Renault Triber vs Toyota Rumion: Space And Practicality Comparison

Can an affordable Renault Triber match the comfort and practicality of levels of Toyota Rumion? We find out in this comparison review

If you’re in the market for a spacious and practical car under Rs 10 lakh, you’ll typically find yourself considering hatchbacks or sub-4m sedans. While these options may be budget-friendly, they often lack the space and versatility of a Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV). However, there’s one option that fulfils these requirements within the budget: the Renault Triber. 

But, as one of the most affordable MPVs in India, can the Triber stand up to its more premium competitors? To answer this question, we’re putting the Triber head-to-head with the Toyota Rumion, essentially a rebadged Ertiga. Let’s dive in and discover which of these vehicles is the best fit for your family’s needs.

Looks

Starting with the Renault Triber, it features a simple yet clean design. While it may not turn heads in today’s crowded automotive landscape, it looks rugged and SUV-ish thanks to all around body cladding and roof rails. However, the Triber hasn't received any design updates in the past five years, and its design elements are starting to feel dated. Incorporating updates such as new headlights and LED lighting would enhance its appearance and bring it more in line with modern trends.

Compared to the Triber, the Toyota Rumion not only looks more premium but is also larger dimensionally, thanks to its longer wheelbase. Although the Rumion is essentially a rebadged Maruti Ertiga, it maintains its own distinct identity with a broader grille design and a different front bumper. Both Rumion and Triber in their top-spec have got 185/65 section tyres fitted on 15-inch alloy wheels. We personally liked the Rumion’s machine-cut alloy design more as it looks more premium. Those on the Triber appear rugged, and that isn’t bad either. 

Both MPVs here get projector headlight setup, but the Rumion gets fog lamps and LED tail lights as well. The Triber on other hand doesn’t get fog lamps, which is a major miss at the price of around Rs 10 lakh (on road). 

Interior

The Renault Triber features an all-black dashboard with a silver insert running through the centre, connecting the AC vents. The plastics used inside the Triber are of lower grade. While the materials aren’t entirely poor, they give the impression of a vehicle made on a tight budget, targeting customers residing in tier 2 or tier 3 cities.

Toyota’s MPV not only offers better interior quality and fit and finish compared to the Triber, but it also stands out with its layered dashboard design, which includes a wooden texture.The premium feel extends to the buttons and steering wheel, which offer a more refined tactile experience. These upscale touches help justify the Rumion’s higher price tag. 

While both MPVs offer fabric seat upholstery, the Rumion’s front seats are notably superior. It has better bolsterings that hold you well. Even the cushioning on front seats of the Rumion feels better than that of the Triber. If comfort is your top priority, look no further than the Rumion.

Features

Common Features: Both MPVs are equipped with amenities like a touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, height-adjustable driver's seat, steering mounted controls, a tilt adjustable steering wheel, and day/night IRVM (inside rearview mirror).

Renault Triber: The Renault Triber features an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system that only supports wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. As a result, you'll need to keep your smartphone plugged into the car’s USB port to use this feature, which may lead to dangling cables around the dashboard. In contrast, a wireless setup allows you to place your phone anywhere hands-free, eliminating the issue of tangled cables.

Other features on board the Triber include a 7-inch all digital cluster, wireless phone charger, push button engine start/stop and PM2.5 air filter. The Triber gets a manual AC with vents also offered for 2nd and 3rd row seats.

Despite these features, the Triber still lacks some important amenities, such as automatic AC and cruise control, even in its top-spec variant, which costs around Rs 10 lakh (on-road). Midsize hatchbacks in the same price range as the Triber offer these features.

Toyota Rumion: The Toyota Rumion is a better packaged MPV than the Triber. Though it gets a smaller 7-inch touchscreen, this infotainment system supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. This MPV also gets features like auto AC, cruise control, auto headlights, and some connected car features as well. The Rumion, despite offering these features, doesn’t get a wireless phone charger, which is there in the Triber.

Toyota’s MPV here gets an analogue cluster with a multi-colour MID in the centre. Despite not being a fully digital cluster like Triber, the Rumion’s cluster appears more premium thanks to those chrome dials. Which cluster do you like more, Triber’s all digital or Rumion’s analogue? Let us know in the comments.

Safety

When it comes to safety features, both cars are neck to neck. They both come with 4 airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control (ESC), rear parking sensors, and a rear parking camera. The Triber here additionally comes with a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) and traction control system, both of which aren’t offered with the Rumion.

The Renault Triber underwent crash testing by Global NCAP in 2021, achieving a score of 4 stars for adult occupant protection (AOP).  However, the Global NCAP protocols have been updated since then, and even Renault Triber now offers more standard safety features now. So we expect the Triber to maintain its safety ratings if crash tested on updated protocols.

Talking about the Rumion, its Maruti counterpart, the Ertiga has been crash tested two times by Global NCAP, again  for India and South Africa. The India-spec model scored 3 stars in the previous crash test, while the South Africa-spec Ertiga (again made in India) got just 1 star. Since Rumion is just a rebadged version of the Ertiga, the results also apply for the Rumion.

