FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2020 RENAULT KADJAR SUV

How big is the boot of the 2020 Renault Kadjar?

From empty, twelve shopping bags fit in the Renault Kadjar's boot. That's one more than a Mitsubishi ASX, Kia Seltos or Nissan Qashqai.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as my daughter’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

There is a great divider in the boot floor which allows you to section off the boot too which we found really useful during our week with the Kadjar.

The twin stroller fits nicely in the boot with two shopping bags beside it, and you do have space on top.

SPONSOR SHOUTOUT: I used a selection of prams from our review sponsor Silver Cross. Their range of prams fit nicely in the boot with either the bassinet attachment or the seats. Varying amounts of shopping fit in the boot with the prams. Silver Cross Australia has a great website where you can view their range of prams and see which will suit your family! If you find BabyDrive helpful, please support us by supporting our sponsors!

The Silver Cross Wave tandem pram fits nicely in the boot with two seats…

…or with the bassinet and seat, with the parcel shelf removed and four shopping bags fit beside it.

The Silver Cross Coast single pram with the bassinet…

… or seat, fits in the boot of the Renault Kadjar with four shopping bags alongside it.

The Silver Cross Pioneer single pram, with the seat…

… or bassinet, fits in the boot of the Renault Kadjar fits nicely into the boot with five shopping bags alongside it.

The Silver Cross Jet compact stroller fits in the boot easily with nine shopping bags beside it.

Or if you remove the parcel shelf you could transport a medium-sized dog.

The boot of the Renault Kadjar is nice and even and flat, there are storage wells behind both wheel arches. The boot is good for transporting dogs and perfect for an emergency nappy change!

How good is the storage in the 2020 Renault Kadjar?

The 2020 Renault Kadjar has two cup holders in the central console that are well sized to hold a reusable and disposable coffee cup. Behind them is a central console box with a tray in the top good for storing your sunglasses.

There is also a smaller circular holder we found perfect for our daughter's babycino!! Being a French car, I imagine it is actually for espresso.

The phone charging well in front of the gear lever that has a 12V socket, an AUX and two USB ports.

The glove box is a good size and will hold an iPad with my wallet and the manual.

The front door pockets are a good size to hold a large refillable water bottle.

In the back, there is a single map pocket on the back of the driver's seat. That will hold but not conceal an iPad.

There are two cup holders in the back, in a fold-down armrest in the central seatback, that will hold a reusable and disposable coffee cup.

The rear door bins will not hold a large refillable water bottle, only a 600ml bottle fits and there are also little storage wells in the rear door handles too.

How noisy is the Renault Kadjar? How good is the media system in the Renault Kadjar?

The media system is great in the Renault Kadjar, it has a 7″ landscape screen. The system is nice and simple and easy to navigate and use.

It has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto also which makes it, even more, user friendly.

The reversing camera image nice and clear, it is quite small but you get a birdseye sensor view as well and you can mute the parking sensors by simply pressing on the icon on the screen, which is a great BabyDrive feature.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

You can lock the windows from the driver's door control panel…

…and lock the doors with a button on the central dash.

The indicator sound is not too loud and would not disturb a sleeping baby in the Renault Kadjar.

The windows and doors in the Renault Kadjar close relatively quietly and are not baby-waking either.

With baby asleep you can get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy. The same for the windows their mechanism is not too noisy and I didn’t notice them having a loud opening or closing sound.

With baby asleep you want to be able to get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy and wake Bub up!

An alarm did not sound when I came to a stop, took off my seatbelt and opened the door with the engine still running.

Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!

SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)

How many child seats fit in the Renault Kadjar?

The Renault Kadjar can only just fit three child seats in the back. It is more comfortable as a two child seat car. I found I could only just sit beside two child seats in the back but I was very cramped and I'm 162cm.

There are ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats, they are within plastic guides and are easy to connect to.

There are top tether anchorages on the back of all three backrests, they are within plastic guides and are nice and easy to access through the boot and connect to as well.

With a forward-facing child seat, we found a 182cm driver could fit in front. Whereas with a rear-facing child seat installed we could only fit a 162cm driver in front.

Posting bub into their child seat is fine from outside the car as the doorway is nice and wide, from inside the ceiling height allows a good amount of space to post bub into their seat too and there is room to feed bub in the back with only one child seat installed.

Australia being a country of weather extremes blazing sun and torrential rain means you may find it easier to put bub into their seat from inside the car. If it’s hot you can get the aircon going, cool the car down and not stand out in the heat with the door open while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether bub can be easily installed from either direction.

The seats in the Renault Kadjar Zen we tested are black leather-like upholstery with woven central panels. Which would be tricky to keep clean with kids and the central panels would trap all their crumbs and spills!

How comfortable is a Renault Kadjar?

The seats of the Renault Kadjar are comfortable in the front.

I found I couldn't wear a ponytail while driving though as the headrests are not adjustable!

I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get it just right too… said no new mum ever!!!

The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down.

The cruise controls are on the left side of the steering wheel.

But you have to make sure you have turned it on using the buttons down in the central console by the parking brake, which at first can be rather confusing!!

There are four air-con vents across the front dash. Two above the media screen, and one at either end. The air conditioning controls are situated below the media screen and are easy to use while driving.

There are also two air vents in the back of the central console box and two USB ports. The rear vents are great for keeping rear passengers cool in the Australian climate. The driver can reach these from the front too which is great.

Visibility is good out of the front and rear for the driver of the Renault Kadjar, the clear reversing camera helps also when maneuvering and parking.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread when we drive big cars and utes as they tend to take longer to park in our tight apartment block carpark, the little Kia Sportage was quite easy and enjoyable to drive and to park!

Visibility is good for rear passengers too, the rear windows are large enough allowing rear-facing passengers to see out and forward-facing passengers get a good view out of the side windows too.

In the back, the ceiling lights are in the ceiling on either side, I could reach the one on the driver's side from the front but not the far side.

The handles above the rear doors on either side in the back are perfect for hanging a baby toy from.

I often will reach back to turn on the interior light if I am driving at night time, I find my little girl gets less distressed traveling at night that way. It helps if I can reach the interior light from the drivers seat so I can turn it on and off whilst driving. I often find my daughter will need it on as we start our journey in the dark but once she falls asleep I can turn it off.

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

The Renault Kadjar has yet to go through ANCAP safety testing (it got five stars from Euro NCAP in 2015).

The Renault Kadjar has six airbags as standard. Driver and front passenger frontal airbags, front side airbags and side head curtain airbags.

The Renault Kadjar comes with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) interurban, electronic stability control (ESC), anti-lock braking system (ABS), emergency brake assist (EBA), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), hill start assist (HSA), blind-spot warning (BSM), lane departure warning (LDW), tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS).

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound.

I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!