[Fury]

Did the test drive for the manual turbo petrol variant today and here are my first impressions:

- The engine is excellent, no other word for it. There is lag at the bottom which makes the mid range feel even more alive. Tripple digit speeds are ticked off in seconds and most of the time you are unaware of the speeds you are doing.

- The steering feels a little vague at high speed overtakes but thats to be expected from a vehicle of this size and ground clearance. I would rate the steering feel better than the korean siblings for sure.

- Ride quality remains the same i.e magic carpet with wheels. I rode it through some under construction roads where my Ecosport picks out my spinal chord one by one and felt nothing uncomfortable in the Duster. For Kerala roads during monsoon, this car is a god sent.

- Gearbox throw felt shorter than my Ecosport but it felt notchy as well. Korean siblings fare way better here.

- Clutch feels light and had no issues for me (I drive a diesel everyday and that might lower the standards of what a light clutch is to me)

- Interior still feels dated as before and there are no over the top features either. However, there are no deal breaking omissions and the top end variant comes with all the required features one could ask for (My only complaint would probably be the missing 6 airbags and rear ac vents)

- Now comes with a remote engine start feature from the key fob instead of an app. Works pretty decently and safety wise, any attempt to drive the car at this mode immediately cuts the engine off. This feature comes with the manual variant as well provided its left in neutral and the handbrakes are engaged as well.

- At 14.45 lakhs on-road Kochi for the top end manual variant, this is a pretty good deal in my opinion for people looking for a sound mechanical and robust package at a price almost 6 lakhs cheaper than the comparable korean siblings. This would definitely be my pick if i was in the market today for a car in this segment.

[Turrrb0]

Everybody complaining about the lack of AWD. I would like to see how many would actually queue up at the showroom to buy one if they launched it..

Exactly, all you can hear are crickets.

Sad case with all these "enthusiast's" cars. No one ends up buying them.

[DriveOnceMore]

Originally Posted by Turrrb0

Sad case with all these "enthusiast's" cars. No one ends up buying them.

Exactly!
Many would now cry for Renault not launching it and later, if launched, will cry about horrendous fuel efficiency figures.

1.3 liter Turbo petrol + this big and heavy car + added weight of AWD mechanical + additional effort engine needs to put on = Terrible FE.
My 'guess-timate' is around 5-7 KMPL.

Not to forget additional cost of purchase.

[venbas]

Originally Posted by Turrrb0

Everybody complaining about the lack of AWD. I would like to see how many would actually queue up at the showroom to buy one if they launched it..

Exactly, all you can hear are crickets.

Sad case with all these "enthusiast's" cars. No one ends up buying them.

I would rather shift some of the blame to the Car manufacturers also. Many a time these same Cars are available abroad at lower price points than India. To add insult to injury they are available with better/powerful engines, 6-7 Airbags, AWD, Disc brakes etc.. We pay way more and get so less in return thanks to our govt policies and chalta hein/kitna deta hein attitude.

[Samba]

Got a chance to test drive the Duster 1.3L Turbo Petrol Manual. Spent few hours with the car. Thanks to Vibrant Motors, Rajarhat for providing the car.

I will just share my driving impression, as the rest of the vehicle is almost unchanged.



The Drive-

This new engine looks busy and cluttered!

An engine cover would have given better looks!



Turn on the ignition, its a smooth 4 cylinder unit underneath. Press the clutch, the travel is long and the clutch is hard! I expected a much much lighter clutch.

The throw of the gear lever is neither short nor long. The slotting of the gears are confident and by no means its notchy. Fast shifting is possible, but the not so short throw of the gear and the long clutch travel is a deterrent.

In 1st gear just leave the clutch without pressing the accelerator, the car surges forward. Tap the accelerator, the rpm shoots up eagerly. Tap it hard, the ESP cuts off the power and you lose all the fun! So no torque steer!
1st gear max out at 50 km/hr and the rev-limiter kicks in at roughly 6500 rpm.

Shift to 2nd aggressively, the wheel spins and the fun begins! The 2nd gear max out at 95 km/hr. At high-revs the engine is awesome, but sadly the rev limiter kicks in at 6500 rpm. It could have been till 7000! Hitting 100 km/hr in 2nd would have been even faster! The ESP cutting off the initial power when accelerated hard & the rev-limiter kicking in at 6500 rpm are small let downs while having fun!

One can really play with the 3rd. We were testing on a road behind the showroom (closed for general traffic), where we could actually cross 150 km/hr in 3rd gear, but couldn't test it further as the road ended. This car will have a good top end.

With 3 people on board and the AC on, we could do 0-100 km/hr (speedometer indicated) in roughly 10.5 secs.



Sharing the video of the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DgLLcmAJCI

The engine sound gets throaty at higher revs and I liked it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtdVWZi7Tfs

The above part was for the enthusiasts.