The results give us a clear picture that the Renault Triber is a slightly safer MPV than the Rumion.

Practicality

Both MPVs offer good practicality, with features like large bottle holders on all four doors and storage in the centre console. However, the Triber stands out for its superior practicality. It includes two glove boxes, two cup holders in the front, a deeper, cooled storage compartment near the armrest, and a separate tray for your wallet under the climate control panel. In the second row, though, you only get seat pockets and door pockets, with no rear seat armrest. The third row also lacks separate bottle holders. On the plus side, Renault has provided a 12V power socket in all three rows of the Triber, which is appreciable.

In contrast, the Toyota Rumion features a single glove box, two large cup holders in the centre console, and a storage compartment under the armrest, which is shallower compared to the Triber's. For the second row, the Rumion offers a dedicated phone holder and an armrest, though it does not include cup holders. Unlike the Triber, the Rumion provides cup holders for third-row passengers. AThe Rumion has 12V power sockets in both the front and second rows, but it lacks a power outlet in the third row.

So, the Triber has a more practical first-row, but the Rumion due to centre armrest additional cup holders has more practical second and third-row.

Rear Seat Comfort & Space

While second-row seats in both MPVs are comfortable you can even adjust them by sliding or reclining according to your comfort in both cars. However, the Rumion feels more comfortable than the Triber due to better cushioning and broader seats, while in the Triber the second-row seats lack cushioning.

Another point to note here is that both Triber and Rumion get AC vents in the second-row, which in Triber has been positioned on the B-pillar, and in the Rumion the vents have been mounted on the roof. The Rumion here has more effective rear AC vents compared to the Triber.

When it comes to space, the second-row seats in both vehicles are quite similar. However, the Rumion offers a slight advantage with its more supportive and broader seats. In the Triber, passengers’ shoulders may rub against each other when three people are seated.

Third Row Experience

Let’s begin with accessibility to the third row. The Renault Triber excels here, as you can fold and tumble the second-row seats to access the third row. In contrast, the Rumion does not offer this feature, making ingress and egress to the third row more challenging compared to the Triber.

However, the Rumion provides a better third-row experience compared to the Triber. It offers superior thigh support, cushioning, and ample footroom. In contrast, the Triber’s third-row seats feel quite cramped. They lack sufficient thigh support and cushioning, and there is minimal footroom for adults. As a result, the Triber’s third-row seats are more suitable for children.

Boot Space

The Rumion owing to its length advantage over the Triber offers more luggage even if all three rows are being used. The Triber’s boot on other hand is only good for some small laptop bags when third-row seats are up. However, folding down the third-row seats in both MPVs will get you a lot of boot space. The Triber offers more flexibility as it can not only flip up the last row seats, but they can also be removed completely.

The Rumion on the other hand gets a false floor in the boot which can be removed for storing big suitcases inside the car. So overall, the Triber may offer you some flexibility, but the Rumion here is better than the Triber in the boot space department.

Engine Performance

Before we get into the impressions, let’s first have a look at the engine specifications of both cars:

By looking at the specifications on paper, the Renault Triber is way behind with small capacity and less powerful 3 cylinder. Practically, the Triber offers good drivability when you are driving in the city, as it feels quick and even with all seven people on board, the power feels sufficient. The Rumion obviously with its bigger engine is comparatively quicker and refined.

The difference in their engine performance however becomes very much evident when driving on highways. The Triber really struggles while overtaking on highways, and if you are driving on ghats or hilly regions, then you need to work a lot on the gear shifting to keep the momentum going. The Triber comes with an optional 5-speed AMT, which can make things even worse specially on uphill driving as this AMT gearbox is very slow. 

Toyota’s MPV excels in highway performance with its smooth drivability. Making overtakes in the Rumion is a breeze. The Rumion also gets a proper 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission which is not only quicker than that of the Triber, but even while driving uphill the Rumion will not struggle.

Ride Comfort

Both Renault and Toyota MPVs won’t let you complain in this department as they both offer smooth ride quality and absorb all road irregularities equally well. But the Toyota Rumion is better insulated compared to the Triber as it won’t even make you feel small potholes speed breakers. The ride quality of the Triber is not bad either but it will make you feel some of the bumps inside the cabin, especially when the speed is high. 

Price & Verdict

Prices are ex-showroom

The top-spec Triber is approximately Rs 1.5 lakh cheaper than the base-spec variant of the Rumion. Given the price difference and overall packaging, the Renault Triber offers excellent value for money. On the other hand, the Rumion, which costs around Rs 15 lakh on-road, justifies its higher price with its superior features, comfort, cabin space, and performance.

So, if you are looking for a premium experience, better space and engine performance in a three-row MPV, the Rumion is still a better choice. However, if you want the practicality of an MPV at the price tag of a hatchback, then you have no better choice than the Renault Triber.

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