Triber is spacious but lacks power
ROAD TEST/ Renault’s budget seven-seater is well priced if you can handle life in the slow lane, writes Denis Droppa
Larger families on a budget were given a new cost-cutting choice to consider last month when Renault SA launched its Triber, a humbly powered but keenly priced seven-seater.
Based on the Kwid and likewise imported from India, the Triber is one of the French brand’s vehicles for price-sensitive developing markets.
Sold in a range of three models priced between R164,900 and R189,900, the 1.0l car enters the market as SA’s cheapest seven-seater, undercutting the more powerful Honda BR-V 1.5, which starts at R258,000, and the Toyota Avanza 1.3, which starts at R243,000.
In the range-topping Triber Prestige I road tested, the price tag comes with a notably generous spec sheet including LED daytime running lights, alloy wheels, a keyless entry with push-button start/stop, a cooled glovebox and a touchscreen infotainment system with navigation and all the modern smartphone connectivity via Bluetooth and physical ports.
It also has aircon with vents for all three rows, but using the aircon exacerbates the biggest drawback: a lack of power.
The small three-cylinder petrol unit keeps costs down, but placing such a meek engine in a car designed to carry seven people isn’t a great idea. Even with just two people on board the Renault Triber feels overwhelmed and barely powerful enough to pull the proverbial skin off cold coffee.
Its feeble power makes it decidedly a city car, because it isn’t able to maintain the 120km/h speed limit on the freeway if there’s any ascent