How is it for the daily drive?

Its a smooth car to drive in city traffic. I liked the NVH. If one follow the gear indicator and shift the gears, no turbo lag will be felt. If the driver lugs the car, turbo lag will be felt. For overall drivability, the lag present is not a deal breaker. Be on the right gear, the car will reward back.
Anti-stall feature works well. On an incline, I left the car in 1st gear without touching the accelerator. The ecu adjusted the rev and the car climbed up.
On another steeper incline, I tried in 2nd and the car stalled! The hill hold assist did it's job well to hold the car till I start again! So being on the right gear is essential, unlike the Duster AWD, which literally pulls from any gear!

On signal the engine automatically shuts down, press the clutch it roars back to life. Though it will save fuel, but I was getting irritated by this.

Suspension-

Absolutely same as before. I was expecting a stiffer one. But no, they have not done any changes. The driving dynamics are same as my Duster AWD. At higher speeds the car under-steers at corners, the steering still has the strong kick back.
The good thing is, the ride quality is still plush and the hydraulic steering offers acceptable feed back. Still I would say the handling is good by Suv/Crossover standards.

Braking-

Brakes are progressive, no sudden bite or spongy feel. But I expected a 4 wheel Disc brake set-up at-least in this car! Though I do not have any complaints with the rear drum brakes.

Mileage-

By redlining in every gear, the mileage dropped down to 5 km/L!
But in normal city driving with neither a light foot nor a heavy foot, the mileage shown by the MID was around 11-12 km/L, which is pretty much acceptable. Light foot driving can give 12+ km/L.

Few small bits-

From outside the only points to identify this car from other Dusters are the Turbo badge in the rear and the Red color on the DUSTER badges/decals (Roof rail & above rear registration plate). The front grille also have a small portion painted in red and the plastic claddings above the fog lamps are also painted in red. The center caps with the Renault logo on the alloys are in red too.



These alloys look gorgeous!





The fit and finish is okay, just okay. Panel gaps in the interior are noticeable at places. Plus the blue insert on the dashboard looks tacky for cars with a different color! It should have matched the body color.



The AC was quite effective. Though the AC fan control rotary switch felt a bit sticky to use.

I felt the new music system to have a much better sound than my 2018 Duster AWD.

No keyless entry yet. Though I like to twist the key, instead of having a push button start!



This is basically the old Duster with which we are used to, with a much more powerful engine!

My verdict-

Looking for a comfortable, abuse friendly fun to drive SUV/Crossover in a tight budget? This is it.

Looking for a fun to drive Suv/Crossover with modern features and looks? The pricey Korean turbo petrol twins are always there. They are a complete package.

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by Samba

Got a chance to test drive the Duster 1.3L Turbo Petrol Manual. Spent few hours with the car. Thanks to Vibrant Motors, Rajarhat for providing the car.

Thanks for this much needed info on the engine and gearbox, let me fire up the queries:

1. How much of this drive train is imported?
2. Have they used the same MT gearbox as the AWD or is it different? Asking due to reported increase in gear throws and clutch effort.
3. Have you managed to get the service intervals and general service items and related labour cost? Would be interesting to see the belt change interval.
4. What happens to the advertised black cladding mentioned in the brochure? Every car reviewed seems to not have it on.
5. Are the RxS alloys are the ones which came with the 2019 face-lift?
6. Any improvement felt in the effectiveness of the AC?

Currently they are offering 22K loyalty, 20K corporate, 24K worth 3 year/50K km maintenance package which seems like a good deal on RxZ Turbo MT. Hope they continue it in the festive season too. You basically have to just pay for fuel and insurance for the first 3 years of ownership for bookings between 1st to 30 September.

[arjab]

Originally Posted by Samba

I will just share my driving impression, as the rest of the vehicle is almost unchanged.

@Samba: The throaty induction roar & the chirp from the front wheels when you were redlining it and shifted from 1st to 2nd gear, sounded delicious. That too from a 1.3 ton SUV!
I've heard many good reports about this engine. Not for nothing Mercedes sources this powertrain from Renault for their A-Class!

[arijit_chat2006]

I still love the way it looks on the outside.

However, 150+ bhp from a 1.3L engine (I know it is turbocharged).. Isn't that going to affect its longevity?

I hope I'm proved wrong on this.

Context : I generally keep my cars for at least 7-8 years before changing them. Heck, I even retained my Nano for 7 years before it was discontinued, and because of its rear-mounted engine, no FNG would touch it even with a stick in my area. Other than that, I was so pleased with it that I would have retained it for the full 15years before the registration would have lapsed, for my daily grocery runabouts.

A Duster with a diesel engine? A big for me.
A Duster with a petrol (even turbo)? Not so sure.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by Tgo

[list=1][*]How much of this drive train is imported?

