Renault Lodgy review, test drive

MPVs, with their ability to carry entire families and fit in a whole household worth of luggage, are a popular draw in India. And the segment has a new entrant – the Renault Lodgy. This big new MPV is based on Renault's last big ticket product – the Duster.  But can it repeat the Duster's success? While it does look good enough on paper, we simply had to get behind the wheel to find out. 

The biggest thing that stands out when you first see the new Renault Lodgy is its size. It’s massive — 4.5 metres long, 1.7 metres tall and with a 2.8-metre wheelbase — just the kind of dimensions you want for good interior space. And it’s also unashamedly boxy in its pursuit of maximum inner volume, but you can see that a decent effort has been made to disguise this bulk. Though the roofline is virtually horizontal, the subtly rising window line somewhat disguises it and at the front, the bonnet protrudes far enough to make it a two-box shape. Subtle contours come out from the front and rear wheel arches to give some form to the otherwise slabby sides, and the band of chrome along the doors is placed low enough to add some character. The nose too is rather elegant, with its tastefully detailed chrome grille, big ‘lozenge’ logo and soft-looking headlamps. Still, there’s only so much you can do to disguise such great mass, and it’s emphasised by the dwarfed 15-inch wheels, as well as at the rear, where the shapely tail-lamps aren’t quite enough to detract from the flat and vertical tailgate.