[2cents]

Had to change my tyres recently. Went from 185/60 R-14 to 185/65 R-14. Reason - an additional one cm ground clearance. Downside - I get a 'riding on balloons' feeling frequently. Wonder what 165/80 R-14 will feel like!! Clearly, they've gone for such a (ridiculously) large profile to match the 185/65-R15 wheels the preview vehicle had, and suits the size of the 'accessory' alloy wheels. Looks like Renault wants to skim every inch to show a lower sticker price, and flourish on even bare necessities as optional accessories!!

[giri1.8]

Looking at the bare bone specs, expecting it to be price on par with tall boy hatchbacks like the Wagon R and Santro, with the advantage of two additional seats!

There is potential market for this car : Rural areas. Sadly they don't have enough network to tap into this potential.

[motorworks]

My only grouse with the interior is that Tray below the aircon controls. It spoils an otherwise decent dashboard design. And it looks so blank with just a stop start button which would not exist in most variants anyway. And if its meant to hold a mobile, im sure it will keep creating rattles on the go. They should have rather just stuck to a waterfall cascade kind of design.

[SaiSW]

I think this could be the "Tiago" for Renault. Tiago changed Tata's fortunes and brought in amazing volumes and also improved it's image a lot.

My only concern with the Triber is it's little petrol engine. They could've brought in the turbo petrol motor at the start itself and then it would be a very good package but then ofcourse it will increase prices and people with herd mentality will not even consider it and will go to a nearby Maruti showroom instead.

[ashutoshb]

Visited the Renault Showroom today. There were three Tribers on display.

My observations:

• The fit and finish of the interiors is okay for the 5-8 lakh segment. Not a deal breaker to me.
• The steering wheel is nice to hold. But, the design of wheel is such that the space left for controls give you a 'cheap' feeling.
• I am 6 ft tall. I had set the first two rows of the passenger side, as per my height and then sat in the third row. My knees weren't touching in any of the rows and I think I would be able to sit in the third row for a couple of hours. The same can't be said for the driver's side, because I will take more space to be comfortable on the driver's seat. So, me behind me, behind me, won't be possible there.
• The boot space without third row attracts me the most. It has plenty of space, ideal for a trip for four with plenty of luggage.
• There are no arm rests, even in the second row. Something important to me.
• All five doors are on the slimmer side. The bonnet is super light. The overall sheet metal thickness is somewhere between Datsun and Maruti and far away from Tata or Volkswagen. I won't be even thinking of booking it before the crash test results of Global NCAP come out.
• Alloys wheels are offered only as an accessory. Tyre size, even on the top end variant is 165/80 R14. In my opinion, 185/70 R14 would be a great upsize, without sacrificing much comfort.
• Test drives will start from Aug 28, will post again once I have taken one.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by AdityaDeane

...
but the lines and gaps in this attached image from the back seems like the 2nd row seat is 40:20:40 Spilt with the Centre portion folding down as an Armrest for the middle passengers.

No its a 60:40 split. And whats quite silly is - the side of the 60 doesn't fold all the way! What a miss! It's seat back only folds half way & not full flat. Why on earth would the engineers have done this I wonder.

Originally Posted by 2cents

Had to change my tyres recently. Went from 185/60 R-14 to 185/65 R-14. Reason - an additional one cm ground clearance. Downside - I get a 'riding on balloons' feeling frequently. Wonder what 165/80 R-14 will feel like!! Clearly, they've gone for such a (ridiculously) large profile to match the 185/65-R15 wheels the preview vehicle had, and suits the size of the 'accessory' alloy wheels. Looks like Renault wants to skim every inch to show a lower sticker price, and flourish on even bare necessities as optional accessories!!

You got the balloon feeling because your car's suspension is tuned for 185/60R14. If the Triber is tuned properly - it won't be an issue.

If I'm not mistaken, 165/80R14 was the standard tyre spec on the Ritz/Swift at least till the previous generation. Worked alright.
What this does is - it will make it easier on the suspension (i.e. cheaper to make suspension components will be used to control cost) and keep the ride soft still. The tyres will contribute to the ride also and not just the grip.

Originally Posted by motorworks

My only grouse with the interior is that Tray below the aircon controls. It spoils an otherwise decent dashboard design. And it looks so blank with just a stop start button which would not exist in most variants anyway. And if its meant to hold a mobile, im sure it will keep creating rattles on the go. They should have rather just stuck to a waterfall cascade kind of design.

