I got Renault lodgy 85ps RXZ in Jan, was very excited about the car. It took long time to review all the cars in the market, comparison was based on comfort, reliability, mileage, sitting capacity, safety, durability & cost. After long search, test drive & verification Lodgy was confirmed, Would like to mention earlier was looking for Tuv 300, but sitting capacity of last two seats were actually useless for long drive, also vehicle is too heavy for its engine to pull the vehicle.
This car is best in the class, there are many Pros in this car, let me highlight them one after other.
1) Car is easy to drive, I earlier had my hands on swift & I was somewhere skeptical about driving this big size car, but believe me you will feel like you are driving a sedan, I think driving position & best power staring, electric with hydraulics does some magic.
2) It has got lots of feature in it, Cruze control, speed limiter & sound system in this car are awesome. Just for your info, cruze control helps you to take off your foot from accelator paddle once you set a particular speed, & it feels like God on highways.
3) The only vehicle in the segment in India to be having NCAP crash test rating, Lodgy is also sold in Europe & standards there are strict, Lodgy has 3(of 5) star rating & Renault may have worked on to improve its rating further
4) Low cost of use, Iam getting 14 kmpl in city & about 22 kmpl on highway, dont you think it will envy a hatchback, I read others getting up to 17 kmpl as time progressess, will let you know in future.
5) Amazing comfort, Suspension which Renault is well known in, Renault seems to have done great job, I dont care too much about pits, may be I got confidence because of amazing suspension & anti roll system.
6) Pickup- I suspected my decision to go for 85 ps, coz I drive rough, but 1.5liter, 85 ps is fast enough you might not feel that it is just 85 ps & it curises quickly to 3 figures.
7)Engine & cabin noise- being diesel it is acceptable to hear some engine noise, isnt it?, but you are wrong, you can hear some noice when you stand next to bonnet, it is acceptable, many petrol engine make more noice then this car, it is silent yet powerful.(it is same work horse which drives duster & it is powerful & tough. In cabin it would be diffcult for you to know if car engine is powered on or off?, people screaming from outside, or harsh sounding truck horns are also difficult to hear.
8) Car like Tank- when you look at it you might think it is not a tough vehicle, but when you use it & cruze it, you will get to know it is tough vehicle, though it doesnt look tough like duster, but it is built on duster platform & it is equally tough, no compromise on all the material used.
9) low on maintenance- most of the vehicles are serviced atleast 3 time in a year, but Lodgy is piece of mind, servicing only in a year, that means they have designed the vehicle to keep maintenance on less
Cons-
1) Looks from behind- at first I found it not that good, but later I didnt find it that bad.After all when you look at this car from front & side it looks like business class SUV.
2) BIG size- bcoz of its size it can be tough to park initially, it is almost as big as innova.
Finally if you want to buy this car, just go for it, if you have a big family & like to sit in roomy car with lots of space around you, you wont find better car then this. Finally money is yours & you have worked hard to earn it, so why to spent much & get less, this car is bang for your money.