[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

Ertiga and duster fall in two different categories. Ertiga is an MUV while Duster is a true SUV.

True.

They are in different segments altogether. But think of it this way.

People looking to buy a sedan will now think twice about spending 12 lakhs. If they have an extended family visiting them often, they'd otherwise be required to hire a cab. Or come to some other sort of arrangement. We ourselves had trouble a few times.

But these new 'genre' of cars, if you will, have entered the market knowing fully well where the market lies. Factoring in elements like fuel-efficiency, road and fuel quality, practicality, etc. These cars don't cater to a different segment or user, they cater to people who would have otherwise bought something else for the same price.

Unless you're hell-bent on buying a sedan or a proper SUV, you wouldn't look at cars like the Ertiga and Duster. But there are many who have the option of choosing cars that fall under the price-bracket they have in mind. A car that will meet all their requirements, instead of investing in two cars for example.

The Ertiga found the sweet spot. The Duster seemed to have for a minute, but the price vis a vis the equipment might let it down. It's too soon to say though.

EDIT: I wouldn't call the Duster a true SUV. It's a crossover. It's built on a monocoque chassis, as opposed to the actual ladder-frame chassis that true SUVs are built on. Sure these soft-roaders are capable. But not like some others that are solely meant for it. The long-wheelbase on the Duster doesn't help matters. It doesn't even have 4x4 at the moment. So what does that indicate?

[itwasntme]

Anyone been to the Bangalore showrooms yet? I called Palace Orchards and there seemed to be a mini-riot on in the background :-).

The receptionist confirmed that they do have the 110 RxZ on display and have also received 4 more Dusters 'just now'. She could not even confirm whether they were display, demo or delivery vehicles.

All queries are being answered by 'please come down to the showroom, sir'.

[amitwadhwa]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

The link is simple. It is hygiene to have a good website for any manufacturer. Show me one other Auto manufacturers' website which fails during a launch. Maintaining a website involves 2 good tech folks. Managing a good dealer support network involves 2000 people. Get the drift?


Ertiga and duster fall in two different categories. Ertiga is an MUV while Duster is a true SUV.

Understood, and I meant that the website resides at a webhost, not in the company's data centers, out of control for the company (Most times the webhosts do not provide for adequate memory specs on their VM's for regular websites) - and hence the "chuckles". Really no offense intended - peace

[kmadhok]

Quoting from Renault Duster launched in India at Rs 7.2 lakh
"Nassif, however, declined to comment on the sales volume of the Duster, but said about 3,500-4,000 bookings have already been made."
Had the bookings for Duster been opened before the launch? Is that normal?

[xotiq]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

Ertiga and duster fall in two different categories. Ertiga is an MUV while Duster is a true SUV.

Maybe, but would reseve the tag of a 'true' SUV till the 4X4 is launched.

[Nitinz]

OTR Prices for Gurgaon
RXL 85 with OPTION PACK & RXL 110 PS 10.89 LAKHS
RXZ 110 PS 12.18

I would prefer going with RXL 85 with OPTION PACK , if TD and TBHP Review comes favourable ! Will see it in flesh in evening!!

[Neil Roy]

@Rameshnanda, I am hoping that OTR price for 85PS Rxl with option will work out to 11.5 max.
Did think about the ertiga also before confirming Duster, but what went with the duster was ground clearance. Call me stupid but there are two kinds of ground clearance, no load and full load. Ertiga claims to have a GC of 185 mm whereas duster claims to have 205 mm. Now i have my own reservations about whether this GC will be maintained with a seating capacity of 6 people in the ertiga. Also the go anywhere attitude of Duster(at atleast as shown in youtube) does really stoke or goad the male ego into leaning towards duster.
I have totalled a bolero on highway by going head on with a bus, a game in which nobody won, and so in my opinion, Indian"SUVs" demand more of your attention and energy especially in long distance compared to european or american SUVs(again, my personal opinion). Now with the monsoons coming up and chennai corporation going crazy digging trenches left,right and centre, Duster looked very promising. Maybe it's just my ego trying to rationalise a stupid decision? Only time will tell. Anyways, Chose option purely for safety reasons and that alloy wheel did help.

[MAS]

Even with so much rush reported in the Khivraj Showroom in Chennai, i received a call from the dealer urging me to pay a visit to the Duster.

I am interested in the 85 BHP+Option pack and will take a look tomorrow.

OT: Guys who visited the Khivraj Showroom today. Could you park your car with ease? If yes, where did you park?

[ranjeetnair]

Mod Note : Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD!

Like Mr.Neil i had also visited the chennai mountroad showroom today and i must say atmosphere were Euphoric for the showroom staff.

Personaly i liked the vehicle in flesh.Interiors you can't expect even a city , but it was decent enough. i am basicaly looking for a five seater and hence i might go for RXL 85 bhp with option pack.But on enquiring about the price nobody did know anything for sure.They said the pricing would be revealed only tommarow. will consider buying if OTR price is close to 11 Lakhs.

@MAS

parking was getting extended upto hyndai service centre which is at the end of the lane !

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

I find the pricing Normal, nothing to appreciate. The premium they are charging for higher 110hp variant is too much, its just a retuned engine, not an all new engine. Equipment list is quite basic, ABS and Front Airbags being the premium equipment in the list.
30k for leather only pack in top end is not worth spending. I'd prefer much better quality leather of my own choice from Stanley.
Let's not forget this is sold as world's cheapest SUV in other markets. Apart from ground clearance i do not see any point in picking it over Vento/Rapid. For utility purpose, the cheaper Ertiga is better or the hugely practical Innova at slightly higher premium looks like a better deal to me.

