Renault Lodgy Reliability Report

The Renault Lodgy was launched last year, after the super success of the Duster. The Lodgy MPV from Renault came in as another alternative MPV in the market and was positioned somewhere between the popular Toyota Innova and the Maruti Ertiga. The Renault Lodgy had impressed us quite a bit during its first drive and now we do an expansive test on this MPV to bring out its hidden character.

Renault Lodgy Space & Utility

The Renault Lodgy is based on the same platform as the Duster, so many inherent qualities of the Duster are shared here. To begin with, it is one of the easiest vehicles to get into. The seat height is perfect, neither low nor high. This is helpful to elderly people a lot. In fact, accessing the third row is also not very cumbersome. The third row is very spacious and can seat two adults quite comfortably.

The Lodgy is a very spacious vehicle and extremely practical too. The third row seats fold forward to allow a huge boot space 1861 litres. With the third row in place, the boot space is still 207 litres and can pack in weekend luggage easily. There are tray tables for the second row passengers, adding to the utility. There are a lot of cubby holes and storage space in the Lodgy. The dashboard has a huge storage cavity with a flip-up lid. This can take in a lot of stuff.

Though the Lodgy is a great car for weekend getaways and touring, it is also a very practical city car. It has a tight turning radius of 5.5 meters. The car also comes equipped with reverse parking sensors and camera, which makes parking this long vehicle a breeze. With a high ground clearance of 174mm, the Lodgy hardly has any limitations.

Renault Lodgy Comfort

The Lodgy is undoubtedly on of the most comfortable MPVs available. In addition to great space, the vehicle has a brilliant suspension setup. It is well-balanced and provides a comfortable ride experience to all passengers. Though it feels a tad stiff at very slow speeds, It settles well as speeds increase. The slight stiffness is to prevent it from excessive pitching and rolling, given its tall proportions. It takes to bad roads very well and keeps occupants away from jerks. We drove over some really bad patches and broken road conditions and the Lodgy handled all of it with great composure. The handling is nothing short of confidence inspiring. The Lodgy holds on to roads pretty well and and has sharp steering response.

Renault Lodgy Mileage 

The Lodgy we had was the diesel 1.5-litre, 108bhp version. It returned us an overall fuel efficiency of 12.5 km/l. Driving with a lighter foot can stretch the mileage to around 14-15km/l on the highway. In city driving conditions with heavy traffic, the Lodgy returns around 10-11km/l. It does have some lag below 2000rpm. To extract best efficiency, the engine should be spinning around 3000rpm.

The Renault Lodgy is a very accomplished vehicle. It is very car-like to drive, doesn’t feel heavy too. It has great all-round visibility and a silent cabin. In terms of practicality, it is right up there and to top it up, it comes with outstanding ride comfort and excellent handling characteristics. The performance of the 1.5-litre 108bhp engine is great from highways especially.  The six-speed gearbox helps comfortable cruising on highways and it also comes with a cruise control function. Yes, there are a few chinks in the armour of the Lodgy, like there is a heavy lag below 2000rpm, a reason why the fuel efficiency gets marred in the city. The clutch feels a bit heavy in city conditions. The overall boxy appearance of the vehicle maybe a letdown for some, though it looks attractive from the front and the boxy proportions add to some good utility.

When we weighed the positives of the Lodgy with its negatives (which are very few), we arrived at the conclusion that it is indeed an excellent product. The Renault Lodgy is suitable for our conditions and has a robust build as well, which can offer years of trouble free ownership.

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