Renault Tiber: With sharp lines and angularity-laden design language, the Renault Triber looks refreshing in a market where the majority of products are either SUVs or humdrum hatchbacks, especially with the smart package and flexible seating configurations.
This under 4 metre MPV model is Renault’s vision of an Indian family’s idea of the ideal vehicle to take the entire family out for a drive, with a packed seven-seater seating capacity in the heart of the size of a run-of-the-mill hatchback.
“With clever engineering and smart design, it offers something new and sets the benchmark when it comes to terms of the ownership experience.
Renault Tiber: Design Philosophy and Exterior If you talk about Tiber’s unique design than it’s aesthetical because it varies a lot.
Its exterior shape deals with the chi to make space for three rows of seating without feeling ungainly or unbalanced. Please Click Here The front is also similar Renault family face, with over oversized chrome-dotted grille opening up on projected headlamps with LED day time running lights.
The hood is shaped with a gentle touch of the hand, providing some fun to enjoy without going crazy.
The Triber, as the profile suggests, gets some design touches that maximize interior space, while maintaining the proportions in check.
Now lightly does the great circle arc of the roof (not too tall for third-row headroom, the height) and the character line that runs the length of the doors zest things up.
The 14 inch wheels are tiny, but high spec trims get attractive alloys which fill the arches reasonably well.
Width is the theme done in the back, too, with a parallel feeling of girth via horizontally-oriented taillamps and a few subtle chrome touches for an air of stolidity.
Practical roof rails maintain the lights’ crossover style, and allow for increased carry-all of the vehicle when required.
Ground clearance of 182mm also ensures the Triber feels aggressive over rough roads without compromising on ingress and egress for passengers.
Also Read: New Hyundai Santro Facelift Boasts Stylish Look and Efficiency
Renault Tiber- Spacious, all the way to your boot!
Inside, the Triber is what it’s really about and that’s its EasyFix modular seating system. This system allows for numerous configurations ranging from two-seat mode with maximum cargo space to a seven-seat arrangement.
Second-row seats slide, recline, fold and tumble forward independently of each other, and the third row can be removed completely when not in use, a feature you won’t find in many of today’s vehicles.
And the amazing conversion from a large, and really quite practical four-seater with even a little luggage space left over for a long weekend somewhere, into a bus with seven seats to get an entire family across town… for example.
With all seven seats in use, bootspace is tight but adequate for a pair of soft bags or a shopping trip. So the cargo space, which doubles if you take out the third row, is massive (625 liters), as in something much larger.
The dashboard is plain as can be, fittingly functional, with a low, flowing full-width design and a generous 8-inch touchscreen on up-level models.
Climate controls have been pared down to easily-operated rotary dials instead of touch-based controls that could remove your focus from the road, and in the instrument cluster there’s an analog speedometer alongside a digital multi-information display screen that can show things like vehicle information.
The cabin also offers lots of places to stow gear, including cooled center console storage to keep two beverages ice cold during hot summer days.
Powertrain, Ride, and Handling
Triber is powered by a 1.0-litre petrol engine that makes some 72 horsepower and 96 Nm of twist.
On paper the figures don’t exactly set the world on fire considering what the engine is capable of sending to the front wheels, but in the real world it’s more than enough jam for what the car is for – the city.
It embodies all of the three-pot characteristics of a distinct noise and a little bit of no-hands idle-shake, but the vibrations smooth out quickly once mobile.
It is available in two transmission options, 5-speed manual and a 5-speed automated manual transmission (AMT) version known as “Easy-R”.
The manual has relatively accurate if not a touch too long gear throws and the AMT isn’t about shift speed but convenience, needing a thoughtful driving style to be able to make smooth progress.
Fuel economy remains a real strong point, with real-world mileage sitting at about 15 to 16km/l under combined driving for a box with people-hauling ability.
This suspension also gives it a happy balance of ride comfort and body control, adds MG, and it’s fitted with a more conventional MacPherson strut/torsion beam rear set-up that is tuned for Indian conditions.
Sitting a bit higher than you would in a saloon, visibility is good, the steering is light and city driving is a breeze.
On the highway, it feels reassuringly solid in everything but high winds, when its tallness makes it susceptible to crosswinds.
Tech and Safety Features
I can stream music from my phone to the carThat’s about as fancy as I get with tech in the Triber really, because most of the tech in the Triber is practical rather than fancy – you know, fridge in the boot and the like.
MediaNAV infotainment system is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which means if you don know where youe going, you can at least jamming your favourite tunes en route!
Here too the audio system is satisfactory with four speakers, and device-junkie occupants get more USB charging points.
Then there’s the effectiveness of the climate control (including dedicated vents in the second and third row – a nice touch in a vehicle that’s destined to be chauffeur-driven on a hot Indian summer afternoon).
Electric start and keyless entry is convenient.. and key stats like distance-to-empty and average fuel economy are shown on the digital instrument cluster.
On the safety front, the Santro gets dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors and impact sensing door unlock – all of these have been made standard across the range.
The higher-level trims also receive side airbags, a reverse camera and electronic stability control. The high strength steel used in strategic areas of the body increases protection when in collision and not weight with regards to fuel consumption.
Ownship, Experience& Positioning in the Market
The Renault Triber fits in a segment which doesn’t exist in the company’s, as well as the market’s, line-up. Between fancy pants hatchbacks and squatter SUVs, it adds in a tier of versatility that doesn’t come with the SUV tax.
Triber is terrific value for families who just want seven seats from time to time – and are not yet ready for a bigger, thirstier set of wheels.
It is also not so expensive to keep as the intervals come up at every 10,000 km. The service network is also growing further, laying the earlier after-sales worry to rest – a little at least -spread is still a tiny bit away from the larger mass-market bunch.
The 2 years / 50,000km warranty which can be extended to 5 years of happy ownership.
Renault Tiber:
The Triber is the definition of product planning that is guided by profound understanding of what the market actually wants right now, as opposed to attempting to reinvent anything in a segment.
But for all that it doesn’t look anything new, in fact—providing interior space in compact, city-friendly dimensions—it does address a genuine consumer need; perhaps one that the standard pigeonholes don’t serve.
Not without its trade-offs if you are about to start asking it for the top 16th of its performance range, and in terms of a few niceties in execution levels, but in the space utilisation stakes and the just-what-you-want-adaptability, the Triber gives you money-for-nothing that’s stratospheric in Renault terms.
It’s for city families that occasionally have to carry more of the extended family into town, or a bunch of mates out to play, or whatever, but don’t want the Olympian leap in footprint and running costs you’d suffer if you were to buy a larger car to do it in, a market segment where the Triber lies close to alone.
It’s also an example of what Renault seems to understand is where the real buyers are at in terms of mobility, in such value-for-money markets – a little less focus on a specs sheet race, and a little more on pragmatic innovation.
