Renault Kadjar vs Jeep Wrangler

What's the difference?

The Renault Kadjar Intens ticks a lot of the urban boxes. It’s small, which is good for navigating narrow city streets and parking in tight spaces, but it’s also spacious and practical. The Kadjar is fuel efficient for a four-cylinder petrol engine and it has that sophisticated French styling.

The Intens is expensive, though, and unless you absolutely have to have leather seats, a glass roof, and the Bose stereo I’d go for the mid-range Zen grade and save yourself $5K but still have all the same safety tech. That said the Intens has auto parking as standard which is a nice convenience for the city.

Safety could be better. The AEB system doesn’t have pedestrian and cyclist detection, rear cross traffic alert, or reverse emergency braking.

Finally, the dual-clutch automatic and 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine while a fuel efficient combination, isn’t all that easy to live with and can make driving a less-than-smooth experience. The Nissan Qashqai’s combination of CVT auto and four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine is better suited to the urban jungle - something to think about there. 

Now the scores, the Kadjar Intens gets the same mark for daily driving and its urban talents – it could be smoother to drive, but there’s still lots to like. 

The changes to this updated Jeep Wrangler are small but meaningful. The inclusion of airbags, the updated media screen, and a feisty engine which suits the plucky nature of this off-roader make it a better Wrangler than ever.  

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

People talk about French design being good. Well if you want to see just how good take a look at the Nissan Qashqai, because the Kadjar is fundamentally the same SUV with Renault’s design spin applied.

Yep, as I mentioned about 15 seconds ago, Renault and Nissan are part of an alliance that allows them to share the same cars, but each brand has room to ‘make it their own’ with styling that delivers a very different look, inside and out.

Now, the Qashqai is not an ugly car, but I think the Kadjar is more stylish and premium looking in the same way the larger Renault Koleos SUV is gorgeous compared to the relatively straight-laced Nissan X-Trail it’s based on.

There’s no doubt the Kadjar is a Renault thanks to the giant diamond logo on the plunging grille. I like the way the front bumper rises up into the bonnet like it’s all one piece, but I’m not completely sold on the rear of the car which looks a bit like its shirt is tucked into the back of its pants, which makes no sense unless you look at the images.

Still, the tail-lights have a prestige feel and the Kadjar model name spelled out across the tailgate is a confident statement, also adopted recently by other brands such as Volkswagen (T-Cross) and Ford (Puma).  

Telling the Intens apart from the other two grades is fairly easy, it has 19-inch wheels (the others have 17-inch rims), there’s the enormous glass roof, and it also has a chrome effect on the front and rear bumpers, side skirts, and around the fog lights. It’s a more premium look.

That higher-end feel goes into the cabin as well with the Intens’ black leather upholstery and colourful ambient lighting. The touchscreen is tiny, though, and there isn’t a great deal inside that you don’t get in the entry-grade Kadjar’s cabin, which is also almost as stylish.

The Kadjar is classified as a small SUV, which means nothing really when it comes to wondering if it’s going to fit in your garage or in the tiny parking spaces we’re faced with in the city.

So, I’ve mapped it out for you. The Kadjar’s dimensions are, 4449mm long, 2058 mm across (including the wing mirrors), and 1612mm tall. 

Another interesting thing – each B-pillar is adorned with a little French flag. I’m not sure if they're a sign of Gallic national pride or to remind everybody that meets the Kadjar that Renaults are French.

Either way, you don’t see this type of thing on other cars and for many buyers the appeal of a Renault is having a car that’s not like everybody else’s.

The Jeep Wrangler looks like a cartoon of a four-wheel drive, that’s how familiar and well-known the design is. It’s almost generic, like the word Jeep.

You could say the design is iconic, given that the roots of this SUV stretch back to the little Willys off-roader built for the US army in World War II. And to this day the slotted grille, pronounced wheel guards, short and upright windscreen, even the removable doors are still with us in this latest incarnation.

That’s why each generation of the Wrangler only sees very subtle tweaks to famous shape and look, in much the same way a Porsche 911’s design changes at the rate of dripping water reshaping a rock.

Changing the styling completely would destroy the look which connects the Wrangler to its past and the nostalgic appeal would be over. 