Yes, the pricing is quite neutral. And as you mentioned, that leather package for 30K may not have the quality of the custom-made Stanley seats for the same price. Looks like they have confused themselves with the various trim levels and corresponding price tags.

I find the regular C-segment sedans like Vento/Fiesta/Rapid/Linea a much better option than this.

Originally Posted by srishiva

Well, yes we don’t like the pricing. But comparing it with Ertiga, even XUV? I think people dont need a tough SUV in that case. How pricing can change the vehicle and its capabilities

Haven’t we witnessed this before?
The Fiesta story was pretty similar – hero until launch, and villian right after the pricing. That said, I can see that the reactions are not as extreme as how it was for the Fiesta. Probably because of our soft-corner for SUV-ish cars. In general, I feel this car will do decent numbers.

[roy_libran]

Wow, good pricing!

I know, a number of people are disappointed at not having received a Shock Pricing, but at least it was not the kind of shock that the Fluence, Koleos or Pulse started out with.
In my opinion, this is a very competent product, and by pricing itself along the Scorpio and Safari, it can now go play. A lot will depend on the kind of momentum Renault is able to maintain, to allow it's sales to reach a critical mass.

The product has to be pushed in the showroom floor, and buyers have to be enticed with Freebies, subtle discounts, bigger exchange bonuses etc. This thrust needs to be maintained at least until Renault can push out sufficient numbers out on the streets. Once people, get to see a lot of Dusters running around, the herd-mentality will kick in, and then Renault should be in a comfortable position.

So, in a nutshell, I think the pricing is quite okay to start the game, and the rest will depend on how they play their first 12 months! All the best Renault.

[aniketi]

Just one query from my side, is our tax structure is main culprit for not having Duster VFM in India? We do have lots of taxes like Excise (I guess its 24% now !!!), Sales Tax, VAT, RTO, Octroi etc. It makes car costly in India. Can somebody confirm this please?

[werfish]

OTR prices in Bangalore

[godhatesmyguts]

Can someone specify details of the Option pack ?? This wouldn't be a dealer end option pack would it ??

[aseem]

Very good pricing given the rupee depreciation, excise norms and general market dynamics. For those who were expecting lower, I can say its a case of wishful thinking on their part. You are getting a decently build crossover with par interior, reliable diesel engine and SUV looks, all this for under 10 lakhs ex showroom for a diesel with 85 horses under the hood. If sucess of Sunny is anything to go by (its just a bigger Micra) I guess Indians will flock Renault showrooms in hoards and you will see a lot of Dusters on Indian roads in no time.

Our country has a very solid aspirational spirit. Folks have been dreaming of driving SUVs for long. Finally we are getting something that looks the part on a budget. Pricing is quite comparable to Sunny and you get much beefier tires, solid looks over and above Sunny. I am not a huge fan of Sunny or the diesel engine under its hood, but I know anything with a boot works in India, look for example the ugliest of boot jobs becoming the biggest success for Maruti in Dezire (no offence meant to Dezire owners.. looks have grown on me).

Anything less, and you would have seen huge waiting periods, and the car would have losts its exclusivity value. You would have every possible Swift buyer buying Duster and the product would loose its snob value (for whatever its worth). Great job Renault, those who couldnt stretch their budget for an XUV will surely lap this one up... Predication, 85 PS middle model the run-away hit!

Quick Exterior Review: The best thing that happened for Indian middle class after Swift in 2005. All of us have been dreaming of owning an SUV, some of us lucky enough to afford one. But for those of you who had to settle for a City/Vento/Fiesta as Scorpio/Safari were too crude to their liking. Finally God has heard their prayers. The car is a true crossover and looks like a small Fortunner on steroids.

Pros:
- Butch looks
- Muscle/Macho wheel arches
- Roof Rails adding character
- Meaty Tires and nice looking Alloys

Interior Review: If you keep into context that this is based on a Logan platform, you would give Renault 10/10 on the mod job they have done to spruce up the interiors of the car. But if you are in this segment with 10-12 lakhs to spend, you *aspire* for more. All cars suffer in this department in this segment. Compare a Honda City to Civic, compare Vento to Jetta and you would know that manufacturers really do their cost cutting on the interior. For the par in this segment, Duster bearly cuts it.

Cons:
- Mixed bag interiors with plasticy quality
- Poor egronomics, cut and paste jobs for power windows
- Odd placement of steering controls (wierd)
- Less rear leg room
- No arm rest
- Looks built to cost unline the XUV

Pros:
- Huge boot
- Ticks all the gizmos for the segment (airbags/abs/bluetooth/audio/steering controls)

Engine Review 85 ps is barely adequate but you do get torque. For city driving conditions the 85 ps diesel can keep all petrol cars (figuratively speaking) behind as it has got a fairly decent rev-band and torque curve. Clutch is expected to be light (as with Sunny). It does the job, but probably doesnt excite you while doing it. Its built like a tank, as proven by numerous Logan taxis out there and crunches out solid FE figures. But for someone like me who lives to drive the engine misses the *oomph* that is required.

The only sad part, Duster like some other players in this market has decided to make safety features as luxury and not standard. I appreciate that my Fiesta came with ABS/Airbags even in the lowest model. Unfortunately its the way our market works.

Detailed review coming up shortly with a video edit, watch this space!