[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by SedatedDrive

Renault India CEO has announced in today's Times Now paper that the Duster is likely to get Jump seats for the last row as an accessory in the near future to meet customer requirements for a 7-seater. Basically you remove the boot tray and plonk in the jump seats to seat 2 more.

If this is done then perhaps a couple of puppies will fit in the back, no more. With the low roof line, this is not the best thing to do. Plus the lack of safety for those last jump seat passengers is appalling, given our terrible roads. It is like a politician's populist philosophy - please the vote banks at any cost for better or for worse! Why do they wish to make a 7 seater mish-mash out of something which was always meant to be a 5 seater? Instead, why not focus on higher localization, reduction of the profit margin to an extent and giving safety features to all variants? Instead of grabbing the cream of profits now, they can give more ow and amortize the cost over a longer period. That would be the decent thing to do.

Ref the ppt being sent to the head office claiming grand success, some low level marketing type will owe his promotion and his next job to this launch - they are usually quite smart in claiming credit for good things and disappearing like dust when the troubles hit!

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by SedatedDrive

Renault India CEO has announced in today's Times Now paper that the Duster is likely to get Jump seats for the last row as an accessory in the near future to meet customer requirements for a 7-seater.

That would be another crazy idea. The rear quarter glass with those thick C pillars would make it a claustrophobic experience for anyone sitting there. But is there enough space at the back to add 2 more seats? Already the rear seats are set so back in passenger cabin. (what I saw from the side view, may not be entirely true).

Edit: Are those C pillars or D pillars?

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

That would be another crazy idea. The rear quarter glass with those thick C pillars would make it a claustrophobic experience for anyone sitting there. But is there enough space at the back to add 2 more seats? Already the rear seats are set so back in passenger cabin. (what I saw from the side view, may not be entirely true).

Edit: Are those C pillars or D pillars?

And to top it all, the rear seat is not 60:40 folding type, so wonder how will the passengers get inside!!!!

[johy]

I was wondering how much sense it would it make to buy a Diesel for running of 6000 km/year - taking into consideration fuel prices and servicing costs.

Secondly, one could go with the petrol, but there is

1) No option pack - no possibility of adding safety features.

2) Resale value - worth the weight in metal?? I am sure there won't be many takers for a Petrol SUV in say another 6 years' time.

[NikhilB]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

If this is done then perhaps a couple of puppies will fit in the back, no more. With the low roof line, this is not the best thing to do. Plus the lack of safety for those last jump seat passengers is appalling, given our terrible roads. It is like a politician's populist philosophy - please the vote banks at any cost for better or for worse! Why do they wish to make a 7 seater mish-mash out of something which was always meant to be a 5 seater? Instead, why not focus on higher localization, reduction of the profit margin to an extent and giving safety features to all variants? Instead of grabbing the cream of profits now, they can give more ow and amortize the cost over a longer period. That would be the decent thing to do.

If offered as an option, I'm sure it would bring additional footfall into the showroom.

Fact is, an average Indian customer (as opposed to well-informed petrolheads) aren't as safety concious as they should be. Otherwise they wouldn't be travelling on the last row of Sumos/Scorpios (which are death traps on pogo sticks).

Clearly, the car manufacturers are running a business and are in it to make a profit. It makes business sense to offer safety features like airbags and ABS only on the top-end because those who want it are ready to pay for it (our motto being 'safety at whatever cost'). For the rest, manufacturers typically have at least 2-3 options.

There's a lot of debate on the price. If I were Renault, I wouldn't have priced it any different. This is because we go weak in our knees at the prospect of owning an SUV. Hence, I can get away with pricing it at a premium over sedans. No matter how Renault markets it, its core customers would be those looking for small SUVs, if it does get any sedan customer to trade up (or down, according to some) that would be a bonus.

Once there are other models in the market (EcoSport, New Scorpio etc.), Renault will adjust the price accordingly (but still make the same profit due to increased localisation).

[SkyWalker]

Went to the ORR Renault Showroom Today and TDed the Car. My impressions match with those mentioned by others.

background: I own an ANHC and an i10. I am considering a crossover and Duster and XUV are being considered.

Looks : Awesome! Especially in the woodland brown color. From the front it looks like a million bucks. No comparisons to a timid Yeti or an all bling XUV.
Quality : I did not find the quality to be as bad as it was mentioned in some posts here. It was not great either, Just OK for a 12 Lac Car.
Space : Bad, especially in the back. With the rear aircooler in place, its just a 2 seater. I stepped out and went back to my ANHC and sat there for comparison, and ANHC was way more spacious. Duster has better elbow room compared to ANHC due to the width.
Power :Could drive only the 110ps, no 85ps for TD. In short - really bad turbo lag. Once it comes to 2500 rpm or so, it pulls very well. But I had to really struggle in 2nd gear (with just 3 passengers! ) to get out of a speed-breaker. Automags be damned, there is no comparison to an XUV. Driving an XUV always feels like you have the power you need. Highways should be ok with Duster, but it will be painful in the city and i shudder to think how painful this will be to climb winding inclined roads with this, passengers and luggage.
Handling : pretty good for a crossover. I could not really test this much though - they are only giving short drives. Braking was OK could have been better - but i felt it was better than XUV.

I think it will find takers due to the looks, being an SUV and price for the 85ps one. Will I buy it? Coming from an ANHC, and looking at 110ps Rxz, i feel I will be making too many compromises. I would rather pay a little more and buy the W6 XUV instead. But I think the 85ps Duster should sell very well, people cant just ignore a car which looks so good.

