Renault reveals new Kardian SUV

Renault has finally revealed the new Kardian SUV after a series of teasers. This will be the smallest Renault SUV, and will be aimed at emerging marketing, like South America, among others. 

Renault Kardian debuts tweaked platform for emerging markets

The Kardian SUV has been developed with the South American market in focus and is expected to go on sale in Brazil first. It will later be sold in markets where Renault does not have a compact SUV like the Kiger that it sells in India. In the South American market, the new Kardian will take on the newly introduced small SUVs from other brands like Fiat's Pulse, among others. Renault will build the Kardian in Brazil first and then in Morocco.

The Kardian is 4.12 metres long and sits on the updated CMF-B modular platform. Renault says there will be as many as eight models on this platform sold globally, primarily aimed at emerging markets.

Renault Kardian exterior and interior design

The Kardian gets stylish exterior looks with split headlamps, chunky front and rear bumpers, and a large Renault signature double-layer grille. There is an adequate dose of faux aluminium inserts on the Kardian to give it a rugged SUV look. It gets a coupe-like bodyshell and added ground clearance with chunky cladding on the wheel arches and the running boards.

At the back, the tail-lamps get a C-shaped design that looks a lot like the Kiger. Higher variants feature stylish alloy wheels, roof rails, a shark-fin antenna and added chrome bits.

Inside, it gets a stylish dashboard design that's similar to other Renault SUVs, with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment, a drive mode selector and a four-spoke steering wheel. The interior will have faux brushed aluminium and wood inserts with a mix of piano black, depending on the variant. Higher variants will get 17-inch alloy wheels.

Renault Kardian gets new 125hp 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine

As far as the engine goes, an all-new 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine powers the Kardian SUV. It churns out 125hp and 220Nm of torque mated to a six-speed DCT automatic gearbox. In comparison, the Kiger comes with a 100hp 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine with 160Nm of torque, mated to a CVT automatic gearbox.

The Kiger sits below the second-gen Duster, which is on sale in Brazil currently. The new Duster, which is also in the works, will be based on the CMF-B platform in the future, and be built at the same plant in Brazil alongside the Kardian. The global debut of the third-gen Duster will take place on November 29.

Renault Kardian SUV: will it come to India?

The heavily localised Renault Kiger SUV is the Indian counterpart of the Kardian, and it's highly unlikely that the Kardian will come here. However, the updated CMF-B platform that the Kardian sits on will have multiple vehicles based on it and some of these will be built in India for domestic and export markets.