[swiftnfurious]

Brilliant review. Reading it on a smart phone is exhausting!! 😊 Very well covered on the features and the product. I wish this gives a stick to the Innova. Hope Renault improves upon the customer relationship & doesn't repeat the Duster success attitude.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

FWD will not affect reliability or robustness. However, traditional ladder on frame chassis vehicles are more robust. That said, modern monocoque designs are equally tough. That said, only after 100,000kms on our roads we will be able to tell how the lodgy fares. In the west, both Dacia lodgy and duster are considered workhorses, but then their roads are very nice.
Personally, I was quite amazed by how the lodgy handled bumps and potholes.

Hello tsk1979,

Oh yes they will,

Traditional FWD mfrs (Citroen, Saab among others) had a litany of issues from customers regarding durability of FWD set-ups. Regardless of how detailed the stress analyses of the forces involved (and we are talking of mass production for the masses, not military customers with unlimited budgets!) in FWDers, wear & tear under full steering lock, full engine torque, with fully loaded vehicle is considerably more than with a comparable RWD setup. My own experience with FWD (Getz GLS) has only reiterated my view.
Certainly they are workhorses, but as you mentioned their roads can't compare with ours, by and large. Monocoque chassis, because of their inherent superior rigidity & torsional stiffness, are more supple and amenable to suspension tweaking and so handle bumps and potholes better.

It was the Volvo Amazon and the revered Peugeot 404s/405s which won the spurs in Africa in the 60's and 70's. Both were RWDers. I rest my case!

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Meanwhile, does anybody else think that "captain's chair" is highly over-rated? After all, its just a bucket seat - like the one you see in the front seat of any car - with sliding arm rests on both sides. I can't imagine why anybody would buy a 7 seater and make it a 6 seater!

Not actually. I got my 4WD S10 in captain seat configuration as undoubtedly the captain seats, at least in Scorpio are more comfortable than the bench type. Further, we are a family of 4.

In almost all cars/SUV's [not talking about luxo barges here] the front seats [for whatever reason] are more comfortable than their middle row counterpart.

For Lodgy particularly, this purpose seems defeated as the middle seats is fixed. And with taller than average occupants in the front seats, the saheb is not going to be happy. I am surprised at this loophole. Imagine, no one in the 3rd row and 6 feet + passengers in the front. What do you do, go to the third row and fold the 2nd for leg space. They should look at resolving this.

[deetjohn]

Superb review! Have covered each and every point. Thanks for sharing with us.

I had a chance to check out the Lodgy, Renault have kept for display at the showroom here. And the vehicle didn't look that impressive at all. Much different to what we see in pictures here. It came across as a typical MUV with lots of space. I felt it was much closer to the Evalia than the Innova or Ertiga. I recall how easy it was to enter and exit the vehicle as noted in the review. Didn't take a TD.

But surprised and happy to note about the ride and handling of this Renault. Maybe not, as all Dacia products 'handle' that part so well. Will be interesting to see how the market reacts to this Renault.

[wildsdi5530]

Excellent review. Almost makes a test drive superfluous.
How would the Lodgy stack against the Storme LX? I'm eagerly waiting for the new Storme but that seems to be vapourware.
Re: captain seats, during long drives, I find it more comfortable to put my feet up onto the bench. This is not possible in captain seats. Also the space b/w the captain seats is scary for children in the third row. Esp on braking.
Congratulations again.

[MetalBuff]

Brilliant snaps!

The first thing I noticed from the first picture was "This one is way too beautifully clicked and is so dang sharp! Did team-bhp invest in a new camera? ". A look to the left, I spot the tsk1979 handle and I'm like "Duh, why didn't this occur to me before? It had to be Tanveer at the job with the brilliant photography at display".

I seriously hope the Lodgy sets the sales charts on fire and brings down the volumes of the Innova which is getting pricier by the day. Unless M&M rethink their strategy and does some serious tweaks, I see a lot of peeps choosing the Lodgy over the Xylo.

The Lodgy slots in very appropriately between the Ertiga/ Mobilio and the Elavia clans and that too at a price point quite attractive than what the Innova is at!

Cheerio,
-Shivang Gandotra

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

from the looks of it, Lodgy isn't anywhere close to Innova in the interior space department. seeing Viddy jammed in like that in the middle row raises serious concerns about comfort of taller passengers. after all this is not a school van that will seat only children, it's for the whole family and family comes in all shapes and sizes. hopefully this will be addressed in later iterations.

btw, what was Viddy smiling about sitting in the middle row seat? wait, don't tell me - he would have thought.. middle row seats - score for Toyota!

