Pricing! New Renault Triber budget seven-seater hits South Africa…

By: CAR magazine

The new Renault Triber seven-seater has touched down in South Africa, with the local range comprising three variants at launch.

The Indian-built “value-for-money” newcomer slots in above the facelifted Kwid (and uses a modified version of the budget hatchback’s platform) to take on the likes of the Datsun Go+. Pricing starts at R164 900 and runs through to R189 900, and includes a five-year/150 000 km warranty and a two-year/30 000 km service plan.

Power comes from what Renault describes as a “new-generation” naturally aspirated 1,0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, which offers the front axle 52 kW and 96 N.m (up slightly on the Kwid’s 50 kW and 91 N.m) via a five-speed manual gearbox. The French firm’s local arm claims a combined cycle fuel consumption figure of 5,5 L/100 km and a ground clearance figure of 182 mm.

And safety? Well, the Triber comes standard with ABS (with EBD), dual airbags (plus front-side items on the range-topper), three-point seatbelts with retractors up front and on either side of the second row, three-point seatbelts without retractors in the third row and what Renault bills as a “reinforced body structure”. Rear parking sensors are also standard across the range.

As we found out during an early drive in August 2019 in India, the new Triber offers a range of seating configurations, plus a claimed 625 litres of luggage space in five-seater mode, squeezing plenty into its sub-four-metre frame. Interestingly, the two pews in the third row can be completely removed without the need for tools of any kind. In addition, there are two sets of independent controls for the air-conditioning with dedicated vents for the second and third rows.

While the Expression base model rides on 14-inch steel wheels and makes do with manually adjustable side mirrors, wind-up rear windows and a basic Bluetooth-enabled radio system, the mid-spec Dynamique adds roof rails with a load capacity of 50 kg, electric adjustment for the side mirrors, power rear windows, a second 12 V socket, more in-cabin storage and an eight-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

The range-topping Prestige, meanwhile, boasts items such as the aforementioned front-side airbags, a reversing camera, LED daytime running lights, 15-inch “flex” wheels, a third 12 V socket and keyless entry.

Pricing:
Renault Triber 1,0 Expression: R164 900
Renault Triber 1,0 Dynamique: R174 900
Renault Triber 1,0 Prestige: R189 900

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