Almost all cars have a tray of one kind or the other now a days. My Nexon doesn't have it and yes I miss it. If you use Apple car play / android auto - you'll love this tray in 10 seconds. Even the Hyundai Creta, Venue have a tray of sorts (along with wireless charging in it). I don't think the rattles will be too much. Utility will be quite good.

Originally Posted by ashutoshb

...
...[*] Alloys wheels are offered only as an accessory. Tyre size, even on the top end variant is 165/80 R14. In my opinion, 185/70 R14 would be a great upsize, without sacrificing much comfort.

Thanks for real world & true feedback comments. Good points.
As for the tyres I was sure it will be 14". I mentioned so in a previous post a couple of pages earlier after the previews came out. And I feel 14" is simply too small for the bulk of the car visually. I know it will mean an impact on fuel efficiency.

185/70R14 will mean very wide tyres, tall sidewalls and small wheels. Ride & handling both will be impacted. Renault will need to add another storage place for each seat to store plenty of barf bags. It will handle like a ferry boat.

Also - that tyre spec will make the tyres very grippy and most importantly - heavy. It won't help the fuel efficiency of an already strained 1.0L engine.

In fact I'm guessing considering the overall packaging of this car - the tyre spec you mentioned will not even fit in the spare tyre bin of the car - unless of course the spare is held under the body like other MPVs. Pardon my ignorance.

[2cents]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

You got the balloon feeling because your car's suspension is tuned for 185/60R14. If the Triber is tuned properly - it won't be an issue.

Agreed! But then why sell a R-15 alloy as accessory, and promote 185/60-15 in the preview vehicles!? It's like they recommend 185/60-15, but provide smaller width as standard. I even doubt if they used those 165 tyres at all on those detailed road tests! Sure, they would've used them for ARAI FE figures though.

As a prospective Triber customer, what worries me more is that when companies skim on visible areas of a car to project a lower price, then what is it they won't do in those not so visible regions. How trustworthy is the shell? Hyundai and Maruti regularly compromise on the structure in the Indian version. Ford did that even with the Endy. Will the standard Triber to be sold in Indian roads ever see an NCAP test? I am not very sure.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

.......unless of course the spare is held under the body like other MPVs.

It is indeed located under the body.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by 2cents

Agreed! But then why sell a R-15 alloy as accessory, and promote 185/60-15 in the preview vehicles!? It's like they recommend 185/60-15, but provide smaller width as standard. I even doubt if they used those 165 tyres at all on those detailed road tests! Sure, they would've used them for ARAI FE figures though.

Ok thats my bad. I didn't know the "accessory" alloy wheels are of R15 spec. Thought they'd be same size. Thats a bit weird though. Didn't expect a car maker to sell differently sized wheel as an official accessory to a car without making any other changes to the suspension etc. Not a common practise.

Originally Posted by 2cents

Will the standard Triber to be sold in Indian roads ever see an NCAP test? I am not very sure.

I'm quite sure it won't. At least not so soon. It might go for the BNVSP crash tests once they are mandated perhaps.

Do have a look at the MotorOctane preview on Youtube. I watched it yesterday. Quite a good preview. Pay attention to the piece where the anchor shows the engine bay and then shuts the bonnet lid. It sounds like a hollow oil can fell off a table. Don't hope too much safety performance from this car. Its in Datsun-Maruti territory surely as a fellow bhpian mentioned earlier.

And that I think is acceptable as long as the customers are well informed. They should know that its a vehicle to drive in city & always on the defensive. Aggressive overtakes, fast cornering in ghats is not to be done with entry level cars. While accidents are always sad - the death toll in India isn't only because cars are not strong. Its because people don't drive their cars within their limits. People buy a WagonR and then do 130kmph on the highway. Thats not what the car is meant for. Its not all car makers fault.

Originally Posted by 2cents

It is indeed located under the body.

Alrighty thanks!

[VKumar]

Those who are interested in a nice walk around video with Team-BHP level of details and full coverage of the vehicle, here I found a nice one over the Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MBo...ature=youtu.be

[dadu]

Originally Posted by tj123

Non availability of AMT variant during launch is going to be a big letdown. Now a days in big cities customers are looking forward for automatic variants and this number is around 25% to as high as 40%.

