[Joe-Ker]

Its high time mahindra came up with a xylo with totally revamped looks. Thats the one very important box it fails to tick. Otherwise it wins hands down. Except innova, aria and xylo, all are compromised adaptations of some platform designed with something else in mind!

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by CruzeLiner

though GC and wheelbase are important, i dont think these 2 alone contribute to a car's ability to tackle bad roads. so its not all that straight forward IMHO.

CruzeLiner I know its not as straight forward and That's why I had written the below line (quoted from my previous post)

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Edit: Nature of the suspension set-up has its own effects. but I'm not going into such a detail

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

How a clutch is can be relative. If you were to compare the Lodgy's clutch to a Hyundai or Honda clutch, then yes it's heavy. But if I compare to the Ecosport or Figo or Innova then the clutch is not heavy.

Basically it's not the lightest of clutches but it's not one we could call as a heavy clutch.

When I test drove the 110PS version of lodgy I dint feel the clutch heavy as compared to my Santro which I drive everyday. It was smooth all the way, even when I tried to maneuver a speed breaker slowly in 2nd gear.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

This month's 'Autocar India' Magazine quotes the following 'First Verdict' on the Renault Lodgy.

Heavy Clutch

This contradicts the team-bhp review. Could you please clarify?

Originally Posted by m8002?

In my test drive of the 110 version, I didnt find the clutch to be any different from my Baleno's clutch. And I was driving in narrow crowded roads with lot of gear changes.

I felt instantly at home in terms of clutch, size of the car and overall visibility.

Originally Posted by fusionbang

When I test drove the 110PS version of lodgy I dint feel the clutch heavy as compared to my Santro which I drive everyday. It was smooth all the way, even when I tried to maneuver a speed breaker slowly in 2nd gear.

@ Jinojohnt: We really cannot comment on why other reviews had an observation different to ours. As one example, after the initial EcoSport media drives were held, Team-BHP was the only one to report on the suspension's stiff side. Everyone else kept on raving about how plush it is. We couldn't care less. We reported exactly what we felt.

Some other reviewers even found the Tata Bolt Diesel to suffer from heavy turbo-lag. I drove it for a couple of days in Mumbai and can tell you that the engine has good driveability.

Originally Posted by GTO

Tata has given the 1.3L diesel a practical state of tune. The Bolt diesel pulls well from low rpm. Many hatchbacks powered by the same engine suffer from prominent turbo-lag, but not the Bolt. Remember, this Tata develops its peak torque a full 250 rpm earlier than the Swift diesel. As a result, the engine has adequate torque in the 1,500 - 1,900 rpm range. While there is a noticeable surge in power delivery once you cross 2,000 rpm, the Bolt is certainly not 'dead' below that. The needle climbs sufficiently quickly from 1,600 - 2,000 rpm. You can easily cross speed-breakers in 2nd gear itself, without feeling any need to downshift to 1st. In fact, you rarely need to downshift to 1st, unless you come to a stop or an absolute crawl. The Bolt offers good driveability in urban conditions and you'll be using the gearbox a lot less than some competitors. The initial lot of gears are short; this helps driveability and also in getting around lag. Don't get me wrong, it's no Nissan Micra, yet the Bolt is rather competent in the city.

With reference to the clutch, it's a well-known fact that Renault lightened the clutch of the Duster after initial reports on it being too hard. This happened in end-2013. There's no reason for the Lodgy to use the 2011 Duster's setup when the newer one is already tried & tested.

[anilkalvani]

Great review. One thing i can vouch for after owning the Logan for around 5 years is the best pliant ride quality this side of 20 lacs. I have a Vento now but still miss the Logan's ride quality. i drove the Duster once for a short time from Pune to Mahabaleshwar, the 85PS one. Trust me, i have never been more impressed with its overall dynamics, negligible turbo lag & its ability to sail over rough roads. Even when i was sitting behind, I felt the ride quality was one of the best in any car i have sat in this side of 50 lacs. Let me reserve my comments on the Lodgy once i drive it. Even though i feel Renault's got the pricing all wrong, seems a good practical car but you can't compare it to the Innova. The Innova is like a living room compared to the rest, not to add its bulletproof reliability & excellent sales & service. Can't say the same about the ride quality & exorbitant price though.

Anyway, i'd never think twice about owning a Renault again, but for its indifferent service.

