Renault Triber

The space and comfort offered by the MPV can be overshadowed by the outdated look and underwhelming performance

The Renault Triber is the most affordable MPV on the market which offers seating for seven passengers and is priced from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8.97 lakh (ex-showroom). It has no direct rival in the market, and can be considered an alternative to hatchbacks like the Maruti Swift. We drove and evaluated the Triber to see if it is still a viable option in 2024, or does it need an update.

Triber has a no nonsense plain looking design with little to no premium or rugged elements. Being a people moved, it looks simple, and nothing in its design stands out. But at a first glance, you might think that this is an SUV, because of its bold and bulky design.

However, since this design has not been changed in 5 years, it now looks outdated and does not stand out anymore. There are no elements that make it look sleek or stylish in today’s time, and it does not have a good road presence anymore. The Triber needs a facelift if not a generation update, with modern design elements, to make it stand out.

The interiors of the Triber are just as simple looking as the exterior. It has a white and black cabin theme, with an all-black dashboard, that gets a slight touch of premiumness with a chrome strip. Now, while this might look like a dull cabin, for its price, this is very much acceptable.

There is no problem with the fit and finish of the cabin. The plastics used here do not feel scratchy, and the buttons also feel very solid.

When you sit inside the car, you’ll notice that the front seats are comfortable, and they hold you in place. The driver seat also gets manual height adjustment, but there is a slight problem here. The phone tray in the centre console has a slightly sharp edge, which will be pretty close to you knee when you’re driving. You will get used to it and will figure out a seating position where you don’t hit it, but the first few times will be a little painful.

Features

Renault has given the Triber a pretty basic feature list, with a few additions earlier this year. It gets an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which is lag free, and supports wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. However, the operating system used in this touchscreen now feels outdated.

It also gets a 7-inch digital driver’s display, which has a crisp display, and it gets basic features like manual climate control, AC vents for the 2nd and 3rd rows, and this year Renault also added an air purifier and a wireless phone charger.

While it might seem that this feature list is small, it is enough for your daily use, and for this price, nothing more is expected.

Practicality & Charging Options

Triber has 1-litre bottle holders on all four doors, two gloveboxes, cooled central storage in the front, two cupholders in the centre console, and a tray to keep your phone at the front. In the 2nd row, you get seatback pockets to keep your small items and in the 3rd row, there are slots in the armrest to keep your phone and wallet.

For charging options, apart from the wireless phone charger, the front gets a USP type A port, and each row in the back gets one 12V socket.

2nd Row Experience

This car has been made to accommodate 6-7 people, and it can do that with ease. The 2nd row seats are comfortable and spacious, there is ample amount of headroom, and the knee room is good as well. The seats here can slide for more legroom, and they also recline for more comfort. However, the cushioning could have been softer, the underthigh support could have been better, and Renault does not offer a centre armrest, which feels like a miss. But, other than this, there are no compromises on space.

3 people can sit here easily, and while their shoulders might rub against each other, the comfort remains intact. Also, the 2nd row passengers get AC vents on the B-pillars, and they can also control the fan speed from here.

3rd Row Experience

In the last row, there is a good amount of headroom, and adults can sit here for a short distance. But, if the 2nd row is occupied, especially by a tall person, the legroom gets compromised, especially for the left passenger. It will be better if this row is occupied by children.

The safety features of the Triber are also pretty basic. It offers up to 4 airbags (lower variants get 2), ABS with EBD, electronic stability control (ESC), tyre pressure warning system, and hill start assist.

It also gets a rearview camera, with a good camera quality, but its execution could have been better. Due to the low brightness and the matte finished screen, it becomes difficult to see the feed of the camera, especially in harsh light. 

Its safety feature list is not that extensive, but in 2021, the Triber scored a 4-star crash test safety rating, which is pretty impressive.

If all three rows are occupied, then there is only enough space to keep one or two small bags. But the third row seats can be folded and taken out, which gives it a boot space of 680 litres.

This much space is enough for you to keep a full suitcase set (small, medium, and large), a few soft bags, and still have space left for more luggage.

The MPV comes with a 1-litre petrol engine that makes 72 PS and 96 Nm. This engine gets two transmission options, 5-speed manual and 5-speed AMT, and we drove the manual variant.

Now, when driving inside the city, whether while cruising or while taking overtakes, you won’t feel any issues or lack of power. The power is sufficient for the city and even in bumper to bumper traffic, you get a relaxed drive experience, and due to the light clutch, you don’t feel any pain in your left leg. 

But you feel the lack of power when on the highway. When cruising, you will get a smooth drive experience and the power will feel enough, but as soon as you try to overtake or go on higher speeds, you realise that this engine has not been made for that.

While trying to gain speed, it will feel like you are pushing the engine, and overtakes will be time consuming and will need to be planned. This engine has been made for a smooth and calm drive, and you can’t expect quick overtakes and exciting performance.

Lastly, the NVH levels also feel a little high. You will hear the engine noise inside the cabin, especially when you are pushing it, and there are noticeable vibrations in the footwell as well. Renault could have used better insulation for the cabin.

The ride quality of the triber is comfortable, to some extent. Inside the city, when you’re driving over broken patches, the suspension will do a good job to absorb them, and much of the jerks will not be felt inside the cabin.

But on those same broken patches, you will still feel the movement inside the cabin. Not enough to cause any major discomfort, but enough for you to notice them and think that it would be better that I avoid these patches in the future.

Also, when going over sharp speed breakers or deep potholes, you will hear a thud if you don’t slow down. It's better to drive slowly on these patches, otherwise you will hear that sound and feel a sudden jerk.

Lastly, on the highway, the ride is smooth and comfortable, but there is a noticeable body roll when doing sudden lane changes.

The Renault Triber is a big car with good space for seven passengers, its boot space is more than enough for your long trips, the cabin fit and finish is nice, it has a 4-star crash test safety rating from Global NCAP, and it offers a comfortable ride. The Triber does what it was made for, and offers everything you can ask for in its price range.

But, its design has become old, the cabin looks outdated, and its performance is not so great on the highways. This MPV needs a proper facelift to become modern again, and a turbo-petrol engine to make the highway commutes better.

So if you have a budget of Rs 10 lakh (ex-showroom), and you want a big car for your big family, the Triber can be a good choice, provided that you are willing to compromise on the design.