[mrbaddy]

Visited Renault showroom at Hyderabad yesterday. Attaching the pictures from the visit.

Renault had done a good job in hiding the size of the vehicle with some nice touches. Front grill looks nice.


Side bulk is covered with the chrome running along the doors.



Front row seating from driver side


From passenger side


Interior looks decent and left a better impression on me compared to my first look at Duster's interiors few months ago.



Second row captain seats.


Boot space from the rear.
All seats upright


One 3rd row seat folded.


Both 3rd row seats folded. I could not get them lying flat on the floor and this might take away some boot space.


Although you can do this to maximize boot space by tumbling the entire 3rd row. There are levers around the hinges attaching the seat to the floor which will allow us to take away the 3rd row seat entirely from the vehicle.


Now comes the problem that I'm not comfortable with. This is how the leg space looks in 2nd row when front row seat is pushed back entirely (which is how I would want if i'm driving). That is me (6' 1") sitting in the 2nd row and could not keep the legs behind the front seat.


Lodgy chrome strip at the rear similar to Duster


Pictures from other angles. Although very boxy, Renault had done a good job with the boxy look.

.

The SA had offered me a test ride. However I could not do it as I'm running late to office. SA is very optimistic about how the pricing for this MPV would be.

He is talking about Renault might match or better the prices of Duster for comparative models in Lodgy. (Official launch is scheduled for April 10th)

Another disappointing factor is the 170's ground clearance mentioned by the SA.

The tyres (15 inch) looked decent to me, however 16 inches would have been better.

[SkyWalker]

Originally Posted by aniketi

[b]Not sure why Renault want to do like this. It's a bad move in my opinion. It will keep lot many buyers away initially as cost will be high. It can impact sales in long term. People will think it as a costly affair compared to cars like Ertiga.

I don't think the vehicle will be compared to Ertiga. It's definitely bigger and more spacious. The performance of Ertiga diesel is anemic with 5 people around (my opinion after a test drive).

Lodgy is comparable in size to Innova and that's how they would like to position it as well. I think getting premium models only in the beginning is a very good move to position it as a higher package.

[acidkill]

Should a Gc of 170 be a deal breaker for a long wheelbase car like this? I own a sunny which is a long wheelbase car and i think that its gc is just 165mm.

I have never had underbody issues with the sunny

[swiftdiesel]

I reckon lighter shades are visually more appealing on the Lodgy. Dark shade like the one above seems to do the opposite. And what's with that chrome overdose? Looks rubbish, especially those door handles. Without dark tints the Lodgy looks a bit, how do I put it....past its prime? BTW, the one who designed those alloys should look for a different job.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

I reckon lighter shades are visually more appealing on the Lodgy. Dark shade like the one above seems to do the opposite. And what's with that chrome overdose? Looks rubbish, especially those door handles. Without dark tints the Lodgy looks a bit, how do I put it....past its prime? BTW, the one who designed those alloys should look for a different job.

I have a rather contradictory opinion. Dark shades hide the bulk and makes the car looks smaller than it actually is. Renault has done a neat job with the chrome embellishments and these don't at all look gaudy, rather they give a premium appearance to the car especially on darker shades (like black, blue etc). If it is just a chrome strip pasted on the door handles (like the Etios), then that is not neat, however if the complete handle itself is made up of chrome then it will look good. Renault should have given the "pull type" rather these old school "flap type" handles.

My appeal to all the potential Lodgy owners, this is going to be a people mover, hence function takes over the form. Lodgy is not going to win any beauty contests, hence if it satisfies all your needs of a practical people mover then go for it.

One million dollar question though, is this is RWD (like Innova, Enjoy) or a FWD (like Ertiga, Mobilio)?

[batterylow]

Won't the chrome strip on the doors look a bit better placed higher?

The flat floor section makes me suspect a FWD layout.

[Soumyajit9]

- Looks like an elongated Duster from the side.
- Interiors looks pathetic with that "whatever" colour dashboard. A proper beige or black would have been better.
- Rest all is just as usual.

I am seeing this as a hit in taxi segment who are using Xylo or Wingers.
Nowhere in competition to Ertiga.

[mrbaddy]

Originally Posted by batterylow

Won't the chrome strip on the doors look a bit better placed higher?

The flat floor section makes me suspect a FWD layout.

I can't comment on the FWD/RWD, but the floor is raised significantly from second row seat onwards towards the rear by almost 6-8 inches.

[batterylow]

Originally Posted by mrbaddy

I can't comment on the FWD/RWD, but the floor is raised significantly from second row seat onwards towards the rear by almost 6-8 inches.

Google says it's front engined front wheel drive

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

One million dollar question though, is this is RWD (like Innova, Enjoy) or a FWD (like Ertiga, Mobilio)?

It's FWD.
BTW mods, is "rumour" still required in the thread title?

[swiftdiesel]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

I have a rather contradictory opinion. Dark shades hide the bulk and makes the car looks smaller than it actually is. Renault has done a neat job with the chrome embellishments and these don't at all look gaudy, rather they give a premium appearance to the car especially on darker shades (like black, blue etc). If it is just a chrome strip pasted on the door handles (like the Etios), then that is not neat, however if the complete handle itself is made up of chrome then it will look good. Renault should have given the "pull type" rather these old school "flap type" handles.

My appeal to all the potential Lodgy owners, this is going to be a people mover, hence function takes over the form. Lodgy is not going to win any beauty contests, hence if it satisfies all your needs of a practical people mover then go for it.

One million dollar question though, is this is RWD (like Innova, Enjoy) or a FWD (like Ertiga, Mobilio)?

It's not a million dollar question . It's FWD. Well, yeah, different strokes for different blokes but as you rightly said, it's function over form and that's why I'm looking to buy it. Any one have info on the colour palette? I might go for White.

[an_and]

Looks great. Has the potential to beat the innova. However as with any Toyota, the deal breaker has been the Quality of Service and durability of the product. How Renault Lodgy scores on these aspects will define the future for them.

[Fornax]

Any word on the launch date? Also, would be grateful, if anyone has spotted it in flesh anywhere in Mumbai. Innova v/s Lodgy, its gonna be some battle....

[Axe77]

I feel this analysis is very short term (Innova v. Lodgy). When the all new Innova comes next year, I feel they'll position it a notch above such that it won't be such a direct comparison between lodgy and innova. At some level they're both wooing the MUV families though so it might even make the lodgy easier to market to those families that are more price sensitive to an innova price and segment hike.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by Fornax

Any word on the launch date?

Originally Posted by mrbaddy

Official launch is scheduled for April 10th

May be word of mouth from the SA / dealership.