Renault India has launched the Triber at a starting price of Rs 4.95 lakh for the base RXE variant, going up to Rs 6.49 lakh for the top-end RXZ variant. The Triber has been positioned as a ‘sub-four metre MPV’ which has only one other competitor in that space, the Datsun Go+. That aside, the Triber faces competition chiefly from two strong contenders: the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R and the recently-launched Hyundai i10 Nios if you were to look at its rivals from a pricing perspective.
Now, while the Wagon R’s starting price of Rs 4.34 lakh (ex-showroom) is a fair bit lower than the Triber’s, the i10 Nios, at Rs 4.99 lakh, is just Rs 4000 more. Meanwhile, the Datsun starting at Rs 3.86 lakh undercuts them all by a massive margin. However, the dismal sales of the Go+ (along with the iffy build quality, as demonstrated by collision tests) mean that there’s very little it can do to put its foot down in this space. And speaking about the top variants, the story stays the same, with the Triber’s RXZ variant, at Rs 6.49 lakh, a good Rs 58,000 more than the Wagon R ZXI (Rs 5.91 lakh), but a significant Rs 64,000 lesser than the Nios Asta.
Now, though both the Maruti and the Hyundai have a clear advantage, as neither does the Triber have a diesel variant, nor can it be had with an auto ‘box, it does not mean the Triber has lost the battle. Remember: the Triber is the first ever hatchback that can fit seven people, but again, it’s more than just a one-show pony. You also get the option of removing the rear bench entirely, increasing the Triber’s utility as a city-slicker, and the adjustable second row means that you’re not really constrained for space or comfort even when there are five people on board. Next, it also gets a multimedia system that has both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. And lastly, when it comes to seven-seater MPVs, the only other option is the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, the base LXi variant of which is a whopping Rs 1.05 lakh more than even the top-end RXZ variant of the Triber!
Read our first drive review of the Renault Triber here
The variant-wise prices of the Reanult Triber, Hyundai Grand i10 Nios and Maruti Suzuki Wagon R are as follows: