Team-BHP - Renault Duster : Official Review

Hello all, need your inputs.

One of my friend tried to source a duster for me. He went and checked with a dealer and tried to grab more info on why there is a significant delay in deliveries.

He got some interesting information from the dealers which is as follows.

"They (dealers) do not have any level of expertise on these vehicle. Because of this, the dealers are not able to service the vehicles according to the standards. This is making the customers angry. they faced many such issues in the past couple of months.

Now they have intentionally reduced the deliveries count as they are incapable of servicing these vehicles. "

Now what i dont understand is, is this True to any level? or was it a story to stop more deliveries?

Quote:

Originally Posted by gemi_kk (Post 2998815)

Now what i dont understand is, is this True to any level? or was it a story to stop more deliveries?

This is true to one level, i.e. Zero, Nada, Zilch !!

The power train for both version are shared with current models, so if they cannot service the duster, it means that they cannot service the Scala, Pulse, Fluence, etc... Besides, what major service do you need for a Renault for the first couple of thousand kms? Just fluid changes...

Quote:

Originally Posted by h.s.r (Post 2996942)

Even i am not able to find any 85 PS review.
I will post an ownership reviews, but that will not happen soon.

A quick +ves & -ves from my side.
+ves
1. 85 PS Extremely drivable in bumper to bumper traffic.
2. Drives like a sedan.No hard clutch,less fatigue.
3. 85 PS Gives fuel efficiency at par with a diesel hatch.
4. Ride quality.Best in class,no doubt about it.
5. Seating position,commanding view of the road.

-ves
1.Gear shift not smooth in 85 PS,have a rubbery feel to it.May improve with run in.Gear shift better in 110 PS plus you get 6 forward gear.
2.Bad ergonomics.
3.Build quality just average.
4.No front armrest.
5.Horn worst i have heard on any car.Horn pad not to my liking.
6.Boot is connected with central locking.Anybody can open the boot from outside if car is centrally unlocked.Only boot cannot be locked,
& even there is no speed sensing auto lock, which means everytime u have to manually lock/unlock the doors.

All i can say i can putting -ves aside and enjoying my new possession.
I looking for VFM option 85 RXL O is the one.
If budget is not constraint & not bothered about FE go for 110 PS.

I beg to differ on this account. The boot is locked as soon as the car starts and does not open from the outside if the engine is running. When at hotels I have to stop for a checking of the boot, I have to unlock the central lock, even if the doors are unlocked for me to open the boot. Do try this and see.

Hi All,

I have driven my 110 BHP Duster (Top end with leather Seats) for nearly 800 Km's in the hills of Himachal Pradesh over some terrible pot holed roads in the past 2 weeks.

Not only has the Duster performed with aplomb on these horrible roads, it is a pleasure to drive and the Diesel engine noise is far below that of my Innova.

It has also returned an incredible average of 17 KMPL - despite being revved hard and climbing up some decent slopes etc.

So far it's an absolute 'thumbs up' to the Duster.

Hello Teammates,

Have red the fantastic reviews of the 110 and 85 Diesel's (Thank you GTO... Brilliant Ones!), Can someone please shed some light on the Performance differences between the 85 and the 104 Petrol (tested or probable)?? I'm inclined to get the Petrol (my understanding of the two engine types tells me this will be the smoother, faster and more silent one!). Unfortunately no dealer is providing test-drives :Frustrati, hence my skepticism (also everybody i come across including the dealer is strongly dissuading me from the petrol :Shockked:!

Some quick facts about my driving situation ; (I'm a biker and my Big Motorcycle is used for all solo commutes )
1) 15-20 km in peak-traffic hour Bombay traffic 2-3 times a week (only!)
2) 5-10 km late night drives with the ladies
3) 500-1000 km cross-country trips about once a year (Bombay-Goa-Bombay kinds)
4) Current cars i'm used to are the Ford Ikon (dad's) & the Santro Xing (which i will replace with the Duster)!

The factors important to me on which i am seeking clarity are ;
1> Stop-go acceleration
-being a biker i just cannot handle vehicles that take their own sweet time getting off the signal- i love the Ford Ikon in this respect!
2> Smoothness & ease in tight crowded spaces (a lot of drives will be short jaunts to the market & back...in Bandra!)
3> Overall driving experience in terms of car responsiveness and driver comfort / pleasure
4> Engine Noise Levels -My neighbor has a Scorpio and i detest the annoying "Grrrrrrr" sound that i'm forced to hear!! (i love the almost-silent hum of my Ford & Santro)

Total driving per month would rarely exceed 500 km as this will be my 2nd vehicle of choice only to be used when traveling with a group of friends or with my Equipment (i'm a Photographer by profession). Now Keeping in mind my limited driving the monthly savings on fuel costs (about 2-2,500 Rs. according to my calculations) will take a long long time to compensate for the initial difference of 1,25,000 in the initial cost -RXL 85 Diesel Vs. RXL 104 Petrol- hence i don't see much of a saving there.

So essentially the question really is -> which is a better performing car and a better bet for me ?
Any solutions or suggestions will be appreciated please Mr. GTO... any pointers sir ?

Thank You & God Speed.

Got my RXZ deLivered today. For all folks buying at Hyderabad...my experience was pretty pathetic. Was supposed to pick it up in the morning and just when I was about to reach I got a call saying it can't be delivered today. I told them I am about to reach and will not leave the showroom without the vehicle. The agent had a thousand stories on why it can't be done etc. I initially thought that my was maybe an one off case, but then met another guy who had been denied delivery on Monday after waiting all day.

I would suggest that do call up a day before your delivery to confirm. I could not do it as the showroom was closed because of Christmas.

I also did not get a single minute's time from the dealer to explain stuff about the vehicle. Drove it from the showroom without any briefing of any sort. Although I was in a rush to leave before six, but I had been waiting from 11 in the morning.

A couple of questions which I might need answers till I return to the showroom:
1) the agent told me to not to cross 60 in the run in period, and not worry about the power. I have never heard this before. I will be keeping the revs under 1500-2000, but I guess I can speed up to 100 as long as the revs are low...Right?
2) the music system is going into a radio code mode with 0000 flashing and all ice functions disabled. If I turn of the ignition and restart I can play any media, but then after.a couple of minutes same story...anybody else faced this?

And by the way...absolute pleasure to drive. Got a chance to test it over both asphalt and dirt. Both flattened with aplomb.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Docster (Post 2999422)

I fear you are wrong here Doctor.
The boot does not gets lock automatically.
It will lock only if you manually locks it.
Duster does not have automatic door locks or speed sensing door locks.
I have checked again after your post.
Other Duster owners can confirm this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by h.s.r (Post 3000407)

Yes you are right, the Boot does not lock automatically.

The central lock has to be manually operated from the dash and in doing so, even if the driver or the passenger beside the driver opens the front doors, the boot and rear doors does not get unlocked which is actually a fantastic feature.