My Review of Renault Lodgy:If You Look For A MPV….Renault Lodgy is the Best option!!

My Review of Renault Lodgy:If You Look For A MPV….Renault Lodgy is the Best option at Present!

Well…as I have already said I have never been a car savvy person. I mean I never read cars through a spectacle of “technical point of view”. Believe me…even I wasn’t aware of it.

But then #LiveLodgycal drive happened at Goa. 40 awesome bloggers, the rambling property Leela Palace resort and the rain kissed Goa. For a new comer like me things were turning to be like “exploring the unknown part of life”. So Along with fun, food and friend there were many things happened for the first time for me.

As the Greek philosopher of Ephesus Heraclitus quoted “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”…How true it is. At least I’m at present not the same person so far as cars are concern as I was before 19th June 2015.

Well…the first thing I did after my return was, I tried to find out if I’m a single piece of my kind (not so techno savvy on cars) or some more of my species exist.

So I did a survey among my women friends and relatives that include those who even drive a car. Twenty of them responded. I was surprised with the result.

My question was "Do you see/want to know the technical features of a car when you buy or drive?"

This is the result:

This is How my friends (Women) responded when I asked If they look for the technical feature sin a Car

Hey…I was in the majority!!Well…I mean to say women normally don’t look for the technicalities of anything. Though the trend is changing fast with women super shading men in almost all the field, but that’s not a sizable mass so far…I must be honest you know!!

Anyway!! I already have said that it was because my brother bought a Renault Lodgy in May 2015 right after its launch in April 2015, that made me notice it for the first time, but I had never thought of "What made him to go for this new still creature!!"

After been to the river (Read #LiveLodgycal drive at Goa) I was no same Tina u know…So I was eager to know what made him buy New Renault Lodgy when he could have gone easily for already proven Innova if he was interested for a MPV.

Here is what he said:

Interesting…Right!!Also Isn’t’ it surprising!!

Then I made an effort to understand what the Top three things a person looks for…. before buying a car!!I asked this question to my friends, relatives and in my whatsaap groups (both men and women included)

I took the first twenty responses into account and here is the result:

With this small survey among my own surrounding of friends and relatives, I got clear enough idea on how people feel when it comes to buy a car and drive it.

Well these are after effects of the high voltage #LiveLodgycal Drive at Goa.

My Overview and review of Renault Lodgy as a MPV in Indian Market and Road!!

Of late MPVs (Multi Purpose Vehicles) have become most shot after vehicle by families in India. The increasing popularity of this segment of cars in India is because of the following reasons:

• The Capability to carry all the member of grand Indian families to travel together.
• They offer flexible storage space to make room for equally diverse sizes of luggage and other stuffs.

So looking at the lucrative and profitable demand in this segment, it is of course a wise decision on part of Renault to lunch the Compact MPV Renault Lodgy.

Renault has always been a popular brand in India. The SUV Renault Duster is a super successful kid from the Renault family. The MPV Renault Lodgy is really interesting particularly because Renault is known to be as one of the pioneers in MPVs, with their ‘Espace’ in 80s.

Even though Toyota Innova is already ruling the market with Honda Mobilio and Maruti Ertiga having their share of consumers; I still see a great market and success for the new entrant Lodgy mainly because of its wonderful features, design and utilities.

Though I didn’t drive The Lodgy at Goa but as a traveler in the journey I had some observations that made me feel very good about this new vehicle!

Here are my observations that makes Renault Lodgy not only one of its kind but also it stands tall among its peers with some of its unique features.

The Look and the exterior:

• I was very impressed with the first glance of Lodgy as it looked pleasing and lovely. The first thing that struck me was the cleverly and neatly managed unavoidable “boxy look” that comes as a liability with every MPV to give it a striking massive appearance with precise sharpness.
• The tastefully detailed chrome grille with big ‘lozenge’ and prominent chrome plated Renault logo makes it looks cool.
• On the bumper, it houses chrome plated fog lamp rings and the soft and supple but reasonably large headlamps add to the looks of it and they also house DRLs (daylight running lamps) within.
• Though Lodgy has an average look from its rear but it seems that has been compensated with some design intonations with the tail lamps and the large chrome plated ridge with ‘Lodgy’ branding. 
• However From the side, The Lodgy looks most appealing and awesome as it looks pretty long

The Interior

• As I stepped into the Renault Lodgy, at first instance the inner ambiance made me feel as if I’m inside a plane. I must say, the compact interior has been again smartly designed in such a way that it instantaneously offers a graceful and fresh feel.
• The interior though not very lavish but surprisingly pleasant and gives a sense of entering into a familiar territory of spacious and well-ventilated interior.
  
  
  
• Color scheme of the two Neat tones – light brown and mushroom, with classy layout and some shiny bits provides a chic and well-ventilated sense throughout.
• The immediate features that would attract one’s imagination are the sophisticatedly designed seats (captain seats) with foldable tray with chic cup/glass holders – a unique utility feature (In 7 seat configuration).
• The piano black center console looks quite premium and it has the Media-Nav, which is a multimedia touch screen device with navigation and a reverse camera – again a quite new utility feature.
• The dashboard is exactly seems same as that of Duster.
  
