DRIVE SOUTH AFRICA: The hidden cove of Llandudno in a Renault Kiger

Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn – and in Cape Town you can soak up the best sunsets between Camp’s Bay and Llandudno. While some sunsets bring a fiery end to a sweltering day, others dip quietly without making a sound.

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Our destination today is one of the Mother City’s most exclusive suburbs – Llandudno – just a short 18kms away from the city centre. Today we’re cruising the Atlantic Seaboard in a Renault Kiger.

Let’s face it. SUV was the ‘official’ word in the motoring world in 2021 – therefore, it is only natural that Renault entered the fray with The Kiger which also replaces the Renault Sandero Stepway.

It’s a nippy drive for a 1-litre engine, noted it has a turbo. It pushes out 74 kW at 5000 revs per minute. Being fuel efficient, it makes for a great runaround car but if you want to runaway for the day, go to Llandudno – where the surf is aqua and the homes so plush it’s hard to look at them without a tinge of envy.

Fun Fact about the little seaside cove of Llandudno – all these years later, it has no street lights and not a single shop – there’s also only motorway in and out – making it one of the safer suburbs in the Western Cape.

One of the more popular reasons people visit Llundudno is because of its accessibility to Sandy Bay, which is a nudist beach. A leisurely walk along the rocky shore introduces you to massive granite boulders and water so clear, you can watch dolphins and whales frolic morning and evening.

And if you’re an avid surfer, the Renault Kiger is small enough to manoeuvre into a loaded parking bay and big enough to take along your surfboard and picnic.

The exterior is fitted with chrome trimmings worth a double-take – as well as 16-inch alloy wheels and an impressive 205mm ground clearance.

The interior has comfortable clothe seats, an impressive 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system and pockets of plenty storage space – but you can’t ignore the hard plastic door panels which lessens the appeal of the cabin.

It can all be forgiven when you walk along the unspoilt beaches of Llundudno with fynbos stretching out in both directions. There are stormy winters, magnificent summers and no two dusks ever look the same – it’s a place to come to appreciate the richer things in life, and then jet off in your Renault Kiger.