Used Renault Kadjar review and buying guide (2015 to 2022): which one to buy and what to check

Which used Renault Kadjar should you buy?

Go for a 1.5 or 1.6 dCi diesel on 17-inch wheels. The diesels are the refined, economical engines in the range, and they don't share the timing-chain stretch the 1.2 TCe petrol is known for. On 19-inch rims the ride gets unsettled on B-roads, while 17s with 60-profile tyres ride fine, and three owners of front-wheel-drive cars on 19s have worn the front tyres quickly, one down to 2mm at 16,600 miles.

Pick by engine and gearbox rather than by year. The combination to be wary of is the 1.2 TCe with the EDC automatic: the engine's timing chain can stretch, and two owners of TCe automatics have had trouble, one with a violent judder pulling away and the other with a gearbox that kept failing.

Don't treat the newest cars as automatically safer. One new 2019 Kadjar with the 1.3 TCe petrol cracked its engine block at 700 miles and lost all its oil, and the dealer wrote the engine off and fitted a new one under warranty. That's one car, so it doesn't rule the 1.3 out, but a later petrol isn't a guaranteed easy buy.

Which Kadjar engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

The 1.5 and 1.6 dCi diesels are the ones to aim for: they're refined and economical, and the chain-stretch problem belongs to the petrol. The 1.5 dCi (K9K) has a cambelt that's due every 72,000 miles or five years, whichever comes first, so on a car near either mark ask for the receipt or plan on having it done straight away.

The 1.2 TCe (H5FT) has a timing chain rather than a belt, and it's an engine with a record of chain stretch. The causes are low oil pressure, fuel thinning the oil and a blocked jet that's meant to oil the chain, all made worse by the engine's appetite for oil. Ask how often it's been topped up between services.

The EDC dual-clutch automatic is where the TCe's trouble shows up. One 2017 TCe automatic juddered pulling away and needed lots of revs before it would move at all, and a new 1.2 TCe EDC kept failing after three dealer repairs. Renault calls the gearbox oil sealed for life, but it's worth changing every 50,000 miles or five years.

The six-speed manual isn't spotless either. One owner of a 1.6 found it stiff coming out of second and sixth at 10,000 miles until it jammed in second, and another owner's 2016 car needed a clutch at 24,000 miles after the clutch cylinder had already been replaced at 10,000.

What should you check when viewing a used Kadjar?

On an EDC automatic, pull away gently from rest several times, including on a slope. A judder, a car that won't creep until the revs climb, or a violent jerk as the electronic handbrake lets go is exactly what one 2017 owner described. On a manual, work through every gear and check second and sixth come out cleanly.

Listen for any noise from the front wheels on the test drive: one 1.6 dCi 4WD needed both front wheel bearings at 42,000 miles. Look at the rear brake discs for rust, since one 2015 car needed new discs and pads at 40,000 miles, and check how much tread is left on the front tyres of a car on 19-inch wheels.

Make sure the air-con blows cold. Stone damage to the condenser at the front let all the refrigerant out on one 2017 car, and that wasn't covered by the warranty. Spend a few minutes with the touchscreen and DAB radio too, because two owners have had DAB drop out and two had the infotainment unit die and need replacing.

Ask whether the alarm has ever gone off by itself, as two owners have had it trigger at random, sometimes several times a night. Then get the paperwork: a cambelt receipt on a 1.5 dCi past 72,000 miles or five years, a gearbox oil change on an EDC past 50,000 miles, and any clutch work on a manual.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.

What does a used Renault Kadjar cost to run?