Renault has showcased their latest global product, namely the Triber, which is set to make its debut in India first. It is a world-class vehicle that has been designed specifically for markets like India and offers level of innovation combined with an upmarket premium look and appeal.
What Renault is saying about the Triber
“India is a key market for Groupe Renault. We are still young to India, yet our ambitions are high in line with our “Drive the Future” strategic plan: we aim at doubling our sales by 2022. For that reason, we are bringing Renault TRIBER, another breakthrough concept, targeted for Indian’s core market. Renault TRIBER was conceived, developed and produced in India, for Indian customers first, before we take it to the world. It is a real game-changer,” said Thierry Bolloré, CEO of Groupe Renault, at the unveiling of the RENAULT TRIBER.
Speaking about the designing innovation around Renault TRIBER, Laurens van den Acker, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Design, Groupe Renault, shared, “Our goal with TRIBER was to design a car that would transform according to the many needs and the many lives of our customers. Whether they are parents, lovers, a friends’ group, a family pack, whatever their tribe, whatever their lifestyle, Renault TRIBER should adapt. TRIBER is true to the Indian values of conviviality and sharing, which are the same in Renault. It offers an attractive, robust and compact design and is re-inventing space for all. We are very proud of our latest breakthrough, which turned a length challenge into a miracle within 4 meters!”
Renault Triber – What we know so far
Set your eyes on the Triber and it instantly impresses. The design, fit and finish and interior styling is more than decent for the compact segment. It is a sub-4 metre vehicle, however Renault has spent a lot of time in carving out as much space as possible to create a rather roomy cabin that is comfortable and functional. Sure, we will get to experience this only once we get our hands on the car (which should be soon), however what did catch our attention was the fact that Renault is offering the Triber with flexi-seating.
Now, a lot of other journalists (including some senior ones) took to Twitter to highlight their doubts in what Renault is offering with the Triber, and how they are unhappy about a sub-4 metre compact product being peddled as a 7-seater. Sure, if we were to tell you that the Triber is a 7-seater, you would doubt it too, but that is just the thing, it is a rather spacious 5-seater and if you want it configured as a 7-seater for your needs, you can get that too. The last two seats are easily removable (and I think that a lot of people might opt not to buy them as well) but for those who truly need to squeeze in every family member, you have the option to do so. The second row is fitted on sliders and can be moved forward to improve third row legspace, and the Triber comes with a raised rear roof to ensure that headroom remains class leading even in the last row. This isn’t a solution to replacing your Toyota Innova and neither is Renault promising that. The Triber is a flexible small car that can suit a variety of your needs while being a great city runaround.
Overall, the Renault Triber carries a vibrant look and has a unique design that really doesn’t allow you to classify it as a large hatch, mini MPV or compact SUV. It is something fresh and new and judging by what we’ve seen Renault achieve in the past with the Duster and Kwid, it looks like the Triber will clock in the numbers as well.
In terms of convenience and practicality, the Triber offers decent looking cabin and you get chrome details and silver accents on the dashboard. The car comes with a start/stop button and 8-inch multimedia touchscreen infotainment system that offers MediaNav Evolution, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. You also get a digital instrument cluster and air conditioning in every row. As far as luggage space is concerned, the Triber comes with 625 litres of boot space as a 5-seater, 20 litres as a 6-seater and 84 litres as a 7-seater. You also get functional roof rails that can carry loads up to 50 kilograms.
Powering the Triber is a 1.0 litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine that delivers 72 PS of power and 96Nm of torque. The engine is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission and will also be offered with a 5-speed Easy-R AMT. Incidentally, this engine is from Renault’s global portfolio and does duty in a number of their small cars in Europe and south America and is equipped with a dual VVT system. How this engine performs remains to be seen, but we aren’t going to write it off as a too small an engine just yet. After all, manufacturers seem to be able to make these small engines rather potent and we will refrain from commenting on performance until we actually get behind the wheel and experience it ourselves.
Of course, the all-important question is the price, which Renault hasn’t revealed just as yet! If we were to make an educated guess, we would peg the Triber between INR 4.50 – 7.00 lakh.