Renault has taken the wraps off the Triber, which is a one-of-a-kind sub-4m crossover MPV that will be smaller than the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Renault’s own Lodgy. The Triber is not the only sub-4m seven-seat car in India, but it’s the first one that will be positioned against cars like the Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai Grand i10 on the price chart.

Following are the five most important things that you should know about the Triber:

1 Modular seating

The various seating layouts of the Triber are its USP and not even the bigger MPVs in India offer such flexibility. The Triber has independent seats in the third row which can be removed from the car individually. Moreover, its middle row is split 60:40. So you can get multiple seating configurations that can turn this car into a two-, four-, five-, six- or a seven-seater.

2 Petrol engine only

The Triber will not be available with a diesel engine when it’s launched in India later in 2019. It draws power from a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine that makes 72PS of maximum power and 96Nm of peak torque. This engine can be had with both manual transmission and AMT. Renault claims a fuel efficiency of 20kmpl for the Triber manual and 20.5kmpl for Triber with AMT.

3 Refrigerator

The Triber houses a refrigerated console  positioned between the front seats in a way that it can be accessed by middle-row passengers as well. It gets the option of switching the cooling on and off too, for when there’s nothing in it.

4 Boot space

While the Triber’s overall length is under 5  metres, it’s been designed in a way that there’s 625 litres of boot space with five seats up. That is more than the Ertiga, with the last row folded. With all the seats up, the Triber’s boot volume is a paltry 84 litres, but with multiple seating configurations, there’s always the option to vary luggage space. With six seats up, the boot space stands at 320 litres, for reference.

5 Price & rivals

We expect the Renault Triber to be priced in the Rs 5.5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh range in India. At that price, it won’t have any direct seven-seat rivals since the other sub-4m MPV Datsun GO+ is priced between Rs 3.97 lakh and Rs 5.84 lakh (all prices ex-showroom XXX ). The Triber is likely to be more expensive than the GO+ and should be a more premium offering too.

The other affordable seven-seat MPV in India is the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, which is not only bigger, but will be more expensive than the Triber too. It has a starting price of Rs 7.45 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The Ertiga is also available with a diesel engine option.