The Team-BHP Car of the Year 2012. EDIT : Renault Duster it is!

[mohandas]

Disclaimer: I own an Ertiga VDi and voted for Ertiga.
Same goes for Ertiga too.

Ertiga is all new platform (Swift), all new engine (SX4, Swift (FGT),Ritz(FGT)), all new shape (WagonR on steroid).

Originally Posted by tazmaan

You are suggesting that duster is all new platform (logan), all new engine (logan again), all new shape (existing dacia). I have nothing against duster nor do I own ertiga but the comparison has to be fair.

[ramzsys]

Voted for Duster.

Because, ground clearance in Ertiga in practicality is of no use. The driver has to put up with Ertiga, whereas Duster will put up with the driver.

[sennarossi]

I don't own any of these cars in India.

IMO SUVs should never be placed in the Car of the Year category because they consume a lot of subsidized Deisel at the expense of FOREX. Next big reason is they take lot of parking/road space which we don't have much (India is not the United States).


Well Maruti ruled out. Toyata Camry reached its age. Mini Cooper has great potential (compact + power) but there is pricing problem in India so it doesn't work. I care less for Mahindra cars. Hyundai is OK but not a fan. No idea about Tata Safari (in 2012). Rest could be forgotten. Finally, I don't see any luxury German cars in India could become Car of the Year. Where is Honda?

Since Nissan Sunny isn't there, I chose Renault Scala. To me price doesn't matter (won't talk what I own here). Honestly, I don't know much about its reviews etc but it looks good among the rest. It may not become Car of the Year but it's my choice.

[ruchir911]

Duster is The SUV we'd been waiting for. I love the compact dimensions and the solid build, and the best part of it... price. Duster has set the cult for an inexpensive, urban, made-for-India SUV. For me it ticks the right check-boxes including mileage and ride-quality. I am sure that the coming versions will address the cost-cutting in the interiors, and will create competition for the upcoming models from other manufacturers.

[swiftdiesel]

Originally Posted by devsoftech

Voted for Duster. Renault, take a pat on your back. You had a humble start and you are delivering value. I hope that manufacturers get the message that a rightly priced product can do wonders. The volumes of Duster conveys the same. While ertiga might do better in volumes due to maruti's network, I'm not giving extra brownie points to ertiga as it is mostly a re-engineered MUV design with underlying SX4 platform and some ritz+swift parts. 1.4 K-series is an extension of K-1.2 with long stoke and 90 BHP diesel was already featured in SX4. It will be a first for Renault if it bags the iCOTY, and soon will open the gates (motivation that India is not biased to Hyundai and Maruti) for other manufacturers. If the ertiga wins coty award, it will be a bad for consumers. Its bad for competition as other manufacturers will not see value in investing further, will cut corners or launch out-of-date products or just re-engineered platform.

Woah there's quite a lot of misleading facts there! First off, I have nothing against the Duster or Ertiga but I look for accuracy of factual representation.

Ertiga is NOT based on an SX4 platform! That platform belongs to Fiat. It is based on a Swift's platform with extended wheelbase. Can you elaborate on the demerits of re-engineering an existing platform?

FYI, the Duster is based on the Logan so if you haven't given brownie points for Ertiga, then you're not being fair! (At least hypothetically!). The Duster's engine is used on all Renault and Nissan diesel cars. Even most of the switchgear on the Duster is from the Logan.

So what if 1.4 K series is an extension of the 1.2? I really would like to hear your concerns in this regard! Again, 90bhp diesel is featured on so many other models from other manufacturers too which clearly indicates that it's a reliable and successful engine!

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Voted for Duster.

Because, ground clearance in Ertiga in practicality is of no use. The driver has to put up with Ertiga, whereas Duster will put up with the driver.

Yes, but the Duster is a SUV and Ertiga, an MPV. The Ertiga's intended audience aren't off roaders. I'm sure no one buys the Ertiga to go on off road camp trails. It's a proper MPV to carry 7 people in reasonable comfort. The GC of 185mm is good enough for its intended purpose. There are other MPVs in the market with lesser GC due to the rear axle and people are buying it by the droves.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by devsoftech

I'm not giving extra brownie points to ertiga as it is mostly a re-engineered MUV design with underlying SX4 platform and some ritz+swift parts. 1.4 K-series is an extension of K-1.2 with long stoke and 90 BHP diesel was already featured in SX4.

Originally Posted by devsoftech

If the ertiga wins coty award, it will be a bad for consumers. Its bad for competition as other manufacturers will not see value in investing further, will cut corners or launch out-of-date products or just re-engineered platform.

The Ertiga is actually based on a more modern platform, to be honest. It's based on the Swift which is a relatively new car. The Duster is based on a more out-of-date platform.

Did you know that the Duster is based on the Dacia Sandero hatch? Which in turn is based on the Logan. And the Logan is derived from on a decade-old albeit heavily reworked Renault Clio platform.

For the record, I voted for the Duster.

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by devsoftech

I'm not giving extra brownie points to ertiga as it is mostly a re-engineered MUV design with underlying SX4 platform and some ritz+swift parts.

If only re-engineering was this easy then all engineers like me would be out of a job. You can ask any engineer this and s/he will agree. Just doing something as simple as increasing the wheelbase of any vehicle is as good as redesigning the platform itself. It's not like you can chop up a platform and increase it's length without taking into consideration the structural rigidity problems that will be caused by the lengthening.

That being said how I wish re-engineering was as easy as you have portrayed it to be. That would make my life so much easier.

[praveengupta]

Frankly, apart from the unmatched Maruti service and spares convenience, Ertiga doesn't provide much in comparison to its predecessors. Duster on the other hand looks very new, bold and still compact enough to be a family car. Good job Renault!

