Renault Kiger 1-litre Petrol AMT vs 1-litre Turbo-petrol: Petrol Automatics Compared

While the Renault Kiger is offered with two 1-litre petrol engines, they’re set up differently as one’s a naturally aspirated unit and the other being a turbocharged motor. It is the same story with the transmissions on offer, with the 5-speed manual coming as standard for both engines. But the automatic options are a 5-speed AMT for the naturally aspirated petrol mill, and a CVT unit for the turbocharged petrol motor. The question is, which is the better petrol-automatic combination of the two? 

We find out in this comparison: 

Specifications

On paper alone, the Kiger’s 1-litre turbo-petrol has the edge in both power and torque. But a theoretical advantage is one thing and translating that into the real world is another. We got out the VBox to see if these advantages hold true.

Performance Runs

In the performance runs, the drawbacks of the naturally aspirated 1-litre petrol and the AMT are clear to see, with the 1-litre turbo-petrol CVT holding a comfortable advantage in the 0-100kmph sprint. While the gap closes up a fair bit in the kickdown test, it is still a pretty significant difference.

Fuel Economy

Here’s where things get interesting between the two petrol-automatic setups. The 1-litre N.A petrol AMT combo makes up for its lack of performance by offering more efficiency at 13.54kmpl (city) and 19kmpl (highway). While the 1-litre turbo-petrol CVT setup isn’t far behind on city frugality, the gap does get bigger on the highway.

Price

Taking all factors into play, if you’re looking for an affordable automatic offering that offers better frugality over performance, the 1-litre N.A AMT setup is the one to go with. On the other hand, if you’re willing to shell out more dough for better performance, the 1-litre turbo-petrol CVT option is the ideal pick.