So, this update sees more than subtle styling changes in the form of a tweak to the grille with the addition of a metallic-look trim around each of the slots while the mesh insert now has larger openings.   

Along with this there’s a new front bumper. The Wranglers we tested had the optional heavy duty steel front bumpers.

There’s also some interior changes in the form of a new dashboard trim, horizontal air vents and then there’s the 12.3-inch media display which goes a long way to making the cabin look more modern.

Still, the interior is busy with buttons and switches in a design that seems to mix the look of heavy machinery controls with a prestige car. The Nappa leather of the Rubicon grade lifts the quality feel higher.

All Wrangler interiors also have an internal roll-over cage which covers the entire cabin, for the fixed metal roof and removable roof body style which are standard on the Overland and Rubicon.

Only the Rubicon is offered in a two-door and a four-door, while the Overland and Sport S are four-door only.

The Rubicon two-door looks cute and fun to my eyes, while the four-door versions look a bit more serious and beefy, but both definitely still give off tough and adventurous vibes.

The wheelbase difference between the two is as giant as it looks. The Rubicon two-door’s wheelbase is 2459mm while the four-door Rubicon’s, along with the Sport S and Overland, is 3008mm.

The Wrangler ranges in length from 4334mm for the Rubicon two-door to 4882mm for the four-door Wranglers. Width is the same for all Wranglers at 1894mm and the height ranges from 1879mm in the Rubicon two-door to 1901mm in the four-door versions.

The Kadjar is a big-small SUV, in that it’s longer than many in the same segment at 4.4m with a wheelbase of more than 2.6m, which means more space inside for people and their stuff.

That said, don’t expect limousine legroom, but at 191cm (6'3") tall, I can sit behind my driving position with my knees only just touching the front seat back, which is pretty darn good for a small SUV.

Making life a bit more comfortable back there, too, are directional air vents, two USB charging ports and a 12V power outlet. There are another two USB ports and a 12V up front, too.

Cabin storage is okay. The door pockets in the back are big enough for a 500ml bottle, while there are larger ones in the front, along with two cupholders and another circular hole, which looks like it’s for coins, if anybody still uses those?

The centre console bin is pretty decent in size and so too is the boot which has a cargo capacity of 408 litres with all seats up and 1478 litres with the second row folded flat.

When we review most SUVs practicality is scored on things like legroom, storage space and boot size. But in the case of a vehicle with removable doors and roof, and a cabin that has one-way drainage valves so you can hose the interior out, practicality takes on a different meaning.

The Wrangler’s practicality seems focussed on serving adventurous folks in search of a muddy off-road expedition and, so, while there is storage it’s mainly nets for door pockets, moulded wells on top of the dash, and smaller hidey holes to makes sure loose items don’t get flung around the cabin.

Given the roof can be removed there’s also a lockable glove box and centre console storage box.

When it comes to cabin space the Wrangler’s interior feels a bit cramped. The footwells up front don’t offer much space and headroom throughout is restricted by the roll cage which stretches from the front to the boot.

The four-door Wrangler has five seats and good legroom in the second row, even for me at 189cm tall. As mentioned above, headroom is limited in places because of the safety structure. Boot space behind those rear seats is 898 litres.

The two-door Rubicon has four seats. The back ones aren’t the most spacious and the boot behind them is almost too small to mention at 365L, Two pieces of carry-on luggage wouldn’t fit back there and we had to put our bags on the rear seats.

The rear tailgate for all Wranglers is side-hinged (opening left to right) and splits to allow just the window section or lower part to open separately.

For charging and powering devices all Wranglers have two USB ports up front (one -A and one -C) and four USB ports in the second row (two -A and two -C). There are also two 12V outlets on board (front and rear).  

There are two cupholders, seatback map nets and directional air vents for the second row.

The Wrangler sits high and climbing into the rear seats might be a challenge for smaller kids or even fully-grown humans, but there are chunky handholds at the pillars for extra help.

So, the Wrangler has excellent practicality, but this is geared more to its intended purpose of adventuring off-road rather than the city commute and school pick-up.

The Jeep Wrangler range comes in three grades. There’s the entry-grade Sport S which can only be had with four doors, the Overland which is also a four-door and the top-of-the-range Rubicon comes as a shorter wheelbase two-door and the four-door. 

