[ashis89]

Voted No. Two reasons - Lack of trust on the ASS and too dated interiors.

When I was in market for a new car, the Duster AWD had some mouth watering discounts going on and I gave it a serious thought. While I still like the exterior design, those interiors won't make anyone happy. My wife ruled it completely on this ground and I didn't even take a TD.

Ownership threads on Team Bhp have reported few niggling issues and expensive spare costs. A friend of my father owns a Renault dealership and even he wasn't fully supportive of buying a Duster for long term ownership. He mentioned this was a good abuse friendly vehicle for someone with high running over a shorter ownership period (few lakh kms over 3-4 years, sell and move on!). As a dealer, their vehicles of focus are Triber and Kwid only. Not very encouraging to put your money on.

[adg_andy]

Voted yes. Once you get used to Duster's ride quality, and look beyond the spartan interiors,it's very difficult to look at anything else. I loved my 2016 85ps so much , that I got a new AWD in February

[Samba]

Voted yes, but the answer is yes & no both.

The AWD is a very nice car to drive & ride, but not so nice to maintain.
Renault offers 5 years extended warranty and after five years, anytime warranty for another 2 years. So one can cover his car for 7 years.

4 years AMC costs around 35-40k. That will include 4 services including labor plus consumables which are required for regular service. This can be opted from 30k service to 60k service or later. 60k service is a costly one. So AMC will definitely save money if 60k service is covered under it. It alone costs around 25k.

5 years warranty costs around 20k, if purchased when the vehicle is new. The price keeps increasing with time. Anytime warranty will cost around another 20k per year. So for approximately 40-50k, one can be covered for 7 years and for another 40k, 4 services will be covered. The remaining expenses which will come on the owner will be on replacing parts like brake pad, clutch & similar.

So a vehicle which has the extended warranty can be purchased.

The parts which are sensitive to failure in Duster AWD are-
Injectors
Rear brake lining
ShockAbsorbers
Left pull with cars using AT tyres.

Regarding the capability of this vehicle, it's impressive. One can have fun on highways as well as tackle the rough roads with ease.
The downside on city driving is the hard clutch, but again the short gear ratio's make sure this car requires very less gear changing. In bumper to bumper traffic this can be driven as an automatic in 2nd or 3rd by lifting the legs off from all the three pedals.

Things to check before buying a Duster-

Should be covered under company warranty.
Less km on odo is always preferable.
A thorough checkup from Renault before closing the deal.

[karan0009]

Voted NO.

We owned both 85 hp & 110 hp variants. Going by the personal experience, I would never encourage anyone to pick up this unreliable machine. It broke down twice in middle of the highway & sourcing parts from nearby small towns was a nightmare. Thanks to the jugaad done by the local mechanic we were able to complete the journey.

Only thing which I appreciate about the Duster is it's ride quality.

[distiller]

Voted No!

A couple of reasons:

• The future of Renault in India
• The quality of the ASS and availability of spare parts

And I never liked the interior quality of the car and I think they tried making some quick money by selling a low cost Dacia product.

[momsonlydriver]

The interior feels very dated in comparison to some of the cars that belong from the same time. Every surface is hard scratchy plastic. The ergonomics are poor, especially the infotainment screen placed right below from the sight of vision, steering mounted controls are hidden behind the wheel. In general smaller cars provide a way happier ambience.

[warrioraks]

Voted yes (albeit a conditional one).
This car has a lot going for it which has already been covered in other posts.

AWD variants are good to own if you plan to get into gypsy mode and travel into unchartered territories. It's still a stop-gap arrangement till the time Renault launches 3rd gen duster few years down the line, but nothing else come close to Duster's capabilities at this price point.

[DicKy]

Voted NO

Two reasons

Long term issues and niggles -
Not going to say it lacks long term reliability, because it's a fairly reliable car.
But a friend's Duster 85 has been giving niggles after niggles, especially after 80k km mark. To be fair, it was remapped by Pete's. Could be the reason.
Again my buddy's dad has a Fluence. Different model altogether, but same drivetrain. Same mechanical niggles and issues coming up after 80k km mark, and started showing it to an import specialist FNG, where bills came down to five digits instead of six digits
Aunt's Duster having injector problems after 80k km mark

But to be honest, they are all satisfied with the vehicles itself, except for the hard Clutch

Interiors and seats
Could live with the interior quality and ergonomics issues, but those seats are so flat and unsupportive. Just imagine the ride quality coupled with good, supportive seats!!!
Not finicky about interior ambience and quality if basics are right, but when I sat in a Duster in 2012, I couldn't feel the 3X price difference it had with our F10D WagonR, interior-wise Haven't drove/sat in a facelifted versions, so don't know

Love it for its mechanical simplicity/robustness, the good and efficient engines, and the butch form in a compact size styling.

That said, if ever entering a Himalayan rally sort of (as likely as a production Tata 2 door coupe), my choice would be a tricked out Duster AWD

[nimishlalwani]

What I have realized after a few years of car ownership is that gizmos, plastics, or design cannot compete with great mechanicals. The Duster has one of the best mechanical packages, especially on the AWD version. Not only does it ride better due to the independent suspension, but it also has better gear ratios and the AWD system pushes the capabilities of the Duster.

