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Old 19th January 2012, 10:18   #61
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re: Renault (including Duster Unveil) @ Auto Expo 2012 - EDIT: Now launched at 7.19 Lacs

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Originally Posted by MAS View Post
The Duster in the Brazilian Web site looks much better than the plain jack car that we see being driven in Morocco.

The bumper guard with lights and the side guards make the car look robust. Hope we atleast gets these as accessories.
Guess what we get here in India will be the same model that was displayed for Auto expo. (Remember pic in page 1,display vehicle was with MRF Wanderer) . Also the difference to the front part in Brazilian and Auto expo pics aren't much. They have Smoked the area between two lens for headlamps and bumper guard which is in white for Auto expo model is in black for Brazil model. So I guess there is no much difference on that.
However price is what will decide the success along with Renaults reliable service support. Currently for whole of Karnataka they have only two (one each in Bangalore and Mangalore) service center's. Had read a news about their plans of ramping up dealers to 200 from current 40 or so. However without any successful model its a chicken and egg situation.
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Old 19th January 2012, 10:45   #62
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re: Renault (including Duster Unveil) @ Auto Expo 2012 - EDIT: Now launched at 7.19 Lacs

^^ don't think that they have even 40 now. Their site shows 26 or something !
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Old 19th January 2012, 18:15   #63
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re: Renault (including Duster Unveil) @ Auto Expo 2012 - EDIT: Now launched at 7.19 Lacs

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Originally Posted by razor4077 View Post
Nice looking interiors, a fair improvement over the European spec I had seen before. Hope India gets something as good.
Eagerly awaiting the pricing now. It's a clever niche that the duster and Eco sport are trying to target. It's soon going to be a good time to be a customer with a 10 lac budget
The body dimensions of Renault Duster are very much comparable with Toyota RAV4. It will surely do very well in Indian market. I think Tata Motors should have gone on the line of Duster while designing Grande.The body over frame design of Grande makes it very heavy which results into making it more expensive to maintain and also adversely affects fuel efficiency.The entry of Duster in Indian market will influence negatively the sale of other suvs and Mahindra would be the first victim !
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Old 21st January 2012, 18:20   #64
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Re: Why should one buy a 4WD (4X4 system)/ AWD as against a 4x2?

Sorry to barge in. Most 4x2 of M&M and tata SUVs are RWD. How is duster? With Shankar balan's rant - I have the similar ones. I wanted some thing that is RWD (4x2). Innova is too big for my use. But checking on the duster It's FWD for 4x2.

Shankar and others what options do I have other than Tata and M&M. Or should I settle in for Innova itself.
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Old 22nd January 2012, 17:08   #65
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Re: Why should one buy a 4WD (4X4 system)/ AWD as against a 4x2?

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Originally Posted by kolimuttai View Post
I wanted some thing that is RWD (4x2). Innova is too big for my use. But checking on the duster It's FWD for 4x2.
No Duster is a FWD in 4x2 mode. But can you be specific why you need a RWD in 4x2 mode. In case of 4x4 mode this does not really matter.
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Old 22nd January 2012, 19:28   #66
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Re: Why should one buy a 4WD (4X4 system)/ AWD as against a 4x2?

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Originally Posted by shankar.balan View Post
However, I have since learned that this is not necessarily the case. I had a very hard time in my 2WD RWD Scorpio, when trying to climb up a 45 degree incline on loose gravel and stones. There was no chance of building momentum as that 45 degree incline came just after a very sharp left hand turn (almost 90 degrees). The RWD 2WD simply couldnt handle it. I got only wheelspin and the smell of frying clutch, for my pains.

I drove an AWD Subaru on some wet grasslands and so on sometime back - that vehicle of course had traction control and all the other fiddly bits, so there was no problem. I also drove a small FIAT 500 up some hilly terrain some time ago - being an FWD it went very happily up the hills. However, its engine does not have enough "juice" in it.

