[abhi1309]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I just bought the latest Overdrive and the article on the DUSTER is quite well written.
I think that if as they predict, this vehicle is destined to turn up in India around mid 2012 (say another year and a quarter from now give or take), the SUV firmament in India will be quite welcoming of it. More particularly if they manage to price it right - 7-9 lacs range. 4x4 at 9 lacs + taxes and insurance will still work out to only about 10.5 on road which makes for a superb deal.
Best of all, it will come with all those essential safety features at a reasonable price. Renault may not be a badge with great snob value and all that, but going by the article, I think the SUV will be a pretty useful one all in all.
Finally we will probably see the decade long reign of the Safari's and Scorpio's begin to wane. And I think frankly it is about time too. Perhaps with the advent of vehicles like the Duster at such competitive pricing, our Indigenous manufacturers will see the point in offering at least safety features as standard options across variants and at a reasonable price.
M&M may be bringing in the W201 et al but I think that product will take at least one or two years to stabilize completely in the marketplace and with consumers.
Till then the little Duster will be the perfect vehicle for the SUV craving urbanite.
It would be a perfect little lateral upgrade from the old gen Scorpio or Safari no doubt about it.

Totally totally totally agree with every word you said, are we so pathetic/unlucky that we can't get anything other than these Scorpio and Safari under 10 lacs. I am tired of even 'thinking' of deciding between them.

[Ragul]

Guys

How does the Dacia Duster compare to the Jopasu mini-Duster? Please list the differences and pros and cons for both ...

Ok Kidding

More seriously, how much should a 4x4 cost over a 4x2 all other things remaining the same? Why is the 4x4 estimated at 9 lacs?

Thanks

[maverick56]

let me join the line people,
the drool is going to be a flood! We the 4x4 lovers are nano( no relation to the tata's) minority. The majority that drive sedans and hatches think we are wierd! And they have said that to my face, hence the attitude of the car companies. Till then let's fantasize !

[ampere]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

i dont think the korando will be in this price range. The rexton on the other hand may be around there. Given the promise of some good action in this reasonably priced suv segment,it may be the right time for chevy to bring in a facelifted diesel powered forester or outback from their subaru and holden repertoire.

Shankar,

I thought its the other way round. Rexton is the costlier one.

SsangYong Rexton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SsangYong Korando - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[sajo]

Has nobody else apart from me seen a heavily camouflaged example being tested in India ?
Infact, I see it quite often. Sorry , no pics as photography is not allowed in those premises.

As I said, its kinda small, diminutive and the one I had seen had a petrol engine which sounds far from Japanese level refinement.

[ashutoshb]

C'mon Pune BHPians! Share some spy shots!

@sajo: Did you notice any RHD Dusters?

[shankar.balan]

ampere! I must be dyslexic to some extent. thats what i meant but typed incorrectly I think! thanks for pointing it out!

Ref the Duster: I am keen to see this vehicle in the flesh, up close and personal, especially its proportions and rear luggage space in comparison to the Scorp. What I need is nice large rear luggage space. I would prefer a shorter vehicle than the Scorp. This Duster, if it comes with 4WD and a good diesel engine and all the safety features would be a good bet. Unless of course it disappoints me by being about the same size as the Yeti.

I wish the GM fellows would come back with the Forester with AWD and the same 2 litre Diesel engine as there is in the Optra Magnum. That would be a very good vehicle indeed - has to be priced right though.

Originally Posted by ampere

Shankar,

I thought its the other way round. Rexton is the costlier one.

SsangYong Rexton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SsangYong Korando - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ampere]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

ampere! I must be dyslexic to some extent. thats what i meant but typed incorrectly I think! thanks for pointing it out!

Ref the Duster: I am keen to see this vehicle in the flesh, up close and personal, especially its proportions and rear luggage space in comparison to the Scorp. What I need is nice large rear luggage space. I would prefer a shorter vehicle than the Scorp. This Duster, if it comes with 4WD and a good diesel engine and all the safety features would be a good bet. Unless of course it disappoints me by being about the same size as the Yeti.

I wish the GM fellows would come back with the Forester with AWD and the same 2 litre Diesel engine as there is in the Optra Magnum. That would be a very good vehicle indeed - has to be priced right though.

I am totally with you on that! Even I am eagerly waiting for this segment to heat up. If Duster or Korando in that range works out, I would be happy to lay my hands on one. It makes a nice upgrade for my Fusion. But based on what I hear in this forum, about Korando, M&M would price it higher than Scorpio. So there again, its goes to the Yeti range with the highest end at 16L ex-show room. It may be a lakh cheaper than Yeti, but still out of league. An ideal price for this segment would be 16L OTR for the highest end with AWD. That would be make a lakh or so lesser for the 2WD version.

[ashutoshb]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Ref the Duster: I am keen to see this vehicle in the flesh, up close and personal, especially its proportions and rear luggage space in comparison to the Scorp. What I need is nice large rear luggage space. I would prefer a shorter vehicle than the Scorp.

