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Up until now, if you wanted to pay around €10,000 for a roomy MPV in Europe, then your only option was to search for a used model, but that's about to change as Dacia has unveiled a new and affordable people carrier at the 82nd Geneva Motor Show today. It’s named Lodgy and according to the Renault Group's Romanian brand, it will enter the European market with a starting price of just €9,900 (about US$13,300).
"Once again, Dacia is flouting convention by offering genuine five and seven-seater variants of its new Lodgy from just €9,900, a revolutionary price for a car of this type," reads Dacia's press blurb.
Naturally, the Lodgy won't sweep you off your feet with its design, but it does look more modern than Dacia’s other models.
The 4.5-meter long and 1.75-meter wide Lodgy is available in both five- and seven-seater versions. Dacia claims that the optimization of interior space means that each passenger, even in the 7-seat model, is accommodated in comfort.
The third row of seats features class-leading leg- and head-room at 144mm and 866 mm respectively and standard Isofix child seat fittings. It can also be folded up or completely removed, adding to the car’s versatility.
Even with all seven seats in place, the boot space is 207 liters whilst its capacity rises to 827 liters with the third row removed and an impressive 2,617 liters in two-seat configuration.
The Lodgy is available with four engines: the naturally aspirated 1.6 MPI 105 and the turbocharged 1.2 TCe 115 gasoline units and the 1.5dCi turbodiesel in two variants, with 90 and 110 PS.
Dacia says that reliability is “a core element of the Lodgy’s DNA” noting that it has covered the equivalent of 1.9 million km (1.2 million miles) during its pre-launch endurance tests.