It will be a mistake if they dont launch an Automatic, nowdays sub 4 mtr cars are very popular as a second office drive car in cities, but has to be automatic.

Otherwise their sales get restricted to tier III and below towns.

[Djay]

I really hope the Triber clicks and Renault finally finds success with this product. It's a unique proposition with so many seating and luggage combinations, all within a sub-4 metre footprint.

Will be extremely helpful in cramped city conditions, but also offering flexibility for larger families, airport trips and occasional furniture hauling.

I for one want to commend Renault for the amazing job they have done with space management. Looking for more such products packed with utility in our market.

And yeah...I think that honey yellow colour looks dope!!

[MukundanMK]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Ok thats my bad. I didn't know the "accessory" alloy wheels are of R15 spec. Thought they'd be same size. Thats a bit weird though. Didn't expect a car maker to sell differently sized wheel as an official accessory to a car without making any other changes to the suspension etc. Not a common practise.

They want to keep the car price, including the top end variant price very low and have incorporated a lot of cost cutting. The accessory alloy wheels being 1 inch higher is definitely a segment/industry first. The tuning might be for 15 inch accessory and would have been done with a hope that the perspective customer is going to buy the accessory for sure.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

I'm quite sure it won't. At least not so soon. It might go for the BNVSP crash tests once they are mandated perhaps.

It will fail or score low on any crash test, like most of the other Indian cars will. I had spent good 10-15 mins with the car and I can say that the car is definitely not high in safety standards. It doesn't matter if the car has 6 airbags (Triber has a max of 4 airbags only), ESP, ABS and tons of other safety features, if the car doesn't have a strong body. Triber is one such or I should one of the many such vehicles in the Indian market. We are comparing the Triber to a Datsun GO+. I believe that Datasun GO secured Zero in the safety rating assessment. Triber would probably score slightly higher than that.

This is neither a enthusiast car nor a safe family car. It can be nice family car for driving at low speeds, within city limits. Definitely not as a cruiser on highways and all. Having said all of this, this car will still attract buyer because of the potential 7 seating capability of 5 seating with huge boot. Safety aspects have never been a priority for Indian customers and Triber will encash this sentiment.

Will be good if a day comes, where cars can be sold only after their crash tests are done and people buy these cars, knowing what is the car's safety rating. 6 airbags and other safety features to be made mandatory from the base variant. Wait, now only we have managed to make reverse sensors and beeps for 80/120 kmph speed mandatory. We still have a long time, before such rules are implemented. Till then let us allow all these car manufacturers to exploit us. Rear seat screen will always be more popular and welcomed, than a rear side curtain airbag.

[ashutoshb]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Thanks for real world & true feedback comments. Good points.
As for the tyres I was sure it will be 14". I mentioned so in a previous post a couple of pages earlier after the previews came out. And I feel 14" is simply too small for the bulk of the car visually. I know it will mean an impact on fuel efficiency.

185/70R14 will mean very wide tyres, tall sidewalls and small wheels. Ride & handling both will be impacted. Renault will need to add another storage place for each seat to store plenty of barf bags. It will handle like a ferry boat.

Also - that tyre spec will make the tyres very grippy and most importantly - heavy. It won't help the fuel efficiency of an already strained 1.0L engine.

In fact I'm guessing considering the overall packaging of this car - the tyre spec you mentioned will not even fit in the spare tyre bin of the car - unless of course the spare is held under the body like other MPVs. Pardon my ignorance.

The Tribers showcased earlier had 185/65 R15 rubber on them. So, IMHO, 185/70 R14 would be alright. Anyways, the upsize is not relevant to this thread, so don't want to go off topic

165s looked too thin when viewing from the car from the front or the rear.

[onesomeone]

I test drove the car yesterday. Peppy engine and loads of space. However, the engine sounds seeps in the cabin and can be annoying. Overall a fun car to drive.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by onesomeone

I test drove the car yesterday. Peppy engine and loads of space. However, the engine sounds seeps in the cabin and can be annoying. Overall a fun car to drive.

Did you say "Peppy", looking at the engine specs its bhp and torque is even lesser than Dzire and vehicle weight is almost similar, hope you were not running along with it.

On a serious note, how many occupants were present when you test drove and did you do any inclines ?