Renault Duster : Official Launch Report

[condor]

The specs look good. The 84BHP /1.4 mill with 20KgM is more than sufficient to drive the 1180 kg (kerb). I wont be surprised if the 108BHP mill is taken out later, and we have just one each in petrol * diesel.

And with the sub-1200 kg kerb weight, even the petrol engine is sufficient for this vehicle. So we finally have a SUV that is available in both petrol & diesel. And Renault gets a small head-start over Ford in this new segment. (Am not including Yeti here because of it's price range). We could expect Ford Ecosport pricing to be in this range.

On another note, wonder if this will have any effect on the pricing of bigger SUV's - like for the Storme

[fi.robin]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Kerb Weight: Vehicle weight when its not loaded with passengers and luggage. It includes full tank fuel and other fluids!

Cheers!

Some manufacturer include driver's weight in kerb weight. Yeti's kerb weight includes 75 kg driver.

[download2live]

It is looking good. Pricing makes sure that it won't be a runaway best seller like xuv5OO. It will sell but won't set charts on fire.

[rameshnanda]

After looking at the pricing and the advert of Duster, I think that this very good advert of Renault is very much true for those who waited for Duster without buying other cars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGjXE...layer_embedded

[Nicky]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

At 60% localization if this is the pricing, then would it be reasonable to expect that prices may come down further with 80% localization?

Based on experience in my organization, this is the strategy to aggressively price it for more volume gain but at the cost of less profit margin initially than required from every product. more localization will increase profit margin of firm to the level of standard required figure. if this localization adds more profit margin than required, firm considers passing this benefit to customers in the form of incentives like free insurance etc. but not in near future naturally.

[hemanth.anand]

Interior plastics look very good and I like the colour used in the interiors.
They have not used too much beige and have given just enough quantities of chrome and wood.
Looking like a good vehicle overall. I'm not a big fan of chrome and hence the silver paint goes well with me.
Since its not tall, I expect it to have no body roll compared to scorpio and xylo
The 16" wheels and the 205 GC increases the looks quotient but somehow the exterior look doen't give a muscular feeling to me.
The exhaust pipe looks very puny to me. I would've preferred a twin exhaust pipe for this size a vehicle.

I'm looking forward to how our people would react to this...barring the initial bookings that is.

Can Ertiga hold onto this competition is one more point that I would be looking at

And after Ecosport, mini xylo and Alpha are launched, this segment would be very competitive.

[AutoIndian]

Thanks for the mini review Parrys. A picture is worth a thousand words. Till the time the TBHP official review would be out on 3rd Saturday of July (as informed by GTO), this photo-review has come as a breather.

Though Renault has not offered shocker pricing, I have a feeling that this vehicle will do good in our SUV starve nation (if not a runaway success like XUV). However for that to happen the Renault's Marketing dept. should be on its toes by now. No adverts in print media, neither on radio, just one ad in some TV channels is not going to create any kind of curiosity in masses. They need to be more aggressive on that front. (The talking ad of Vento in TOI is still very fresh in our minds). Also as suggested by someone, they need to expand their service network on war footing (at least one service centre in Tier-II & III cities).

[bageherath]

I saw the duster yesterday for quick few mins...

My quick observations:


Looks - Bulky/has SUV feel

Comfort - Front row seats are comfortable, rear looks little cramped when you look it as only 5 seater...Rear A/C vent will cause problem for 3rd person(Which I guess was only added for india spec).

Boot - Generous...

Build - very good.

Plastics - Ok

Planing for test drive tomorrow in Hyd...will update my opinion on that in detail.

Cheer,
Bagheerath

[sumeshmani]

I am not sure if mini-SUVs should cost so much. One cause could be the excise and other taxes.
Never the less, Duster's pricing will force many to buy the version without ABS and Airbags, or go a completely different way, back to sedans in most cases.
If it can be priced so well in UK, with the overhead of exporting it from India, I wonder if Renault pushed the price a little too high in hopes of making Duster a premium product.

[advaitlele]

Looks impressive from the photos. Here are some comments / questions for Parrys who had seen it in flesh.
1. The front door looks straight lift-away from the Logan from the photos -outside that is. From inside panels etc. its a different thing. Am I right?

2. Serious question on utilitiy quotient if we are not offered 60:40 split 2nd bench. The width as Shankar.Balan quoted does not look seriously wide.

3. Why no ABS for petrol? Thats what the website lists. Are Renault guys thinking petrol drivers - looking at spiraling costs - wont drive it much / at much speed - and that's why ABS is not needed? Its a serious question on intentions. What were they eating while putting Petrol specs?

4. I would put it as a soft-roader than a true SUV. It has good GC but lack of ABS and 4x4 option means it sorely loses out on Scorpio and Safari.

5. At 60% localisation, and future aim at 80%; price is at least 50k more to me across variants.

I DO want to believe it would be a good package to consider for my upgrade in near future; but cannot decide looking at the pics and specs. Would have to do a TD. Any idea when it would be open for TD - I cannot do a blind bet on this one.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

If it can be priced so well in UK, with the overhead of exporting it from India, I wonder if Renault pushed the price a little too high in hopes of making Duster a premium product.

I guess the pricing is due to the current 60% localization, but no assurance if they would drop the prices later when a higher level of localization is acheived!

Cheers!

[amitg79]

Thanks Parry, for the pics and the report.

I feel that the petrol version is a half-hearted job. 103 Bhp and 145 Nm are not going to be adequate for this big(ish) car. Due to lack of power, fuel economy will take a beating too. Granted that the petrol variant's sales will be low, but does launching an underpowered variant going to help the cause? People who will go for the petrol variant would prefer to have a satisfying driving experience. Fuel economy is going to be bad anyway for a petrol SUV.

The diesels will be very good though. I am particularly interested in reading more about the 110 ps version's performance. Waiting for the team-bhp official review. The Duster will change Renault's fortunes in India.

[Tgo]

With the launch of the duster and our Fluidic Verna less than a year old. We are seriously thinking of going in for a replacement. Better GC and high set seating are the two reasons, apart from the really unstable ride the Verna has to offer. Have never liked front wheel drive SUVs though. Was really hoping to see the 4x4 version to be launched.

[anandpadhye]

205mm GC is a welcome.

Good to see 6 speed GB.
108BHP, 245Nm is very similar to the Tucson, but the 6'th gear will be a great boon to the engine (I really miss it on the Tucson), I think the real life FE will be very good. I hope the clutch is light and not a spoil sport.

And I am happy to see the tyre size 215/65R16 - same as my Tucson so hopefully this size will be available at reasonable price for a long time, it would not be an odd or rare size anymore .

Any idea if the rear seat backrest reclines?

[brraj]

They should have left Duster 4x4 atleast in top-end model.

Now can we expect the same 1.5 ltr 110bhp diesel engine in its siblings (pulse) to make it a pocket-rocket? instead of 1.5ltr 64bhp engine.