With ref to the Yeti, because it is an AWD 4x4, it can pretty much handle most of these off track situations, within limits. Of course it would have relatively limited capacity for wading or swamp and desert riding and suchlike in comparison to a Land Cruiser or something of the sort.
In a nutshell, if you are buying a 2WD vehicle, it really doesnt matter whether it is FWD or RWD - it cannot be taken into seriously deep off road situations. At best, it can handle mild soft road work. Be aware of the limits of the vehicle, and you will do fine!

I think the Duster even in its 2WD FWD format will be a formidable vehicle because of its short overhangs and high GC. It will become a very worthy competitor to the Scorp and Safari etc and will certainly handle better on account of its more modern monocoque chassis and driving dynamics as well.
Truly words of Wisdom. I learned so much from your post. Few more questions
1. Auto mode from Duster - how is the wear out of gears and others from on and off RWD engagement automatically
2. Is it advisable to Run complete Auto / 4x4 mode on mixed rural roads and high way from Bangalore to chennai / Bangalore to Ooty?
3. Is there going to be a 110 ps 4x4 from Duster

~Koliappan Muthaiah
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Old 22nd January 2012, 22:10   #67
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Re: Why should one buy a 4WD (4X4 system)/ AWD as against a 4x2?

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Originally Posted by kolimuttai View Post
Truly words of Wisdom. I learned so much from your post. Few more questions
1. Auto mode from Duster - how is the wear out of gears and others from on and off RWD engagement automatically
2. Is it advisable to Run complete Auto / 4x4 mode on mixed rural roads and high way from Bangalore to chennai / Bangalore to Ooty?
3. Is there going to be a 110 ps 4x4 from Duster

~Koliappan Muthaiah
Specific details on Renault Duster can be best found and discussed on these threads
1. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...med-india.html
2. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/auto-e...po-2012-a.html
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Old 22nd January 2012, 22:15   #68
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Re: Why should one buy a 4WD (4X4 system)/ AWD as against a 4x2?

All these electric shift on the fly 4WD vehicles should not be put into 4WD on tarmac. Only on bad roads, slushy conditions or when you encounter severely wet roads OR snow and ice.
Wear and tear is normal if used when required and not "just for fun".
You will have to run any Fulltime AWD or Fulltime 4x4 vehicle as you would a normal 2WD car. In the case of the Duster I believe you can select whether you want 2WD or 4WD and you need to use it depending on the conditions. Driving between Bangalore and Ooty is easily achieved in normal 2WD mode.
110PS Duster with 4x4 - I dont have accurate information but from all account it is likely to be a 105 PS 4x2 vehicle which is being launched in India - atleast to begin with!

Quote:
Originally Posted by kolimuttai View Post
Truly words of Wisdom. I learned so much from your post. Few more questions
1. Auto mode from Duster - how is the wear out of gears and others from on and off RWD engagement automatically
2. Is it advisable to Run complete Auto / 4x4 mode on mixed rural roads and high way from Bangalore to chennai / Bangalore to Ooty?
3. Is there going to be a 110 ps 4x4 from Duster

~Koliappan Muthaiah
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Old 23rd January 2012, 19:38   #69
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Re: Why should one buy a 4WD (4X4 system)/ AWD as against a 4x2?

Quote:
Originally Posted by shankar.balan View Post
All these electric shift on the fly 4WD vehicles should not be put into 4WD on tarmac. Only on bad roads, slushy conditions or when you encounter severely wet roads OR snow and ice.
Wear and tear is normal if used when required and not "just for fun".
You will have to run any Fulltime AWD or Fulltime 4x4 vehicle as you would a normal 2WD car. In the case of the Duster I believe you can select whether you want 2WD or 4WD and you need to use it depending on the conditions. Driving between Bangalore and Ooty is easily achieved in normal 2WD mode.
110PS Duster with 4x4 - I dont have accurate information but from all account it is likely to be a 105 PS 4x2 vehicle which is being launched in India - atleast to begin with!
Rightly said, but initial information coming from the dealers is that the initial offering will be FWD with 5 trims.
I am almost settled on this vehicle given the niggles on the XUV, however after sales service and dealer network is too thinly spread out for my comfort and as of now Navi Mumbai where I reside dosen't have any outlet. The nearest one is almost 60 Km away in Andheri.
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Old 23rd January 2012, 19:51   #70
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Re: Why should one buy a 4WD (4X4 system)/ AWD as against a 4x2?