The 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine has been co-developed with Mercedes-Benz. Given the price of this car, which commands around Rs 2L premium over the 1.5L NA, looks like few parts should be imported. We can get a clear picture once these cars starts reaching the service centers.

Originally Posted by Tgo

[*]Have they used the same MT gearbox as the AWD or is it different? Asking due to reported increase in gear throws and clutch effort.

Difficult to say. The throw of the gears are similar to the AWD, I was expecting a more sporty gear box with a shorter throw and a lighter clutch. I went to the showroom driving my petrol Etios, after the Etios, the clutch of the Duster felt significantly heavier.
It felt like a diesel! Now am not sure whether there was any problem in a 240 km driven test drive car!

Originally Posted by Tgo

[*]Have you managed to get the service intervals and general service items and related labour cost? Would be interesting to see the belt change interval.

Not yet. Should be 10,000 km /1 year.

Originally Posted by Tgo

[*]What happens to the advertised black cladding mentioned in the brochure? Every car reviewed seems to not have it on.

Looks like customers have to buy them as an accessory.

Originally Posted by Tgo

[*]Are the RxS alloys are the ones which came with the 2019 face-lift?

I have not seen a RXS turbo petrol yet.

Originally Posted by Tgo

[*]Any improvement felt in the effectiveness of the AC?

The AC felt quite nice. Now it was 4-30 pm in the afternoon and it was a brand new car with just 240 km on the odo. The AC filter and all should be super clean. So I wont comment whether its improved or not from just few hours drive in the afternoon.

Originally Posted by arjab

@Samba: The throaty induction roar & the chirp from the front wheels when you were redlining it and shifted from 1st to 2nd gear, sounded delicious. That too from a 1.3 ton SUV!

Yes the engine was indeed addictive! This is more like a new wine in an old bottle!

Originally Posted by arijit_chat2006

A Duster with a diesel engine? A big for me.
A Duster with a petrol (even turbo)? Not so sure.

Trust me, the diesel engine also have a lot of niggles. I hope the new petrol will be a more sorted one! At-least on the fun to drive factor the diesel cant even hold a candle to this engine. But yes the diesel will be more economical.

[Sutripta]

Rear suspension - coil or leaf springs?

Sutripta

[SaiSW]

Originally Posted by vishy76

I would disagree. The new engine is surely a talking point but truth to be told, the Duster feels old now.
-- Nothing else is going to help their cause. Launching successive facelifts and engine options no matter how good they are, won't do the job.

I guess then, different strokes for different folks. As far as I'm concerned, both are old cars. The Renault's interior does look a segment lower compared to the polo, I agree without a doubt, but then you get more than useable rear seats, a large boot and one of the most sorted ride quality ( still ) under 20 lacs, and now a powerful 1.3 turbo petrol as well. If I had to really pick between the two, I'd take the duster.

During bs4, the question was much harder owing to the brilliant 1.5 TDI that I liked so much to drive, but with it away once and for all, for me, the choice is clear.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Rear suspension - coil or leaf springs?

Sutripta

The suspension setup of the 1.3L turbo petrol and the previous FWD Dusters are same.
It has trailing arm with coil spring in rear.

Only the Awd had a different multilink rear suspension setup.

A screenshot from the official Team-Bhp review for reference.

[KPR]

Originally Posted by Samba

Looking for a comfortable, abuse friendly fun to drive SUV/Crossover in a tight budget? This is it.
Looking for a fun to drive Suv/Crossover with modern features and looks? The pricey Korean turbo petrol twins are always there. They are a complete package.

Well said. Somehow I always liked duster from the beginning of its launch ignoring the most common comment "interior looks outdated". It's the engine (even in the 1.5L Renault diesel) and the driving dynamics that mattered and I felt a liveable interior too. I'm happy to see this product getting a new turbo petrol. Had there been a regular diesel 85PS I would've bought now replacing my Punto 90HP. As such Punto is a keeper too. So I'm happy that Renault hasn't given up on Duster.

[RavenAvi]

A detailed review of the Duster Turbo CVT variant by Auto Trend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7625qZc46Q

[SVK Rider]

Originally Posted by Samba

Got a chance to test drive the Duster 1.3L Turbo Petrol Manual. Spent few hours with the car. Thanks to Vibrant Motors, Rajarhat for providing the car.

I will just share my driving impression, as the rest of the vehicle is almost unchanged.

Attachment 2055396


Looking for a fun to drive Suv/Crossover with modern features and looks? The pricey Korean turbo petrol twins are always there. They are a complete package.

As usual, awesome. You've covered almost all the points that needs to be done.
Like many I also wish that this petrol comes with an AWD sometime sooner.

Mod Note: Our Renault Duster 1.3L Turbo Petrol Review has been taken live at this link. Please continue the discussion over on the new thread. Thanks!