Renault has restarted testing the HBC on
the roads. The upcoming SUV in India was spied undergoing road-testing
recently. It will go on sale in the second half of the year. The Renault HBC or Renault Kiger, is being tested in production body. Spy
shots suggest that it will look quite sporty with narrow glasshouse, sharp kick
in the beltline and rakish back glass. Its front end will likely have traces of
the Renault Kwid facelift, with a similar design for the upper grille and the
split headlamps. It should feature projector headlamps, two-tone silver-black
alloy wheels and LED tail lights.
Renault is developing the HBC on the same
platform (CMF-A+) as the RBC (Triber), and so, it will likely be able to keep
the prices much lower than competitors. The company will likely offer it with
the Triber’s 72 PS 1.0-litre SCe N/A petrol engine and a ~95 PS 1.0-litre TCe
turbocharged petrol engine. Transmission choices may include 5-speed manual and
5-speed automated manual. There won’t be a diesel engine option neither at
launch nor at a later stage.
Not much is known about the interior of
the Renault HBC. The feature list will include sunroof, touchscreen
infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support and automatic
climate control.
The Renault HBC will belong to one of the
most crowded segments in the Indian auto market. Kia Sonet, Hyundai Venue,
Maruti Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300, Ford EcoSport and Nissan
Magnite (name TBA) will be its rivals. Expect prices to start from under INR
5.50 lakh (ex-showroom).