[tsk1979]

Attaching numbers from media presentation

[freakmuzik]

The Lodgy looks damn impressive. It's got decent looks and quality, awesome space (2nd row sliding seats please!), a fuel-efficient yet powerful engine and good set of features too! This definitely looks like a winner on paper with the given price. Let's wait and see how it performs in terms of sales though. If I was out on the market for an MPV, this would definitely be in my list.


And as always, that was an amazing review Mods!

[sachinayak]

The above images (specially the last one) seems to suggest the knee room in the Innova is even lower than the Mobilio. Guess it is the knee-up position.

Look at the image itself, the figure in the last seat is the knee upward position. The figure itself looks uncomfortable.

Any higher floor would make it into a fetal position and then make HF11=HF07

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

The above images (specially the last one) seems to suggest the knee room in the Innova is even lower than the Mobilio. Guess it is the knee-up position.

Look at the image itself, the figure in the last seat is the knee upward position. The figure itself looks uncomfortable.

Any higher floor would make it into a fetal position and then make HF11=HF07

Yes but the figure is labelled as knee radius. Ideally it should be least radius when the HF11 touches the front seats.

[acidkill]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Top End 109 PS RxZ is 14.2 lacs OTR

Attachment 1360012

And that my friend is the effect of higher taxes on cars priced above Rs 10L

Look at the OTR price difference between the RXL 85Ps at 9.7 Lakh ex-showroom and the RXL 110 ps at 10.2 ex-showroom.

It jumps to 1.1 Lakh! which means the extra Rs 60k goes in taxes

Looks like there is an incentive to buy the RXL 85 PS!!

[adtalwar]

Hi there,

Really good review

I may have missed this but could you also confirm if Lodgy will be available for taxi registration? I see a line up of Innova owners shifting to Renault! And on other hand it may cause potential private owners to stay away.

Regards
Anand

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by adtalwar

I may have missed this but could you also confirm if Lodgy will be available for taxi registration?

I guess you can register any car as taxi. There is no restriction as such.

[adtalwar]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

I guess you can register any car as taxi. There is no restriction as such.

I read it elsewhere and it was recently mentioned for Ciaz on this forum also that the car is not opened for commercial registration. So there definitely seems to be some option for the manufacturer. But again am no expert..

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by adtalwar

I read it elsewhere and it was recently mentioned for Ciaz on this forum also that the car is not opened for commercial registration. So there definitely seems to be some option for the manufacturer. But again am no expert..

Not true. I have seen quite a few Ciaz with yellow plates.

[freakmuzik]

Just wanted to share my experience after checking out the car in person.

While I was casually driving through the Kovalam road, I saw the Lodgy parked at the Renault Showroom. On my return journey, i stopped and decided to have a look. The SA was busy with someone else and I wasn't attended by anyone which was good according to me. Externally, the car looks small and the width is good, definitely better than the Ertiga. Drivers seat gives a very good view and plastic quality was decent and not great for sure. Innova is miles ahead!!

Coming to the rear seat, the legspace was disappointing. I mean, for a 13 lac rupee MPV, I would prefer the Innova/ Aria for the flexibility of sliding seats for sure. Plus, interiors don't feel as spacious as the Innova either. I somehow felt the under-thigh support of the Captian seats to be better than the ones in Innova. I've always felt the under-thigh support to be poor in Innovas captain seats, though the bolstering is really good. To me, the 60:40 bench seats were just a tad lesser comfortable though the wider armrest was beautiful. Legroom was still not good enough.

PS - Is it only me who feels the Innovas captain seats to have poor underthigh support?

Coming to the 3rd row, access is pretty decent and once you set in, things are quite ok. Your knees point up so much and it feels really weird initially. Legroom is very decent. And the 207 L boot is pretty good I guess for an MPV.

Overall the Lodgy is a very competent package though some people in the showroom complained about the lack of adjustable 2nd row seats. The SA was telling them that due to such customer reviews, they may add this feature soon.

Finally, to me, in terms of seating comfort and legroom (especially the 3rd row)
Xylo> Aria = Innova> Lodgy

The Xylo is a true 7/8 seater trust me, as I've travelled in the 3rd row for 2 hours and it was quite good (sans the bouncy ride)

Sense of quality -
Innova> Aria > Lodgy> Xylo

Innova will definitely rule the market and I don't think it has much to worry even now as the Taxi people would still prefer the Innova at 13-14 lacs, even if it's not the highest trim, just because it's really spacious and proven. But the almost double fuel efficiency of the Lodgy, 6th gear and relaxed cruising and performance is something the Innova can only dream about.

Cheers!