• There is Phone charging sockets available in all three rows.
• Also I noticed the ingress and egress is a breeze! Getting in and out of the car is easy and very helpful, especially for the elderly.
• There’s sufficient headroom and ample knee room available across the rows especially in the last row (which is commonly a problem area). It’s wide enough for two adults or three kids to sit comfortably.
• There are two 12v sockets and roof mounted rear AC vents for the second as well as third row. I sat in all the three rows and found that there a uniformity in its cooling effect!!

Performance:

• The new Renault Lodgy is mostly based on the mechanics of already successful and proven Renault Duster. It has one of the finest engines in the world
• Renault offers a diesel engine with two states of tune            
• 84bhp (Five speed gear box)
• 108bhp (six – speed gear box)
  
• The engine is the same 1.5-litre K9K (dCi common rail, direct ignition diesel engine) engine that one can find in its immediate sibling the Duster.
• While my team mates were driving the wheel in turn I was actually having a pleasant feeling inside. I didn’t feel the jerk while cruising through snaky and rain drenched roads with a reasonable speed of around 100 km/hr.
• Often the diesel engines make much noise and vibrations with high speed. But with Renault Lodgy I didn’t feel the same while inside.
• The suspension is really nice as I didn’t feel the jolt while gliding through the bumps. As the Goan roads were often through small villages or small towns and the speed breakers were inevitable.
• The acoustics (sound mechanics) are well defined and designed.
• While on the road safety is a main concern. In Renault Lodgy the well built Dual front airbags are good enough to lessen the risk of injury in case of a collision. ABS with EBD with brake assist for better control gives an overall sense of security.
• Rear parking sensors with rear view camera, Rear defogger and a Speed limiter are some of the added features that enhances overall feel of safe keeping while making it more alluring. 

Some Features for My Hubby:

As I don’t drive at all and most of the time it’s my better half that drive on road, so I have noted some features for him which he liked absolutely.

• The Renault Lodgy comes with a capacity of 50 litre fuel tank
• Multi-function leather wrapped steering wheel with a longer legroom
• The adjustable driver seat feature that makes easy to find a suitable driving position with the steering and seat height adjustments.
•  Electrically adjustable door mirrors and 4-speaker system
• Cruise control that helps in driving on long open roads and while your feet at rest. 
• With Ergo drive features he can enjoy long distance drive while not feeling tired.
• The tall sixth gear makes highway cruising a breeze
• The Renault Lodgy gives fuel efficiency of 20kmpl in NH while 16 kmpl in City
• 174 mm ground clearance is good feature especially to drive in the random and erratic roads that are inevitable as a part of your driving experience.
• There are six paint shades and a two year or 50,000km warranty on offer.
• Renault Lodgy with All these wonderful features available with a price range of 9 lakh to 12 lakh which is quite affordable.

The Most Desirable Feature:

Here is a video we made on our #LiveLodgycal Drive at Goa that defines the best feature of Lodgy...BOOT SPACE

boot Picnic Chaos Video @blogadda blogadda @RenaultIndia @santosh_bs @tina_acharya @GodsentEvil #LiveLodgycal pic.twitter.com/5Rk8kyFEo1

— knithaurs (@knithaurs) June 20, 2015

For me long distance travel (though I don’t drive) is often a compulsion given to our suddenly planned tours. So the first thing I look in my car is space and comfort. Even if one thinks to go for a MPV surely space is a priority.

For me the best feature about Renault Lodgy is its space. Lodgy has a Boot volume of 207 litres which can be extended further upto a massive 1861 litres by simply folding the rear seats. The best part is that the second and third row seats can double fold, providing multiple luggage carrying options. 

Not only carrying baggage but we can really enjoy the boot space on any kind of drive. For ex.  "Boot Picnic" or "having a lunch together" while on a way...etc. 

Also the boot sill is lower that enables easy load of luggage.Truly...the space is really at par with their tag line "Take Your World With You"

 I have heard that there are 56 folding options for the different use of boot space in Renault Lodgy. I have to explore it…honestly!

My Verdict:

Though Cars are related to the emotions but purchase is always a rational act. SoKeeping in mind the top things that car buyers mostly have in mind (before going for a car) and my own travelling needs Renault Lodgy is surely a great option to go for. At least my travelling experience with Renault Lodgy says that if we look for space, comfort and happiness on drive while fitting into a fuel budget then no other vehicle is at par with Renault Lodgy with its great driving features and economic as well as Eco friendly fuel consumption with wonderful output!
An Excellent MPV in Indian Market!!!

I rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars (.5 for future improvements) 

I was a part of the #LiveLodgycal Drive by BlogAdda.com in association with Renault India.