Renault

Renault's best front wheel drive crossover, which has effectively replaced the Clio hatch as its European spec family car, for South African buyers.

Updated in late 2025, the Captur blends typically great French design, with lots of cabin tech. The 10.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-integrated and works a treat.

French cars are all about clever design details. And the Captur’s cabin packaging is very smart. The rear seats have 160mm of sliding adjustment, which can increase the luggage capacity to a huge 616 litres. That’s only 15% less luggage space than a Fortuner, which is a much larger vehicle.

Because this is a proper European-spec Renault, built in Spain rather than India, the ride quality and handling dynamics are excellent. As you’d expect from Renault.

There’s only one engine option, Renault’s 1.3 turbopetrol. It delivers very decent power and torque for its small engine size: 113kW and 270 Nm. Paired to the Captur’s 7-speed DCT gearbox, traffic and highway driving performance is good, even on the Highveld. But like all turbocharged small capacity petrol engines, it’s heavy on fuel.

Very expensive compared to Chinese crossovers of similar size, but much better to drive. Best buy? The entry-level Techno trim. Why? Because it’s on 17-inch wheels with 215/60 tyres, which deal best with South African road conditions.

The model that restored Renault’s reputation in South Africa.

For the last decade, Duster was the choice for adventurous South African drivers who wanted genuine gravel-travel capability without the poor highway performance and safety issues of a Jimny.

But with the latest model, a lot has changed. It still looks good, and the safety tech is credible, with 6 airbags and ESP as standard. But it has become a city-crossover now, instead of the bargain-adventure SUV it once was.

One of the issues is that wheel sizes have increased to 17- and 18-inches. That does create more ground clearance, and at 217mm, the new Duster has good underbody clearance. But the first-gen Duster had 16-inch wheels with large-volume tyres, offering much better ride quality and traction on those corrugated Karoo adventure dirt roads.

But the biggest issue with new Duster is the lack of a diesel engine. Renault’s legendary 1.5 turbodiesel, loved by all for its good highway overtaking acceleration and very low diesel consumption, is no more.

The new Duster has a 1.3 turbopetrol, which makes 96kW for decent Highveld overtaking performance when you need it on the highway. But the four-wheel-drive version has a 1.2-litre hybrid, which just doesn’t work for the intended purpose. Especially with the Duster’s weird traction control calibration, which always feels way too restrictive in any off-road application, slaved to the limitations of the 1.2 petrol engine’s hybrid components.

Duster has decent on-road dynamics and an appealing design. But it’s no longer true to the spirit of the first-gen, universally respected Duster.

Budget family car from Renault. With reasonable gravel road ability.

The Kiger is one of those Renaults designed for emerging markets, like South Africa, rather than Europe.

Design is charming in true Renault style, with a very tidy cosmetic update that happened in late 2025. Beyond its characterful exterior, Kiger offers a surprising amount of passenger room, even for those in the rear seats. And the luggage capacity of 405-litres is noteworthy for a car of its size.

There’s only one engine option: a 1-litre 3-cylinder. That’s not turbocharged. So, it might be very durable, but with only 53kW, it feels very weak. Especially on the Highveld when fully laden. The 5-speed manual gearbox doesn’t have an amazing shift action either.

Kiger is all about budget. A family car with reasonable space for those weekends away, and with 206mm of ground clearance, it can do a bit of gravel travel when required, too.

It’s built in India and offers a lot of value, but it doesn’t drive as a true Renault should. Unlike many Indian-sourced budget cars on sale in South Africa, the Kiger has performed well in crash testing, with good structural integrity.

Renault has an amazing history of designing amazing compact cars. Models like the Clio and Twingo proved that small cars could look great and be terrific to drive.

Then there’s the Kwid. Which Renault won’t sell to its own people in France. That should tell you everything really. Kwid is designing for emerging markets with poor road conditions

The styling is quite charming and the cabin has an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen, for all models but the entry-level version. Luggage space is generous, too, at 279-litres.

But the driving performance is mixed. The electric power steering is very light at parking speeds, which is good, but at highway speeds the Kwid feels noisy and unrefined. Its 1-litre 3-cylinder engine only makes 50kW, so it feels very slow at highway speeds, on the Highveld.

It has good ground clearance (180mm) if you are on a rough road, but the handling dynamics are not true to Renault’s legacy of Clio and Twingo. Pothole strike survivability is decent, though.

But the biggest issue with Kwid, is safety. It’s cheaply built in India, and the structural crash safety is very poor. Add to that it doesn’t have ESP, either. Take the 1-star GNCAP rating as a fair warning.

Like Duster, this was a breakthrough car for Renault in South Africa.

Sandero was discontinued in 2022, but it’s still a popular used-car choice. Why? It’s a high-riding hatchback that can handle the poor-quality rural roads in South Africa.

Older versions have high mileage, but their naturally aspirated petrol engines are very simple and reliable. Lots of mechanical commonality with Nissan’s NP200 bakkie, so local parts supply chain isn’t an issue.

The last generation of Sandero featured a tiny 0.9-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder engine. Like all small-capacity turbopetrols, it’s not that light on fuel. But it does make 66kW and 135Nm. Those engine output numbers give Sandero decent performance on the Highveld, where the turbocharger minimises power losses.

Best buy? You really want to buy a Stepway version of the Sandero. It has 193mm of ground clearance, making it entirely capable for gravel roads.