Btw, did i mention it looks really really good?

[itwasntme]

Jump seats for the last row as an accessory in the near future? Globally, the Duster is a 5 seater and I doubt there are existing mounting points for a 'clip-on' seats. Also, won't they have to do a mini-homologation again as well as comply with 7 seater CMV Rules and RTO/taxation rules?
Overall, sounds like another 'jugaad' type idea, but if voiced by the CEO, they MUST be having a clear plan...

EDIT: Read page 48 for suhaas307 and tsk1979's discussion on the same :-):
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-india-48.html

Further, in my opinion, only kids will manage to fit into the same; further, what about ingress/egress? Through the rear hatch over that high boot-lip? Also, the rear seat only flips forward once and not a double-flip (I assume). Removes the possibility of entry through the rear doors I think.

It's going to be fun to watch any adult get into those seats :-)

Instead wish they had added ABS as a 30k option to the RxE - at the end, Renault comes off badly on the safety front by only providing 'lip service' to safety.

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by ObsessedByFIAT

And to top it all, the rear seat is not 60:40 folding type, so wonder how will the passengers get inside!!!!

Simple. Open the boot door to get in .

Originally Posted by johy

I was wondering how much sense it would it make to buy a Diesel for running of 6000 km/year - taking into consideration fuel prices and servicing costs.

Secondly, one could go with the petrol, but there is

1) No option pack - no possibility of adding safety features.

2) Resale value - worth the weight in metal?? I am sure there won't be many takers for a Petrol SUV in say another 6 years' time.

For 6k per year, there is no reason to buy a Diesel car. You should strongly consider only Petrol car. You can extract maximum discounts for buying a Petrol car in this era of Diesel cars. That said, no petrol car from any any manufacturer will command a good resale value.

[rohanjf]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

..Why do they wish to make a 7 seater mish-mash out of something which was always meant to be a 5 seater?

They would have gotten the idea from Ertiga. Ertiga is nothing but a station wagon with two extra seats, and quite likely that the extra seats are attracting more people to the showroom than a 5 seater would have.

Since you have seen the car in flesh, did you spot any hinges/links in the current model, where these extra seats and be fixed? If not, Renault will probably introduce these hinges/links while upwardly revising the price (since the currently announced price is "introductory"). They need some justification to increase the price, and this could be one!

[Mister_M]

Originally Posted by sameer sultan

........
The pricing I feel is a bit high, best part is the sales people at the dealership said its introductory price!! So its going go up further.
............
I ended up booking the RxZ yesterday just coz of the space and solid looks! At 13.41L OTR it might be steep
.........
The Duster is being booked like the Maruti's,(160 in 2 days in Chennai) hordes of people are queuing up for a test drive and its already Diwali for the erstwhile sleepy Renault Showrooms!!

Sameer, congrats on your Duster booking. In my view, Definitely a good choice when it comes to looks.

Did you get any hint from the SA regarding when they would revise this pricing i.e. how long does this "introductory price" hold good?

If they plan to increase prices further more, ho much more could we expect? Any leads?

[nair]

The logical choice seems to be to wait until the launch of EcoSport before making a choice. Although Duster is more SUV/rugged than a EcoSport from pics.

And the more I wait, the more I am starting to think "Do I really need a SUV/mini-SUV?". I mean its given that the Duster is a good looking vehicle with good road presence but its not like the sedans/premium hatchbacks in the same category are bad lookers. Each car have its own unique identity these days. Why should I spend couple of lakhs extra more than say a i20 which gives me so much more features, easier to ride/park in the city, a looker in its own right, for a car which gives me lesser mileage, is definitely slower, unknown service history...

[Nitinz]

I booked RXL 85 PS with Option Pack , which at Gurgaon is around 10.8 Lakhs OTR. They are promising a delivery sometime in August , so by that time TBHP Review should be out and if the reviews come favourable I would stick with the booking or else probably a Sedan at that price point

Cheers

[sumeshmani]

Originally Posted by Nitinz

I booked RXL 85 PS with Option Pack , which at Gurgaon is around 10.8 Lakhs OTR. They are promising a delivery sometime in August , so by that time TBHP Review should be out and if the reviews come favourable I would stick with the booking or else probably a Sedan at that price point

Cheers

Could you clarify this for me?
Do we have to take all the items of the option pack, or can we pick and choose?
For example, can we just choose to have ABS and Airbags.

[urajkumar]

Originally Posted by SedatedDrive

Renault India CEO has announced in today's Times Now paper that the Duster is likely to get Jump seats for the last row as an accessory in the near future to meet customer requirements for a 7-seater. Basically you remove the boot tray and plonk in the jump seats to seat 2 more.

I think what he meant actually is "You can get jump seats as accessory now". When i went to the showroom, the sales executive also told the same thing. He said they have "Child Seats" or something to that effect which can be bought as an accessory. Since i was not interested in that anyway, i didnt pay much attention. So may be the next BHP'ian who goes to the showroom, can verify that and share more details

[Nitinz]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

Could you clarify this for me?
Do we have to take all the items of the option pack, or can we pick and choose?
For example, can we just choose to have ABS and Airbags.

Hi Sumesh

The Option packs comes with following
1) ABS and Dual Front Air Bags
2) Driver Seat Belt Reminder
3) Alloy Wheels
4) Rear Parking Sensors

As per The Dealer , we cannot pick and choose of above, it is a package that consists of all the above.

Cheers