Renault Kadjar revealed

The Renault Kadjar SUV has been revealed ahead of its public debut at the Geneva motor show next month. The Kadjar shares many components with the Nissan Qashqai SUV, thanks to the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

The 1.5- and 1.6-litre diesel engines from the Qashqai are likely to do duty in the Kadjar. Renault's head of design Laurens van den Acker said, “We have the benefit of the very good engines, with low emission values. I think when you look at this as a package, in terms of emissions, engines, quality, design and flexibility and functionality of the interior, you have a very strong package.”

The Kadjar will come with a choice of two- or four-wheel drive. The two-wheel-drive models will come with an Extended Grip system which is claimed to enhance grip on low-traction surfaces. The all-wheel-drive system has three modes: Auto, Lock and 2WD. It gets a 19cm-high ground clearance, and approach and departure angles of 18 and 25 degrees respectively. It also comes with front and rear skid plates and a stainless steel boot-sill guard for added protection.

Renault says the Kadjar will be offered with a reversing camera, a hands-free parking system, engine stop-start, emergency brake assist, lane departure warning and road-sign recognition with speed limit alerts. It will also come with the latest version of Renault's R-Link 2 infotainment system, which will be able to offer voice control, navigation, Bluetooth and radio.

The Kadjar will make its public debut at the Geneva motor show in March before it goes on sale in international markets later this year. Renault is not revealing much details until Geneva, but the company's vice president for exterior design, Anthony Lo, said that there are a lot of shared parts between the Kadjar and Qashqai. “The agreement is that everything you see is different, but we had a lot of freedom to create our own stuff,” said Lo. “We tried to carry over everything you don't see.”