French model gets dirty
NOT CHEAP: IT LIVES UP TO ALL ITS MANUFACURER’S CLAIMS
At a glance, the Kadjar does not appear suitable for driving over dirt roads.
My good friend Dave is generally regarded as our country’s best rally photographer. Rally after rally, he produces the sharpest, most spectacular images of competing cars sliding, jumping, flying and spraying grit.
His results have a lot to do with the use of good equipment plus excellent talent, but also with the expediency of being at the right place at the right time.
Dave studies a rally route in the week preceding the event, goes to Google Earth and plots a route plus travel schedule that will get him to all the best spots just before the rally cars arrive there.
This brings about a lot of high speed travelling between special stages, often using dirt roads.
That was the case with the recent Heidelberg Rally over farm roads around … well, um, Heidelberg.
Which brings us neatly to the Renault Kadjar 1,2 EDC Auto.
You see, this writer had to cover said rally, and had the Renault on test at the time.
Knowing that to travel with Dave is the best way to really follow a rally, I offered the use of the Kadjar in exchange for the dubious pleasure of my company during the event.
At first glance, the Kadjar did not appear suitable for high speed driving over dirt roads.
For one thing, it sits on very pretty 19-inch alloy wheels, encased in low-profile 225/45 R19 Continental tyres.
For another, its front wheels are hooked up with an automatic seven-speed gearbox and a 1 200cc engine – not exactly Dakar Rally specification.
Its shapely, sculpted body, beautiful red metallic paintwork, tinted windows, large halogen headlights, fixed glass roof, leather upholstery and bee-sting aerial seemed designed for city driving, by the sophisticated female partner of an advertising agency, for instance.
Going to a car rally would not generally be on the social calendar of such Kadjar customers.
But, it did come with a full tank of petrol, and we set off from Johannesburg to Heidelberg early the Friday morning.
From there on, the little Renault provided a series of pleasant surprises.
Its turbocharged, four-cylinder, 16-valve engine produces 96 kW of power at 5 500 rpm and 205 Nm of torque at 2 000 rpm.
This proved more than adequate to coast on the highway at a steady 130 km/h, while enjoying air-conditioned comfort.
Inside, it boasts absolutely everything that can click, bang or call the space capsule.
Its seven-inch centre touch screen has a multitude of functions – the most useful, in our case, an easy to use navigation system.
In town, stuff like electronic parking distance control front and rear, hill start assist, 12V sockets in the centre console, electrically operated windows all round and daylight running lights came in more than handy.
Furthermore, the seven-speed automatic transmission changes gears seamlessly and efficiently, whether under hard acceleration or dawdling in traffic.
It operates so smoothly that one forgets about its existence while on the move – the vehicle is just in the right gear at all times.
Then came the moment of truth – the rally was about to start, and we headed to our first scheduled photography spot.
This immediately involved traversing dirt roads through a military establishment, with loose gravel, ditches on the side and dodging the odd huge rock adding interest.
There was also the occasional deep rut, making one grateful that the Kadjar boasts a full-size spare wheel beneath the luggage space.
The little car sailed through all of it – even when we tackled a soft gravel path through a ploughed field later in the evening.
That was also when we found the car’s swivelling front lights extremely useful, to pick out the edges of the twisty road in inky darkness.
Of course, it is not a pukka off-roader by any means, but its useful ground clearance plus some careful driving saw us arrive at every designated photography spot in good order.
Returning to Gauteng the next evening, the 65-litre petrol tank was still half full, reflecting an average fuel usage figure of 7,2 litres/100km.
The car was filthy, finally rewarding my long-held ambition of enjoying a really dirty weekend in the countryside with a pretty French model.
After having her washed, we returned the Kadjar to its rightful owners in perfect condition – something I would have bet against before setting off on the rally.
At R399 900 the Renault Petrol EDC Auto is by no means cheap, but it certainly lives up to all of its manufacturer’s claims of efficiency, versatility and enjoyment on the move.
The entire Renault Kadjar range comes standard with a fiveyear/150 000 km mechanical warranty, a six-year anti-corrosion warranty and a five-year/90 000 km service plan.
Services take place at 15 000 km intervals.