[Sayeed]

I fully agree with you.......on the duster

Infact it is for these very reasons i recently decided against buying the duster whilst buying my new car recently when i had all but decided for it. The interiors are pathetic for a car of this value, the clutch is hard and will certainly be problem in city driving.

The Sail is a good product but can never be the car of the year because Chevrolet as a brand doesn't have mass following to bring in the volumes (otherwise why would a beautiful product like the Beat Diesel be doing so low volumes, had it been a product offered with a Maruti badging it would have sold 10000 a month) and secondly the product itself though very reliable and practical is not exciting as its competition.

Originally Posted by vinair

Picked the Chevrolet UVA-Sail. I have only seen this vehicle in real and though I have not driven one yet, from official reviews and word of mouth, I have heard only praises for this machine. I really liked the space and the price at which the overall package is being offered.

Chevrolet for sure is a underdog in the industry that has been slowly building reputation with its products (taking the example of the Beat and its engines) and also equally improving on the service front.

Duster seems to be a favorite pick here and would have got my vote only if the following worked in the Duster's favour:

1) Interior space - Feels very cramped for a vehicle of its size
2) Price - Asking price is way too much, its actually a overkill for a low cost brand for wearing the 'Renault' badge
3) Renault as a company is still getting a foot hold on the Indian soil and long term commitment still seems blur

[amitayu]

over 50% votes for the Duster..guess we have e clear winner in our hands despite the stiff debate. i too voted for the Ertiga, but the people's mandate is the final say I guess.

I only hope renault picks up from this initial success and seriously reboots the Duster, with better interiors, or atleast a 4x4 version, that would add to the SUV credence.

[abhi413]

It was a no-brainer this year, really. Voted for the Duster and unsurprisingly most others have done the same too. Funny how nowadays the SUVs / MUVs seem to be the flavour of the day, and the popularity of Sedans seems to be going down!

[sukiwa]

Voted for Ertiga mainly because of its pricing similar to Sedans, Duster has the looks but lost on pricing.

[parsh]

Leaving aside all other factors, on the innovation/new-ness front, Ertiga and Duster came out quite strongly to me.

Storme could have achieved a place if it was not a case of Too Little Too Late. Seriously, they could have done a lot about the Safari given all the time in the world they had all these years and created a niche and big market for it. Also, the side-by-side marketing dilemma of Safari and Storme is something I cannot understand and throws doubts about Tata's Storme strategy.

Ertiga though poses an innovative approach to giving a VFM vehicle at its price point, no offense to anybody or owners, but it offers so at certain compromises, and even if some compare it as a great competition to Innova, with the close comparison of both on a daily basis (one friend's Ertiga stands next to my Innova everyday) there isn't much in terms of many aspects and Innova keeps on commanding the market as it was. What Ertiga achieved to do is dent the middle-level car market and an option to Innova with certain evident compromises, as was with a few friends who got Ertiga due to inability to go for Innova due to certain reasons. Additionally, Maruti's existing support value backs it strongly to give it a good market, so IMO there is nothing great in that. Once again, its a great vehicle in itself and one that owners should take pride in, I definitely adore it immensely. But it cannot win for me.

Duster from a new not-yet-settled company trying to struggle into the well-established players market, with the likes of Safari, Scorpio, XUV500 and now Storme, providing all the necessity substance to make it a worthwhile SUV worth considering in any case, is a strong statement in itself. It seems to come up trumps in all the necessary aspects, ride, handling, drivability in city/highway, decent off-roading capability in its 4X2 avatar, space - alas for the poor legroom in 2nd row worsened by the lack of sliding seats and mostly decent FE as well. The best they could have done is reduce the humongous boot space to give some to this legroom and/or make them sliding.

So Duster takes the cake for me.

Would I swap my Innova with Duster...no way. Maybe a Thar 4X4 or Duster 4X4 when it is launched as a stand-by fun vehicle could be a good option.

[pugram]

Voted for the Duster.

It has opened a new segment and lifted Renault's hopes in India.

Pictures don't make justice to the actual road presence of the Duster and its very intimidating to have that grill in your rear view mirror.

What happens after the "Nissan" version of the Duster is launched, is to be seen.

[devsoftech]

I have my reasonings corrected from similar (if not redundant posts). SX4 is also a stretched swift platform. Even maruti says its a stretched swift platform and some external sources also mention it as based on SX4 platform (which is not by Fiat btw - its pure suzuki). I however mentioned about parts sharing between swift, ritz and SX4, and does that statement mislead anyone ? I'll be shocked to know an instance. It is purely for reasoning's sake "why I voted", and not an official test drive report. Let me be also clear that I have not mentioned anywhere that re-engineering and platform sharing is a demerit. So, there's is nothing to clarify there. And I appreciate all those who have talked about platform sharing in Duster. Its a feeling that has grown on me over a period of time since the time I have owned SX4 and in 2012 I still see those parts (and swift/ritz parts) being used here and there, rather than modernizing and cut-paste job. And due to similar nature of parts quality, I expect similar issues with Ertiga. When I see the duster, I don't feel that way. May be the perception would have been different if Dacia would have been a long term player here. Its the feeling behind the vote. To me atleast, Renault has not started dumping Logan's dashboard, steering, A sandero's tyre profile, or made it a 7 seater. It does not over commit it's utility. Ertiga has gone overboard pulling in best of what maruti can offer in its lineup, and it does not even care even products like SX4 are jeopardized and not even modernized. Rather, they are concerned with volumes and a car which is projected as a all rounder. If they win, we will keep getting cars like these which are confused products, that can tick most of the things, but are compromise for most of the situations.