The Sport S replaces the Night Eagle as the entry-point into the Wrangler range and with a list price of $75,950 it’s $5500 cheaper, too. 

Above this is the Overland for $84,950 and at the top of the line-up is the hardcore Rubicon which is $83,950 for the two-door and $90,450 for the four-door.

This update sees all Wranglers now coming with a (damage and scratch-resistant) 'Gorilla Glass' windscreen and a 12.3-inch media screen. But each grade also comes with its own new features. 

The Sport S has been given heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and ambient cabin lighting. Meanwhile, the Overland now has power front premium 'McKinley' seats and soft spare tyre cover.

And finally the range-topping Rubicon receives Nappa leather seats and a forward-facing 'Trailcam'.

There are mechanical upgrades across the range, too, especially for the Rubicon and we’ll get to those in the engine and driving sections of this review.

As for the rest of the features, coming standard on the Sport S are LED headlights, 17-inch alloy wheels, proximity key and push button start, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a nine-speaker Alpine sound system and dark tint windows.

Along with its new features the Overland also comes standard with all of the Sport S’s equipment plus a three-piece removable hardtop, 18-inch wheels and a leather-wrapped shifting knob and hand brake handle.

Then there’s the Rubicon which has all the Sport S features, but 17-inch wheels instead of the 18s and an enormous amount of engineering hardware that makes this grade the off-road king of the Wranglers, which we’ll get to.

While the Renault Kadjar and Nissan Qashqai are essentially the same car, they don’t share the same powertrain. The Kadjar has a smaller but more powerful engine – a 1.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder making 117kW/260Nm.

Shifting gears is a seven-speed dual-clutch auto. There’s no manual available, and all Kadjars are front-wheel drive.

Frankly, the Qashqai four cylinder with less grunt and CVT are a smoother combination. The dual-clutch auto and turbo lag means power delivery and acceleration are delayed, while low-speed gear shifts can be jerky.

One of the biggest changes Jeep could make to the Wrangler without causing complete mayhem for fans is to the engine and even then there will be folks who don’t like what they’re about to read.

Deep breaths, okay? Right, so, in this update the V6 petrol engine has been replaced by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder. 

At 200kW the new four-cylinder makes a smidge less power than the V6 but more torque at 400Nm. An eight-speed automatic transmission shifts gears and sends the drive to all four wheels.

If you’re a Wrangler fan you’ll most likely know about this engine swap, but you’re wondering how this four-cylinder feels.

The answer is, really good. Jeep has got it right. It’s a torquey, responsive engine that feels energetic and suits the Wrangler's personality well.

In the short time I’ve spent on and off the road I’m convinced this turbo-four will be a good companion wherever you decide to go.

And go pretty much anywhere you can, with all Wranglers being ridiculously capable off-road thanks to their ladder frame chassis, high- and low-range gears, outstanding ground clearance (233mm-257mm, depending on variant ), excellent approach angle (41.4 to 44 degrees, depending on variant) and a departure angle to match (37 degrees for the both Rubicons; 36.1 for the Sport S and Overland).  

The Rubicon comes standard with Jeep’s 'Rock-Trac' on-demand four-wheel drive system and this update adds a full float rear axle. Sport S and Overland grades have Jeep’s 'Selec-Trac Active' on-demand 4WD set-up.

Renault says after a combination of open and urban roads the Kadjar will have used 6.3L/100km. In my own testing I measured 6.5L/100km at the fuel pump. That’s outstanding.

The new turbo-petrol, four-cylinder means better fuel economy than the V6 it replaces. We have yet to test Jeep’s claims that after a combination of open and urban roads the four cylinder uses 9.2L/100km in the sport S and Overland grades and 9.9L/100km in the Rubicon.

In comparison, Jeep says the previous V6 uses 10.1L/100km in the Rubicon and 9.9L/100km in the Overland. Our own testing saw consumption closer to 13L/100km.

We’ll have the new Wrangler in our garage soon and we’ll be able to put the fuel consumption claims to a real world test.

