Sorry for the delay guys!
Finally here's
My review of the Renault Lodgy:
Initial Impressions: In person, the Lodgy looks really big, as big as the Innova. There is a positive and clean impression on first-look.
Exterior Design: The front of the Lodgy is designed very well for Indian tastes, with nice Chrome detailing. But the side profile and rear are plain drab and boxy. The 15-inch wheels seem puny for a car of this size and shape. The XXL wheelbase makes it appear like a Mini-bus. Most buyers will up-size the tires I guess. The best angle to view the car is it's Front three-quarters. Sometimes the car's bonnet, windscreen angle and cabin doesn't seem to be in proper proportions with each other. Also, the placement of indicator lights on the fenders is very dated. Surely it's not as bad as the Honda Mobilio or the Nissan Evalia in terms of looks.
7/10
(Fine if you don't consider looks as a priority)
Build quality and Strength: The sheet-metal on this car is quite strong (and heavy) and exterior build quality is better than Ertiga and Mobilio but some cheap bits like the flap-type door-handles and cheap plastics around windscreen are not good. In fact, the door-handles are poorly finished with sharp edges that tend to scratch your fingers.
8/10
(Built well but not-so-well finished)
Interior design, Quality and Features: As we get into the cabin, there is a nice, positive ambience with a pleasing combination of beige, grey, black and chrome. The overall design of the dashboard ain't new or stylish, but it does the job well. The positioning of the Touch-screen unit and air-con controls, power-window buttons are fine. The power-mirror joystick has been shifted to the dashboard, on the right side of the driver for convenient access. The air-con controls are seriously weird and irritating to operate. The cruise-control button is placed too low on the center console for easy access as the driver needs to take his/her eyes off the road and bend a bit to switch it ON. The driver-seat adjusting levers are fine except the irritating, cheap metal rod under the seat for adjusting the seat-height. You need to stand up for raising the seat.
![[anger]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Anger.gif "Anger [anger]")
The Instrument cluster is quite boring are very ordinary in design and detailing. The buttons on the steering wheel are well placed, but the audio controls are placed behind the steering-wheel, on the steering column, which needs some "getting-used to". One charging-point is provided for each row of seats and there is a set of air-con blowers for each row as well. The glove-box is placed too low and there is a cheap-looking rotary control for the headlamp level adjustment.
The overall interior quality is quite ordinary and not as good as that of the Ertiga's or Innova's.
8/10
(Nice list of features, but not enough quality)
Space and Comfort: For an MPV, this is the most important criteria. On first look, the front seats are very small for me (Compared to the Ertiga) and the backrest doesn't extend fully upto my shoulders, so there is not enough support for my shoulders and upper-spine. The seating position is fine, but the seats are quite flat. The center armrest is well positioned, but shorter drivers would find it intrusive. Lumbar-support adjustment is quite useful; so is the seat-belt height adjustment.
The footwell is of decent size, but the clutch and brake pedals are quite small in size. There is no dead-pedal on offer and there is no place to rest your left foot either. If you rest your left foot beside the clutch-pedal, it becomes hard to take your foot out. For a car with Cruise control, this is an oversight. The gear-lever is placed well and the rake-adjustment for the steering wheel works fine.
Coming to the second row, its difficult to get your foot inside and is even more difficult to get it out during egress. That's due to the thick B-pillar and intrusive seat-base. You need to twist your foot to get out and that is not good for all. Seat comfort of the Captain seat version is a bit better than the bench-seat version. The middle row seats provide better back and shoulder support than the driver seats, but thigh support is lower. The biggest problem with the middle row (be it the captain seats or bench) is that it is fixed. With me even in the co-passenger seat, there is just 2-3 inches of legroom for the person behind the front passenger seat and with me in the driver seat, the person behind me would have just 1-2 inches of knee-room (I'm around 5'11"). For 6 footers, this would be a BIG problem. In-fact, this could be a serious put off for most customers who need good legroom all-round. The second row seats can be reclined, but the recliner lever is very inconveniently placed on the shoulder of the back-rest.
Getting into the 3rd row is easier than the Ertiga or Mobilio because of the tumbling 2nd row and high roof - low floor combination. Renault has foolishly sacrificed middle-row space for the 3 rd row, which itself isn't comfortable already. The 3rd row has just adequate space for me. But there is absolutely NO leg support or thigh support as the knees point skyward with the seat-base almost on the floor. There are three seat-belts provided, but the 3rd row is good for kids only.
There are separate sets of air-con vents for each row of seats and this aids comfort. Visibility is a BIG plus due to the large and square windows all-round.
7/10
(Not as comfortable or spacious as rivals, despite the XXL dimensions)
Practicality: The Lodgy has a decent sized boot with all 3 rows in place. It can hold 3 airport bags or suitcase easily. Folding the 3rd row gives a flat bay, enough for those Small furniture or even a Wheel-chair. Removing the 3rd row altogether makes it even more spacious. With the 3rd row removed and 2nd row folded, you can easily move house. The big inconvenience is that you need the key to open the Boot every time.
There are around 7/8 bottle holders in the cabin. There is a small storage box integrated into the top of the dashboard. There are a pair of foldable trays attached to the back of the front row seats. They can hold a cup of coffee/water and some snacks.
9/10
(Big on practicality and storage spaces)
Infotainment system: The touch-screen enabled music system is made by LG and works fine. It is intuitive to operate and provides USB, Aux, Bluetooth and Sat-nav (no CD player though). The sound quality is surprisingly quite good for an OEM system.
9/10
(Surprisingly good)
The drive experience continued in the next part of the review.
