Renault unveils low cost MPV-Dacia Lodgy

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By George ⋅ November 15, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Dacia – the Romanian no frill car brand from Renault has unveiled their all new Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) concept Lodgy. But the concept – Lodgy Glace- unveiled today is not the production version, but made for Trophée Andros – The French national Ice Racing championship. Lodgy Glace is built by Dacia under supervision of Renault Sport Technologies. The specially prepared Dacia Lodgy will be driven by four time Formula One champion Alain Prost, Nicolas Prost and Evens Stievenart.

Dacia Duster, the low cost SUV has also been participating in this championship for the last two years. This year’s event will be held on 3-4 December, at Val Thorens, France.

Coming back to technical, Dacia Lodgy Glace will get a 3.0-liter 24-valve V6 engine from Nissan. The engine develops 355 horsepower and is connected to all four wheels through a SADEV six-speed sequential gearbox. Tork Engineering , who is associated with Renault-Dacia alliance has been executed design, production, assembly duties. While Sodemo – French car tuning firm prepared Nissan’s engine for this special Lodgy to perform well in extreme climate conditions.

The low cost MPV (Code:-J92) earlier known as Dacia Popster and will be Renault-Dacia alliance’s offering in people mover segment. Heavily camouflaged test mules of Dacia Popster (now Lodgy) were spotted in European roads recently. When it reaches mass production lines, Dacia Lodgy Glace will loose it’s additional spoilers and other extras. Under the hood, Dacia Lodgy may get a 1.6 ltr diesel engine from Renault. The Lodgy- as it’s name suggests- could be roomier and may accommodate 7 or 8 persons. The production version of Dacia Lodgy will make it’s debut in 2012 March at Geneva Motor Show.

Renault has a very ambitious plans for Indian market but company is still waiting for a break through product. We all know a low cost MPV is not in Renault’s upcoming product launch list. Company will be launching Pulse, Duster and a sedan in coming 12-18 months. So what do you think should Renault bring Dacia Lodgy to India to grab a pie of Indian people mover segment currently ruled by Toyota Innova and Mahindra Xylo..?