Not close to seeing it in the flesh, but can be of some help :

YouTube - Dacia Duster - Modularity

[shankar.balan]

ashutosh thanks for the youtube connect.

ampere- yes. if the Top end Duster with 4WD and all the other bells and whistles gets on the road at BLR at about 11-12 ish, it is going to end up undercutting the Scorpio Top end which to me, is a superb move. (It will be smaller overall than the Scorpio though).

So here goes my submission.
Duster Top end with 4x4 and all safety features - 11-12 lacs OTR BLR
Scorpio Top end -13.5 -14 lacs OTR BLR
Safari Top end - 14 lacs OTR BLR
Korando Top end -15-16 lacs OTR BLR
New Mahindra W201 Top end version - 16-17 lacs OTR BLR (to me, this looks very likely because they will benchmark their World SUV against the ARIA.)
Tata Aria - 19.6 lacs OTR BLR.

If the pricing does work out more or less like this, then the Duster will simply eat up the Safari and Scorpio Market. I truly hope it does come in at around this price.
I am really looking forward to this vehicle. I m sort of thinking it would be just perfect for my kind of requirements. The Duster is a perfect 5 seater SUV with plenty of luggage space. Diesel driven with 110 PS is more than sufficient for my needs as Im not out to beat some land speed records. The Tyre size at 215/65/16 may be a bit small but I think will do. However one can always go for an one level upsize to 235 size. It will really give us a very good VFM option. I think we can easily expect the reliability, VFM and overall toughness which the Logan gave us.

I for one cannot wait for this one year to go by- I really hope they release more details about this vehicle at the earliest and I do hope they launch it in the marketplace by early 2012.

[shankar.balan]

I like Renault. Dont get me wrong. That Megane is an extremely functional vehicle no doubt about it.
And despite this Taxi image etc I personally rate the Logan as an extremely capable, comfortable vehicle. Good VFM too.
Thats one of the reasons I am eagerly awaiting the Duster. Hope it is bigger than the Yeti and smaller than the Scorpio. It will certainly be better engineered than the Scorpio which is what I am looking forward to.
I think it could be just what we are waiting for in terms of SUV size, space and capability. I hope it comes in and is able to delight us!

Originally Posted by Fusion2006

Bit harsh that! Though in India I guess by introducing something like the Logan, maybe what you say is true here!

I drove a Renault Megane in the UK for 5 years, and absolutely loved it. The newer Megane and its next model up, the Laguna were both awesome looking car as well.

[shankar.balan]

It is indeed irritating when all these foolish manufacturers want to play only in the 15-17-18-20 lac rupee segments while ignoring the 7-13 lac segment completely.

If I were MD of Renault India I would prioritize the launch of DUSTER over the KOLEOS most definitely or otherwise I would seriously make the effort to bring in both SUV's at the same time so that I can get a leg into both segments.

The DUSTER, if indeed it is all it is cut out to be, could very well smash the sales of Scorpio and Safari because it is bound to be a well engineered offering, with far more finesse etc on account of it being a Renault.


[quote=ashutoshb;2258175]Renault has publicly announced the future launches of Koleos & Fluence first, so I am guessing the Duster will only come after these two are here. So its going to take a while :(

I am seriously considering buying one if it comes under my budget.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

ashutosh thanks for the Youtube connect.

ampere- yes. if the Top end Duster with 4WD and all the other bells and whistles gets on the road at BLR at about 11-12 ish, it is going to end up undercutting the Scorpio Top end which to me, is a superb move. (It will be smaller overall than the Scorpio though).

So here goes my submission.
Duster Top end with 4x4 and all safety features - 11-12 lacs OTR BLR
Scorpio Top end -13.5 -14 lacs OTR BLR
Safari Top end - 14 lacs OTR BLR
Korando Top end -15-16 lacs OTR BLR
New Mahindra W201 Top end version - 16-17 lacs OTR BLR (to me, this looks very likely because they will benchmark their World SUV against the ARIA.)
Tata Aria - 19.6 lacs OTR BLR.

This is how mostly the pricing will remain. But I am kind of suspecting Duster will ad up by a lakh or two, and would end up in Scorpio region. Rest of the pricing line up remains the same. But even with that pricing, Duster can sure split the sales of Scorpio and Safari.

[shankar.balan]

the Duster apparently has 475 litres of boot space. but with the seats folded down, apparently it can liberate upto 1600 litres of space. shades of similarity in size and capacity to the Yeti but at half the price from all accounts.

[shankar.balan]

Some info that is lacking in the two or three auto magazine articles about the Duster and which I am keen to find out about.

There is absolutely no mention about its safety features. ABS, EBD, Airbags - if Hill Descent control exists or not. Whether there is an Autobox option or not. etc.

Does anyone on the forum have any information that they can share?

cheers