The latest offering from the French is already making waves in the market and we were pepped up to drive the much-awaited Renault Triber. The sub-4 metre seven-seater Hatchback/compact SUV/MUV — you classify it and it fits the bill — is made in and for the Indian market with a focus on large families on a budget.
Sub-4 metre and seven-seater? Yes, you read it right. Don’t be alarmed, the Triber is surprisingly roomy for its size.
For an early morning drive, six adults got inside with ease in the Electric Blue Triber and we zoomed past the south Goa countryside.
Look and Feel
The exterior of the vehicle is strikingly edgy. It made heads turn. The up-to-date front grille with the Renault logo, taking pride of place at the centre, prepares you for an intriguing design language ahead. A pair of elegant projector headlamps and indicators set-up flank on both sides of the grille. The LED DRLs below the headlight cluster and the faux skid plates lower down the bumper complete the front look…SUV yet?
The Triber has Kwid-like cladding on front wheel arches with integrated turn side indicators. The roof rails, full length side-cladding and faux skid plates give it an SUV look and feel. The rear end is your typical MPV but with a twist in the tail light design. The ‘eagle beak’ split headlight is a visual treat and assists in lighting up the straight-forward rear end that also houses the rear wash-wipe, large Renault logo, number plate onto the hatch door, the Triber badging on the side and faux skid plates on the bumper below. The loading height is low and assists in easy access.
On the inside, the dashboard comes across as a Plain Jane budget offering with premium touches to liven up the interiors with a dual-tone theme. The most noticeable feature is the 8” multimedia touch screen system that duals up as the rear parking camera screen and comes equipped with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and video playback via USB. For the environment conscious, the multimedia screen also has an Eco function which judges and rates the driver on the basis of how eco-friendly he is driving. Renault has provided the Triber with a hands-free card and a start stop button. The fully digital instrument cluster completes the sophisticated look Renault was trying to achieve in a budget car.
The base variant comes with a driver and passenger airbag and the top variant has four with an addition of two front side airbags. Also, all three rows get an AC vent!
The Triber takes its tagline — Space for Everything — very seriously. Compared to other cars in its segment, the second and the third rows offer comfortable seating space thanks to its large wheelbase of 2636 mm. But the seats will be comfortable for short drives only, given the lack of proper bolstering in order to provide maximum interior space. It also has a massive 625 litres boot space with the third row folded. If all the seats are occupied, the boot space reduces drastically.
On the road, the narrow Goan lanes made for an interesting track to test the car’s handling. The seat does not come with height adjustment but even for a short person like us, the little elevated seat position and wide screen do a good job. The Triber with 1.0-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine generating 72Ps with 96Nm torque under its hood and six adults seated comfortably, manoeuvred easily and cleared all doubts of the car possibly being a tad bit underpowered. The response too was instantaneous. On the highway, we are expecting the car will perform the same way even with a packed car considering it is coming from the Renault stable. Strongly recommend taking a highway test drive first.
Easyfix Seats
All that talk about space is because Renault has scored a brownie point among those looking for flexibility. The Triber comes with industry-first Easyfix seats that will turn your car into a five-seater, six-seater or seven-seater. The Easyfix seats make up the third row and are completely and easily removable in a few quick steps. They also come with their bag in which they can be packed up to be used for a later time. The five-seater configuration provides a 625-litre boot space to stock your possessions. The seven-seater configuration though offers a much lesser space of 84 litres of boot space.
Renault has pinned their hopes on Triber to be a game-changer in this currently sluggish market and has price positioned the car in a very attractive bracket. This spacious seven-seater is available from a starting price of Rs 4.95 lakh (ex-showroom all India) to 6.49 lakh (ex-showroom all India).
Verdict
The Triber is a no-nonsense family car that will fulfil all your basic needs and do more without the show-off.
