar dCi 110 Dynamique S Nav EDC
Price £23,595 Price as tested £24,220 Options Metallic paint £625 Economy 60.1mpg Faults Alarm going off (fixed) Expenses None Last seen 8.6.16
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Once you make a car means all the time you see all new models of car. I am showing you all the new models which are best in all of the time where topbritishessays is must for all of those who like it. I know this way of doing work is important and you like to see more new models.
It might also depend...
Bit strange to ask whether
The boot is usefully bigger in the Renault so it comes to down to what spec suits you and what discount you can wrangle.
It's almost unique.
Big difference in this test is the autobox. As far as I can figure out Kadjar is one of the very few autos that is tax friendly and (on paper at least) fuel efficiency matches that of it's manual counterpart. Square that with Nissan not offering a dual-clutch but a CVT and only on their 1.6dci which attracts higher tax rates and is less efficenct.
I'm trying to find a small efficient auto SUV at the moment for a family member and there isn't many reviews of that EDC. As far as I can work out, real-world economy on the CVT Nissan is low 40's.
Most other auto diesel SUV's suffer from high emissions and/or very poor economy. (VAG's dsg offerings come with a reliability question too).
Will be interested to read how the EDC performs mated to a 1.5dci. Is it worth spending more money on a X1 sDrive? Similar discounts can be had for both cars and the initial price difference should be recouped come trade-in. Might as well give the extra money to BMW as it's making burger all sitting in the bank!