Photo: X-Tomi Design
Only a day after Renault released the first photos of the all-new Kadjar C-segment concept, the first rendering has appeared online and it's a very good one. Everybody has been wondering what a hot French crossover would look like since the launch of the Captur and these photos show the spicy RS flavor.
Hungarian renderer X-Tomi has grafted the front bumper of the Clio RS, a small diffuser and some extra-large badges to turn this into a sports crossover. Of course, such a model doesn't exist within the Renault range and at first glance there should be no demand for it. But Nissan is actually building one as we speak, based on the Qashqai. In addition, models like the BMW X3 and the upcoming Audi TTQ prove SUVs have become lifestyle choices.
Both the new Qash' and the new Pulsar hatch share a platform with the Kadjar and will venture into the Nismo territory with a new 1.8-liter turbo engine, reports claim. This is expected to produce somewhere between 260 and 275 hp, about as much as a Megane RS.
Of course, Renault are masters at making family cars go faster, but the future of the RS badge looks totally uncertain. Recent reports suggest company officials are pondering a hybrid or even fully electric future and as we all know, this adds weight and cost.
If Renault ever wants to venture into the performance SUV market, they could either use Nissan's engine or develop something better for the next Megane RS, due out in 2017 or so. Hopefully, they will see that going green is not what the market wants these days.
A far easier way to make the Kadjar go faster would be to tune a 1.6-liter TCe engine, which will undoubtedly be available. However, it will still be slower to 100 km/h than 7 seconds, making it no match for the average BMW X3 with a 2-liter turbo.
What you need to remember is that even though the Kadjar measures only 4.45 meters from bumper to bumper, the same as a big hatchback, it would weigh over 1.5 tons with a 1.6 turbo and all-wheel drive. So a small engine just wouldn't make any sense from a dynamic point of view.
Both the new Qash' and the new Pulsar hatch share a platform with the Kadjar and will venture into the Nismo territory with a new 1.8-liter turbo engine, reports claim. This is expected to produce somewhere between 260 and 275 hp, about as much as a Megane RS.
Of course, Renault are masters at making family cars go faster, but the future of the RS badge looks totally uncertain. Recent reports suggest company officials are pondering a hybrid or even fully electric future and as we all know, this adds weight and cost.
Volkswagen and Audi are likely to lead the hybrid small SUV charge with the Tiguan 2 and other MQB-based cars that are expected to come out by the end of the decade. So Renault can either invest early or follow the trend.
A far easier way to make the Kadjar go faster would be to tune a 1.6-liter TCe engine, which will undoubtedly be available. However, it will still be slower to 100 km/h than 7 seconds, making it no match for the average BMW X3 with a 2-liter turbo.
What you need to remember is that even though the Kadjar measures only 4.45 meters from bumper to bumper, the same as a big hatchback, it would weigh over 1.5 tons with a 1.6 turbo and all-wheel drive. So a small engine just wouldn't make any sense from a dynamic point of view.
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