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Originally Posted by m_upreti View Post
Rightly said, but initial information coming from the dealers is that the initial offering will be FWD with 5 trims.
I am almost settled on this vehicle given the niggles on the XUV, however after sales service and dealer network is too thinly spread out for my comfort and as of now Navi Mumbai where I reside dosen't have any outlet. The nearest one is almost 60 Km away in Andheri.
Good to see that you have decided on Duster, is it going to be a 4x4 or 4x2. And if it is going to be 4x2 it is going to be FWD, and your Scorpio is a RWD, what kind of difference is it going to be for you.
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Old 23rd January 2012, 20:00   #71
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Re: Why should one buy a 4WD (4X4 system)/ AWD as against a 4x2?

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Originally Posted by zulfi hansi View Post
Good to see that you have decided on Duster, is it going to be a 4x4 or 4x2. And if it is going to be 4x2 it is going to be FWD, and your Scorpio is a RWD, what kind of difference is it going to be for you.

It will be in all probablity be a 4X2,but again if the price is as per the indications (11 Lacs Ex Showroom for top end model) I don't mind going for the 4X4.

As far as driving is concerned, not much of a difference, I think I will still be able to go to places I go on my Scorpio with some minor offroading, and gentle stream crossings.

Further I am expecting a vehicle with better quality handling (which it should be on accont of low stance) and interiors than the Scorpio.
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Old 24th January 2012, 13:19   #72
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re: Renault (including Duster Unveil) @ Auto Expo 2012 - EDIT: Now launched at 7.19 Lacs

Renault has opened a new showroom in Nagpur today. I will be following up with them on what they have on the Duster. I believe this opening of a new showroom will be first of many that renault will to to improve the penetration and service network in India. Any idea if there have been any new openings elsewhere ?

Dr. A Ghosh
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Old 24th January 2012, 13:45   #73
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re: Renault (including Duster Unveil) @ Auto Expo 2012 - EDIT: Now launched at 7.19 Lacs

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Originally Posted by abheekg View Post
Renault has opened a new showroom in Nagpur today. I will be following up with them on what they have on the Duster. I believe this opening of a new showroom will be first of many that renault will to to improve the penetration and service network in India. Any idea if there have been any new openings elsewhere ?

Dr. A Ghosh
They had a plan of opening 200 dealerships across India by 2012 end. However Iam not sure if that is on track or any delay. Searched on net for that and this is what I found. Renault Fluence Registers Impressive Sales In One Month Of Launch

However, as I mentioned few posts above to open new dealerships there should atleast be one model which has healthy monthly sales and other way around there should be atleast one sucessful model to make opening more dealerships economically viable.

There been talk of Renault hoping Duster to click 50,000 units per year mark. How they manage to do that is something we can only speculate about now.
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Old 24th January 2012, 15:06   #74
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re: Renault (including Duster Unveil) @ Auto Expo 2012 - EDIT: Now launched at 7.19 Lacs

I have been tracking the Duster thread closely, and it is one of the options for my next car based on the timing of the launch, and the pricing being reasonable. However more than the number of dealerships, it is the Service station paucity that sacres me. We ahve all seen Toyots struggle with higher volumes at their service stations, and apart from Maruti, most other manufacturers have struggled to get a good service experience in place for customers. Maybe Renault should look at sharing the service network with Nissan ?
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Old 24th January 2012, 15:28   #75
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re: Renault (including Duster Unveil) @ Auto Expo 2012 - EDIT: Now launched at 7.19 Lacs

I called up the Renault showroom(Bangalore) yesterday and enquired about the Duster launch date. The receptionist was kind enough to tell me that the launch would be during June and the prices are going to be announced somewhere during March.
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