[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Are we going to get both 85 & 110 bhp options? Also I feel it should be substantially cheaper than XUV to this to make a cut! Unless it has the 4x4! I don't find a reason why people would prefer this car [4x2] over XUV for almost the same price or even a lakh lesser!

You would be surprised what makes people tick. The duster in whichever avatar it comes in, is likely to take some market share away from Scorpio and Safari and even some sedans! Many people when offered a good alternative with a good pedigree are likely to make the necessary recalibration in their own heads and thus make the change from things like the XUV etc.

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by m_upreti

And yes I am also sure it would not be as sturdy as a Scorpio, which barely takes a dent when smaller things hit it (have a live experience when a Indica rear ended me at a junction and lost the bonnet, bumper, radiator and one headlight while the Scorpio had a scratch on the rear bumper)

I think we can more mature statements than these. My sister who drives a M800, hit a Vento, and the 800 had a slight depression on the bumper while Vento was hit such that both its doors had to be changed. I shouldn't and can't deduce anything about M800 or Vento's sturdiness from this incident.
Also I have seen another picture in the forum where a Land Rover suffered much more than an Alto in a hit. Surely you can't say that Alto is more sturdy than a LR!

We all know that in such cases it all depends on how the impact occurred.

[Animesh]

Originally Posted by ampere

The only source I remember is reading Nov version of ACI, where they explicitly stated
about on 2WD versions for India. I have not seen other concrete news on this.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Suffice it to say the source is top class. Cannot reveal names obviously but 2WD is the thinking at Renault India right now.

2WD is definitely OK with me. Yes the vanilla looking Duster is what might appeal to you and I, but that is never a reality. Sadly we will have to live with bling.

On the capability front, Duster has definitely proven its capability as a work-horse. It sure is burning the sales chart at many of the places where it is launched. Pricing is a big question mark. The closer it is positioned to Safari/Scorpio, bigger would be the prospects of Duster being successful as a product. XUV is a different segment (read luxurious attempt at a SUV) altogether.

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

I think we can more mature statements than these. My sister who drives a M800, hit a Vento, and the 800 had a slight depression on the bumper while Vento was hit such that both its doors had to be changed. I shouldn't and can't deduce anything about M800 or Vento's sturdiness from this incident.
Also I have seen another picture in the forum where a Land Rover suffered much more than an Alto in a hit. Surely you can't say that Alto is more sturdy than a LR!

We all know that in such cases it all depends on how the impact occurred.

Agreed, but it is all about personal experiences and not a generalised statement.

[BikerSG]

So Q2 2012 is expected launch.

Anybody knows if this will be launched in automatic transmission also? or manual only?

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Originally Posted by BikerSG

So Q2 2012 is expected launch.

Anybody knows if this will be launched in automatic transmission also? or manual only?

Here we guys are still speculating if the Duster will come in 2WD or 4WD!

And now here is a new request for A/T! Renault are you listening? Please give all of this at a price lower than Safari base model!!!!

[BUXX]

Renault is pretty thrifty while launching too many variants for a particular model. just see the Fluence.. My guess is that they would not launch too many variants initially and probably the news regarding 1 petrol and diesel variant is possibly closer to truth...

[r0ckstar.1]

Well, looks like the wishlist is growing everyday from bhpians waiting for Duster. The more Renault delays the launch, this list will only keep growing. Renault might be risking their strategy, wherein eventually the launched product may not meet either the price or the specifications on offer. I for one, is surely losing patience and may go for a scropio/safari sooner. Renault need to communicate more and keep it's potential customers "informed" and "hooked".

[man_and_machine]

Originally Posted by r0ckstar.1

Renault need to communicate more and keep it's potential customers "informed" and "hooked".

Same thing on my mind too, checked if they have a FB page for the Duster India. Well I do not find one. That could have been a good move. I would list as a fan to get updates. Why are they missing it? For that matter how may auto companies in India use this now ubiquitous option? Not sure, any idea?

[mpksuhas]

Saw this in rediff today. Nothing much, all the things that has been either discussed in this thread or announced by Renault earlier. The price they quoting I guess another guessing game and nothing else:
The Rs 7 lakh Renault Duster soon in India - Rediff.com Business

[aniket.tiwari27]

Guess Renault is waiting for the Budget 2012 and will launch the Duster with best possible prices so that no re-work on that front is required.

[sumeshmani]

I may have missed this info on previous posts. Please pardon me for that...
1. Is June going to be a global launch for Renault Duster?
2. Is Renault going to use India as a manufacturing hub for Duster?

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

1. Is June going to be a global launch for Renault Duster?
2. Is Renault going to use India as a manufacturing hub for Duster?

1. No, Duster is already launched in many markets (East European, Brazil etc). The june launch (ie if its happens in launch, so far only confirmation on this is a mail one forum member got mentioning brochure will be send in June) is for Duster in India. And yes, they have been saying India will be their manufacturing hub for regions with right hand drive (UK).

[vijayk]

This is the mail I received yesterday (refer the detail about booking):

Dear Sir,

Thanks for writing to Renault India Customer Care I appreciate your interest shown on our Renault Duster.
I regret to inform you that we will not be able to share the product brochure as we are yet to launch our Renault Duster in India .
Below mentioned are the core features of the car, once the product is launch I request you to get back to us so that we can reveal the entire information and also for the test drive. Sorry to inform you that as if now bookings are not open for duster. Once it’s launched you can call us for booking details.


Duster (Petrol & Diesel) (Core features)
Unique & Modern design
A trendy & compact urban SUV
Stylish Chrome grille
Twin barrel headlamps
16'' Alloy Wheels
Front Fog Lamps
Keyless Entry
ABS with Brake Assist & EBD
Dual front airbags
Plush Leather Upholstery
4 Speaker Music System with USB , AUX-IN & Bluetooth Connectivity
Steering mounted Audio & phone control
Rear Defogger, wiper & washer
Electrically adjustable Outside Rear View Mirrors
Rear Parking Sensors
475 Litre Trunk capacity

Warm Regards,
Keerthi.S
Renault contact centre
Contact: 1800-300-44444 (Toll free - 09:00am to 08:00pm
7 Days a week)

[sumeshmani]

Originally Posted by vijayk

Duster (Petrol & Diesel) (Core features)
Unique & Modern design
A trendy & compact urban SUV
Stylish Chrome grille
Twin barrel headlamps
16'' Alloy Wheels
Front Fog Lamps
Keyless Entry
ABS with Brake Assist & EBD
Dual front airbags
Plush Leather Upholstery
4 Speaker Music System with USB , AUX-IN & Bluetooth Connectivity
Steering mounted Audio & phone control
Rear Defogger, wiper & washer
Electrically adjustable Outside Rear View Mirrors
Rear Parking Sensors
475 Litre Trunk capacity

The reply they sent me dind't have this list. Can we trust and go by this list?
For now let me get excited about the feature list .
I think the following items are excellent addition if they do make into the final product...
- ABS with Brake Assist & EBD
- Dual front airbags
- 4 Speaker Music System with USB , AUX-IN & Bluetooth Connectivity
- Electrically adjustable Outside Rear View Mirrors
- Rear Parking Sensors