Geneva show: Renault confirms Kadjar SUV

RENAULT has announced it will add a third model to its SUV family with a mid-sized crossover named the Kadjar due for a full reveal on February 2.

Other than its name, no details of the new model have been released but the French car-maker has said it will drip-feed information through an online daily teaser campaign until early next month when all will be revealed.

Renault says the new car will fill a small nice in the high-riding range between the smallest SUV – the Captur – and the Koleos, which according its maker, occupies the larger D-segment SUV category.

A new European mid-sized SUV would seem like an obvious addition to the SUV-hungry Australian market, but Renault Australia corporate communications manager Emily Fadeyev said the company would not consider a third SUV until the Captur had officially launched here.

“We are launching Captur next week so we have a lot of expectations for how Captur will go as an SUV and Australia does still have a growing SUV segment, but in terms of Kadjar, until the specs are released its hard to say,” she said.

“We are very happy with how our line-up looks at the moment and I think Captur will bring a new dimension that we've never had before.

“We are conscious that we need to have the right business case for Australia so it needs to fit in the line-up and it needs to be priced correctly.” Like many brands in Australia, Renault has seen encouraging popularity and growth for its Koleos SUV against some stiff competition, but the Kadjar is not chalked for 2015.

“We certainly have seen growth in SUVs with Koleos and we are looking for exciting growth with Captur, but at this stage Kadjar is certainly not confirmed for us,” said Ms Fadeyev.

“At this stage our main focus for 2015 will be the launch of Captur.” With the established technology-sharing Renault-Nissan Alliance, the new Kadjar could borrow underpinnings from Nissan's small to mid-sized Qashqai SUV, forming a new competitor for the popular Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4 and even the Qashqai itself.

The first image released in the promotional campaign tells nothing of the car, instead showing the view from a hang-glider accompanied by the words “dare to live”, as part of Renault's strategy to market the Kadjar as a vehicle for adventurous individuals or families.

Renault says the Kadjar's name is derived from the word 'quad', which relates to the vehicle's four-wheels, and the french words 'agile and 'jaillir' representing the car's agility and sudden emergence.

The reference to its four wheels does not confirm a four-wheel drive system is destined for the Kadjar but, as stated in the release, the car will be a “go- anywhere four-wheeled vehicle” so all paw traction and a corresponding higher ride-height is likely for at least one variant.