The Renault Lodgy has been spotted undergoing trials in Chennai. While the French manufacturer’s other products haven’t been very successful in India, it struck gold with the Duster, which has helped in building the brand image of the French manufacturer. Renault will hope to strengthen its position in the country with this seven seater MPV, which will be pitted directly against the Toyota Innova.
The Lodgy, like the Duster, was developed by Renault‘s Romanian subsidiary, Dacia. It was unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show and is sold in different markets under Dacia branding. It features a clean and simplistic design, though the Indian-spec version might get more chrome to enhance its visual appeal.
Like the Duster, the Lodgy will be offered with a 1.5-litre K9K engine in two states of tune. The base variants come with an output of 84bhp and 200Nm of torque mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, while the high-end variants churn out 108bhp and 248Nm of torque through a six-speed manual gearbox.
The Lodgy will be manufactured at the Renault-Nissan production facility in Oragadam, Chennai and is expected to be launched next year. With loads of space and a conventional design which offends no one, the Lodgy ticks all the correct boxes and should be an ideal MPV for India. The Dacia brand develops budget cars for emerging countries and hence we think that the Lodgy will be launched in India with a very competitive price tag.
Source: indianautosblog