There's no doubt that middle row space is average at best. But you have to consider one thing here, I am 6 feet tall which is much more than the average Indian. Moreover in that snap, I have set the front seat for a comfortable position for myself.

In reality the space is usable for normal sized adults. The reason I was in the photos is because Tanveer is larger than me in height and build.

The middle row space is usable usable but nowhere in the league of other UV's. Biggest miss is the lack of sliding as we mentioned.

So if family has tall people then it might not be best option but other than the middle row legroom for taller people, the Lodgy has the Innova beaten in every aspect.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by shashanka

Hello tsk1979,

O
It was the Volvo Amazon and the revered Peugeot 404s/405s which won the spurs in Africa in the 60's and 70's. Both were RWDers. I rest my case!

The 405 was front wheel drive, I think you mean the 504 and 505's

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

So if family has tall people then it might not be best option but other than the middle row legroom for taller people, the Lodgy has the Innova beaten in every aspect.

But, I feel even the 3rd row seat is more comfortable in Innova. While the Lodgy has more room, the seats in Innova are perched higher and recline to provide a more comfortable seating position.

[sachinayak]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Meanwhile, does anybody else think that "captain's chair" is highly over-rated? After all, its just a bucket seat

When we got our Innova, my wife insisted on the 7 seater (captain seat) version. Not for the comfort that it offered but just that it made the 3rd row a lot more accessible.

And how true, both my kids are now habituated to walk between the captain seats to the third row on their own. Cannot imagine this with a middle row bench.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by Fornax

Here are some questions I do have for the enthusiasts here:
1. Can the tune of the engine be interchanged at a later point?
2. Is the 84 more suited to city driving or 109?
3. Now that the MUV is launched, can I book a one-notch lower version, or is Renault hell bent on seling only the top end until further notice?
4. Whats that protrusion below both fog lamps? Is it to avoid damage to them or pedestrians?
5. Any word of waiting periods?
6. How does its sheet metal compare with that of the Mobilio?

And yes, a big thank you to tsk1979 for the sheer value provided to prospective buyers like me.

PS: Happy Birthday tsk1979

I have driven the 85 ps Duster in the city limits. Also its known fact that the 110 ps duster is better suited for highway since it suffers from turbo lag below 1800 rpm. Also that 6th gear will only help in cruising on highways. I see similar points in this review for Lodgy so tuning might be similar to that of duster.

if your usage is 80% city, you may not need that 6th gear anyway. 85 PS is great for city driving.

[serious_maniac]

Very nicely put review as everyone else said.

Launching of only top-end variant is smart. They will gauge people's response to accepting Lodgy as a personal vehicle. Many (if not most) personal buyers tend to go for higher variant. If the response is not good then am sure they will start targeting taxi segment very quickly who will most likely go for lower variants.

~maniac

[drmohitg]

Excellent review and some really beautiful pictures. Where are the first couple of pictures clicked with those hills in the background?

The Lodgy looks very promising indeed. The only shortcoming being lack of sliding middle row seats. Beats me as to what prevented Renault from putting those in too, in what seems to be an otherwise well thought out car.

Still I would reserve my verdict about the car. I have a gut feeling that the Innova would still continue to rule the roost. Also I would love to see this take on the Enjoy. Price wise the Enjoy enjoys a significant advantage.

[navin_v8]

This review was as expected from a forum like TeamBHP. Fantastic review I must say. Excellent job Tanveer and Vidyut. The picturesque locations and photos adds a visual character to the whole review. The comparison of the Renault Lodgy with its competitors helps to analyze the models and their features in a short and crisp manner. Coming back to the Lodgy it sure looks promising and VFM, the only thing to watch out for is the after sales service of Renault. What needs to be seen is if the Lodgy is able to challenge the segment king Toyota Innova.

[i74js]

K9K, D4D and the national favourite Fiat Multijet are proven workhorses and none of the users of these engines have ever complained on performance. Frankly speaking these engines have delivered their commitment to the car owners.

Lodgy is good attempt made by Renault to fill the gap between small MUVs and the Innova. The car looks to be honest in terms of price and what it offers. I am sure if this product is able to sell even 40-50% of what Toyota manages with Innova, Renault will take up all possible measures to meet the expectations of buyers and some of the changes which we could see in the near future are:

- Better management of second row (forward and aft movement)
- Tire profile (16 inch is appropriate for this kind of vehicle)
- ACC in top trim / if Renault could offer dual zone ACs with separate control, even better
- Temperature gauge on the dashboard
- Indicators on ORVM instead of fender
- Keyless entry and go

These are minimal changes and does not require revisiting of drawing-board, yet this will make the product come up to the buyers expectations.

The sooner they take it, the easier it will be for the customers to consider this product.

Cheers