First showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo, the Renault Kwid Climber has been designed to cater a separate and diverse section of the audience. It is a direct offering to the young generation youths who are uncompromisingly inclined towards looks more than anything else when it comes to cars.
The Renault Kwid Climber is a direct wing of the standard Kwid that has been a major breakthrough for Renault India. The Kwid has been one of the bestselling mini hatchbacks and same can be expected for the Kwid Climber as well. With this latest offering, the company looks forward to include more customers to the Renault family as it has opened up another segment of the audience, the young India.
That said, the first point that comes to our mind that is the hiked price of the Kwid Climber good enough to be justified? If at all a person would choose the Kwid, why would he choose to pay extra for the Climber when he can get same Kwid at a lesser price? Let’s find this out.
The overrated mechanism
Yes, I call it overrated, exaggerated. The Renault Kwid Climber has been fitted with the same (literally) engine that you would get in the standard Kwid. The same 1.0-litre, 998 cc triple-cylinder engine is tuned to make 67 bhp of max power at 5,500 revolutions per minute and 91 Nm of torque at 4,250 revolutions per minute. This is exactly the same power figures that you get on the Kwid. The drivetrain remains the same, that is, FWD (front wheel drive). A more fun-to-drive RWD (rear wheel drive) would have been widely appreciated.
Another drawback point can be the fact that the Kwid Climber is available in just two trims – a 5-speed manual and an AMT gearbox trim. Many people would think that if at all the Climber is for the young individual, a third, more powerful trim would have been a blessing in disguise.
The funky exteriors
Now this is where the significance of the addition of Kwid Climber version comes to the fore. Though, the overall dimensions and body type remains the same. There are far more features that are eye catching. Firstly, the dual tone exterior paint job looks utmost funky attractive. The exteriors get a gentle touch of orange over the Alpine Blue, or vice-versa. Secondly, if you thought that the Kwid is muscular and SUV-ish, you will be glad to know that the Climber has several additions to it. The new version gets body coloured front bumper with fog lamps on it, which are heavily cladded with plastic. Down under, at the lower lip spoiler, there is a faux silver and orange plate, rendering a beefier front. The side gets orange ORVMs, “CLIMBER” insignia beside and extra cladding along the lower sides.
The roof rails are retained. However, it now gets a slight orange tinge towards the back end. There is also new alloy wheels that you don’t get in the standard Kwid.
The utmost attractive interiors
Once you get inside the Renault Kwid Climber, you will automatically get the answer of the question as to why it costs more than the standard.
The interior is everything and funky and attractive and uncompromisingly youthful. You will love the new dual tone appearance. And by dual tone, I mean to say that the contrasting orange is added just for the borders, with pipings all around. The seats are bordered with semi-thick piping, along with orange gear knob. The interior part of the door also gets a horizontally running orange piping.
Look up at the dashboard, you will see the already attractive dashboard bordered with orange piping. The same 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, integrated with Bluetooth and MediaNAV continues to find its way in the Climber as well. The top part of the backrest of the seat gets a “CLIMBER” insignia as well.
Conclusion
The moment you hear that the new Renault Kwid Climber gets hiked price with the same specs, you might feel that it’s just a casual update better off being ignored. But recalling the proverb “Never judge a book by its cover”, it’s better to wait before the perfect justifications hits you.
The extra Rs. 29,000 is utilized to make the Kwid Climber more youth-friendly and more attractive to the eye. I am very sure you will love the new dual tone paint job. And if you are a youth and prefer the outer look to be more prominent and powerfully stylish, the Climber is definitely made for you.
