New Renault Kwid – a stylish entry-level car with good looks

When I was young, I was brave. I did not fear speed, fire, booze, loose women or debt. These days, cursed with the infirmity of old age, I am more careful.

Which is why driving the Renault Kwid hatchback scared me witless. Now, on the face of it, the little Renault is by no means a bad car, and we liked it.

It costs just R129 900. For that you get a stylish entry-level car with good looks, a surprisingly spacious interior, good comfort and fancy electronic infotainment features.

The Kwid is a pretty little vehicle, with a high waistline, a bold front grille with the manufacturer’s distinctive diamond-shaped logo as its main signature, a chunky body, a steeply raked windscreen, large windows and black exterior trim.

Inside, a horizontal, uncluttered dashboard hosts a digital instrument cluster and piano black centre fascia with a multi-media system complete with 18cm touchscreen display, radio and Bluetooth connectivity. It will seat five adults, and the luggage compartment is 300 litres in size.

Electric front windows, an air-conditioning with heater, ample storage spaces in the front and rear parcel tray plus two glove boxes add to the package, while all the controls are easy to reach from both driver and passenger sides.

The Kwid is powered by a compact one-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine, which produces 50kW of power at 5 500 rpm and 91Nm of torque at 4 250 rpm. It drivers the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox. Renault claim fuel efficiency of under five litres per 100 kilometres, and they may well be right.

The fuel tank holds 28 litres. It sits on 13-inch wheels in 155/80 R13 rubber. Front brakes are steel discs, with drums at the rear, while the absence of ABS probably adds to the car’s affordability. Sadly, we now get to the scary part – driving it. What happens is this:

You pull out to pass a Putco bus, venturing on to the wrong side of the road next to it. About 30 second later you are still next to it, sweating profusely while watching certain death approach in the form of oncoming traffic.

You eventually win the race against the bus, but after three such incidents you are left with an embarrassing nervous twitch and occasional episodes of bed wetting.

All of which could have been avoided, by Renault endowing the car with one more cylinder, an extra 200cc of engine or a turbocharger.

Trying to transport five adults in the vehicle will probably not go well, and trying to maintain 120 km/h with it on the highway involves many snap-changes from fifth to fourth gear.

Maybe I am just being politically incorrect for insisting that a passenger car should boast some degree of performance. I have been dead wrong before – after all, I got married and divorced three times, and once almost believed a politician.

The Renault KWID comes standard with a five-year/150 000 km mechanical warranty and a six-year anti-corrosion warranty.

Services take place at15 000km intervals and optional service plans are available.