I remember driving the Duster on the road to Munnar. That was the 85PS version, but even then a chassis that handles really well for an SUV combined with a steering bristling with feel meant I still have vivid memories of that drive.

I have also driven the AWD version (1st gen) for 7-10 days in Iceland, and with the 4WD Lock, the Duster can really surprise you with its capabilities. The engine is a bit underpowered but the car overall is great.

What stops me from buying it? I drove the new Duster after that, the 2nd generation, and it resolves all the flaws that the old Duster had. Equally capable but more spacious, better built and it feels premium. It's really sad that Renault didn't bring it to India.

However, I would still consider the 1st gen just for its mechanicals. Voted YES!

[Amsdoc]

This is one of the "Only If" cars. It was perfect to a T for me, except for the poor quality interiors, lack of good auto options and multiple niggles. I still tried to get one but just couldn't find a good enough used example. This is a huge missed opportunity by Renault. I have no idea why they did not get the new generation Duster to India. It would have sold more than the old one despite increasing competition.

[BlackPearl]

Voted No.

Reason: The Duster AWD is an excellent vehicle and I am a big fan of its capability and ride quality. But still voted no as it does not serve my purpose. I have seen it struggle in very bad roads and the ground clearance is inadequate for rocky terrains. The Duster AWD is good for 99% of the roads, but I need that 1% percent more capability for horrible roads in remote places. For that there is no alternative to robust high ground clearance SUV’s preferably with low ratio gearbox.

There has been a lot of debate about the capability of Duster AWD in this thread

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-v...st-bengal.html (Can the Duster AWD scale Sandakphu, the highest peak in West Bengal?)

[Altocumulus]

I somehow was waiting for this thread. I was so so sure that Duster would be one of the cars in the pre-worshipped car of the week.

Voted Yes, but for the AWD version only.

Pros:
1. Ride Quality and handling considering it is a SUV.
2. In gear acceleration, which matters more than 0-100 in the real world, of the AWD is fantastic. Not many people may be aware but the 20-80 and 40-100 numbers of the AWD are significantly better than the Creta Diesel 1.6 and XUV500. And it's not just on paper, but also on the road it is very evident.
3. Build quality and Safety. Yes Duster Safety tests will show 3 stars, however that is for the base version with just a driver airbag and ABS I think. AWDs have dual airbags, Traction control, speed limiter, under steer prevention, hill hold, etc. Also I have personally seen my closest friend/brother walk out of the car without a single scratch after a major accident which led to a total loss. Thank god he was in the Duster that day and not his other car.
4. Off-road capability: Yes it doesn't have a 4L, it doesn't have a ladder on frame and articulation. But the 4WD Lock and the very low ratio 1st gear will do 70-80% of what other part time 4WD stock cars will do. Friend's have even done Winter Spiti and Sandakphu in their AWDs with ease, which so many had had doubted and claimed wont be possible in a Duster AWD.

Cons:
1. Placement of the head unit. It's too low and if you are using Android Auto or Apple Car play for navigation, you need to take your eyes off the road.
2. No Mist function in wipers. Why I have no clue.
3. Injector failures, however these should get reduced with BS6 fuel since the Continental Piezo Injectors in 110PS and AWDs are Euro 5 & Euro6 compliant designed to work on low Sulphur as far I have read. Combined with ensuring that fuel is filled from COCO or Reliance pumps only, should minimize failures.

All in all, I think it is a great GT car. The TeamBHP Kolkata Chapter has over 15 AWDs and all have great stories to tell. Yes injector and dancing RPM stories are there as well, but we have all learnt to ignore it because there isn't anything in the market at that price range which drives like a sedan, is supremely comfortable and goes off the road.

[ron178]

Voted no.

The Duster may be a capable product, especially in the 110PS guise, but personally, I wouldn't buy one. Having owned its sibling, the Terrano (1.6 petrol) for a few years, I would stay far from the Renault-Nissan Group altogether. We have had repeated, catastrophic failures matched by incompetent service. While this may not be true for the Duster, I still wouldn't buy one. It's based on an outdated platform, has drab interiors with squeaky plastic trims, and has scored a rather poor NCAP rating (the fact that the body shell collapsed reveals the old engineering of the platform). The AWD is not as capable as the name would suggest, and relative to the competition, it seems (and is) a decade older. I'd happily pick a Creta 1.6L CRDi even if it's not as SUVish, is less reliable and has poor handling. If I had to buy a proper SUV, I'd step a few segments higher.

[dhruvritzed]

Voted Yes, mainly because:
1. Rugged and abuse friendly vehicle, I've seen people do all sorts of things to the duster and the car still lasting long.
2. Pretty comfortable to drive and good visibility.
3. The excellent ride and handling package is unbeatable to date.
4. FE isn't bad for such a class of car
5. Car sold in decent numbers and FNG's are familiar with it, local markets have spare availability.
6. The AWD has a very good amount of ability and is good on tight off road scenarios.
7. The size is just right, not as small as the sub 4 metre ones and not as big as an XUV.
8. It's a genuine 5 seater with a huge boot.

Just one correction blackwasp, the turbo petrol hasn't been launched yet, it's only the 1.5 NA petrol powering the duster right now.

[self_driven]

Voted no.

Product or service - at least one aspect has to be impressive for me to seriously consider/recommend a used car. Unfortunately with the Duster, we have to make a compromise on both.