Renault Kadjar (2015-2022) review - Practicality, comfort and boot space
Despite being based on the Nissan Qashqai, the Renault Kadjar is actually bigger inside
While the Kadjar is based on the same platform as the Qashqai and has similar dimensions, Renault's designers decided to lengthen the rear overhang to give their car more boot space. As a result, capacity is up by 42 litres over the Nissan to a rather impressive 472 litres. This is, however, still smaller than the likes of the SEAT Ateca (510 litres) and the Peugeot 3008 (520 litres). Fold all the seats down and total load volume increases to 1,478 litres, which will be more than enough for most people.
There are numerous storage spaces throughout the rest of the car, too. The front door bins were increased in size for the late-2018 updates, with enough space available for a 1.5-litre bottle. However, the introduction of air vents and USB ports for rear passengers have shrunk the central cubby space. The central cupholders, while improved relative to the old car, are still comically shallow. Many rivals offer more storage space in this class.
Size
At 4,449mm long and 1,836mm wide, the Kadjar is shorter and narrower than a Ford Kuga or Mazda CX-5. Yet despite the fact the Renault Kadjar is essentially a lengthened Nissan Qashqai, it doesn’t really feel any bigger from behind the wheel. That is despite the tall right height and commanding view from the driver’s seat – both of which help provide decent visibility.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
Space in the back is good, but isn’t quite the best in class. Legroom is good but taller adults may find headroom a little tight, especially in Kadjars equipped with a panoramic sunroof, which eats into space. Overall the space in the back is fine for a family – but a Mazda CX-5 is slightly roomier.
Boot
The Renault Kadjar is a practical car, and its boot surpasses the already practical Nissan Qashqai by 42 litres. That means a total load volume of 472 litres, or 1,478 litres with the rear seats folded down. While that’s good, a SEAT Ateca is bigger still, boasting 510-litres and 1,604-litres respectively.
The two top-spec Kadjars get a flexible boot floor, which can be divided to partition the storage area, or raised up to create a flat load bay with no lip when you fold the seats down. These models also get one-touch release, which allows you to lower the 60:40 split bench from the boot. There’s no seven-seat option which, due to the five-seat only nature of the bigger Koleos, means that the entire Renault SUV family is five-seat only.