In terms of range, the two-door Rubicon has a 61-litre fuel tank and in theory a range of up to 680km. The Sport S and Overland have an 81-litre tank and can get up to 880km, while the four-door Rubicon’s 81-litre tank should manage 830km.

Of course if you’re off-roading you’ll use more fuel and the range will drop accordingly.

Renault’s Kadjar may be a better-looking version of Nissan’s Qashqai, but it doesn’t drive as well. This comes down to the engine and transmission Renault has gone with.

There’s turbo lag with that small four-cylinder and this delay is made more pronounced by a dual-clutch transmission that causes the vehicle to lurch during shifts.

This type of shemozzle is not uncommon, the Ford Puma and Nissan Juke behave in the same way with their similar powertrains.

There’s nothing wrong with them, it’s just that for a car that’s probably going to spend its life mainly in the city, the Kadjar won’t provide the smoothest driving experience.

The Qashqai has a CVT automatic and while these transmission aren’t as sporty feeling as a dual-clutch, they’re smooth and good for easy city driving.

The Kadjar does have a comfortable ride and good handling, so if you’re able to get used to the antics of the engine and transmission there’s more to like than not about the way this Renault drives.

Every one of the Jeep launches I’ve attended over the past 15 years has involved a pretty decent off-road component and it’s clear the company has a lot of faith in its product.

This Wrangler launch’s off-road test had been scaled back due to days of flooding rain beforehand, but the section that was passable was enough to remind us of what we already know and that is the Wrangler is formidable.

A Queensland bush off-road course full of steep, muddy hills, ruts, rocks, dirt and slippery descents was still all there for us to test the Wrangler Rubicon four-door.

Fun and comfortable are the first words that pop into my head when recalling how the Rubicon fares. This is a super-capable beastie that feels planted, secure and adept at all times.

We tested low- and high-range four-wheel drive, locked the rear differential and let the hill descent mode do its thing and get us down the sides of hills that felt so close to vertical all we could see through the windscreen was the ground.

What's also clear is the new turbo-petrol, four-cylinder feels well suited to the job, with plenty of torque along with a feisty and responsive nature that fits the Wrangler better than the old V6.

There was also plenty of time spent on the road in the four-door Rubicon and its smaller two-door sibling. And was here it was also super clear the Wrangler felt like we’d taken it out of its natural habitat.

At 110km/h on the motorway the two door Rubicon feels light and floaty in its suspension, with steering adjustments having to be made constantly, like actors pretending to drive cars in movies, as the Wrangler wanders around in its lane. The Wrangler wander is a known trait and isn’t specific to this updated car. 

And even though our launch drive took us on some great winding country roads which would have been perfect for a Mazda MX-5, the Wranglers found the fast tight turns difficult to handle.

I’m sure I heard a sigh of relief from our Rubicon as we pulled off the road and selected low-range four-wheel drive before bouncing up what looked to be a sheer cliff, with ease.  

Of course, our Adventure Expert Marcus 'Crafty' Craft will put the Wrangler though its paces once we have one in the CarsGuide garage.

The Jeep Wrangler has a three-out-of-five star ANCAP rating from testing in 2019. This isn’t an adequate safety score for a modern vehicle and the relatively modest advanced safety tech compared to other new SUVs and its structural integrity in crash tests caused ANCAP enough concern to award it lower scores.

Surprisingly the ANCAP report scored its child occupant protection at 80 per cent which is excellent.

This update to the Wrangler now adds curtain airbags which cover the front and second rows. Along with these there are dual front airbags plus safety tech which includes AEB (city and inter-urban) and blind spot warning. There’s also adaptive cruise control and front and rear parking sensors.

For child seats you’ll find two ISOFIX and three top tether mounts across the second row of the four-door variants.

The standard full-sized spare wheel is mounted on the tailgate. 

The Kadjar is covered by Renault’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 30,000km and capped at $399 for the first three services, followed by $789 for the fourth then back to $399.

There’s also up to five years roadside assistance, if you service your Kadjar with Renault.

The Wrangler is covered by Jeep's five-year/100,000km warranty, which is off the mainstream market standard of five years/unlimited km.

Service intervals are recommended every 12 months and 12,000km and service prices are capped at $399. Jeep also offers lifetime roadside assistance if you service your Wrangler though Jeep.