Renault Kadjar 2015

Pros: The car has a beautiful round design. This makes it special among the corner cars of its model year. That was one of the reasons for my choice of this car. The car is very quiet and dynamic. It feels like driving an electric car, you only hear the tyres. The acceleration is surprisingly quick with the 1.2-litre engine. However, the fuel consumption does not match the description. I actually get 7.6 litres in motorway mode and 8.5 to 10 litres in city mode. It rolls easily when off the accelerator, there is no possibility of engine braking at automatic speeds. In city driving, this causes the braking system to wear out more quickly, but in out-of-town driving it saves fuel. The car has a surprisingly small turning circle, can turn easily on standard width roads. The car easily absorbs all road irregularities. This makes driving a pleasure. Nothing rough. The interior trim is easy-care dermatin soft centre console and dashboard. The driver's seat is high and ergonomic. The high roof makes it easy to get in and out of the car. This is a car for the middle and older generations, for whom comfort in the driver's seat is important. The second row has plenty of space for a passenger of any height. The boot can hold 3 large suitcases or 2 large and 2 small suitcases. Easy reclining seat backs with a lever from the boot. The backrests can be lowered to create a flat surface. Doors open quietly and thresholds are always clean. The car has all the main functions controlled by rotary knobs and push-button switches. Cruise control is well controlled. It is possible to fit different themes to the control system by changing the appearance and colours of the speedometer. The overall design of the control unit is unfashionable, especially the large square pads for the fuel level and temperature gauges. The fuel gauge is inaccurate, showing a variable amount of fuel. Cannot know the correct balance, must track by mileage and top up in good time.

Cons: The automatic gearbox is very uncomfortable and inadequate for the dynamic demands of modern cars. It is very difficult to switch from forward to reverse. It has to be shifted into neutral. Often when switching to reverse, the gearbox hangs up and has to be shifted several times before it works. The electronic parking brake also gets stuck. The car cannot start. The car automatically switches from low beam to high beam, but there is no way to do it manually. So the car switches to high beam late or not at all in the city. Then you have to hold the switch manually in the city. Bluetooth works unevenly. It often happens that the audio signal suddenly disappears during a long phone call or when listening to music for a long time. There is no separate easy switch from radio to audio multimedia. To switch to radio it has to be done with several actions via the multimedia box. The cruise control start switch is in the centre console next to the seat, this distracts from driving as you have to look for a button somewhere on the side. But if left always on, cruise control can be easily controlled by a switch on the steering wheel. The navigation map is inconvenient low down in the centre console, you have to take your eyes off the road to follow the map. The car designers have not provided enough shelves. No place to put sunglasses. All previous cars I have used have had different pockets in the roof for glasses. Here everything has to be stowed in a small shelf by the gearbox. The cup holders are in the wrong place between the elbow and the gear lever, you can't safely put a mug of hot coffee there. Very unrefined interior design. Overall, I have to say that when starting the car. It was immediately frustrating to see the inaccurate operation of the electronic systems. The awkwardly operated gear selector and the incorrect position of the navigation screen.