[Sharkpin]

Hi Everyone,

just a newbie here , i have just test driven the 85 ps model of the Duster and have to say that it did feel a bit underpowered in the sense that i was able to quickly getaway from the traffic at lower rpm's but you could feel the strain on the engine, now i have driven the sunny as well which shares the same engine but there the engine feels a lot smoother i guess due to the ways its tuned for a sedan like drive.

i have test driven the 110 ps a few times and can say that if there is a bit of highway driving involved like in my case , i would definitely opt for it because i am pretty sure the 85 ps will be out of breath very soon on the highways.

all in all very satisfied with the Duster 110 ps and willing to forego its quirky ergonomics, absolutely hate the way the powe window switches are placed in the rear, you have to lean all the way back to access them , making it very uncomfortable to use them.

[h.s.r]

Originally Posted by razor4077

By the way, I came across this pic of the Duster's interiors on Renault's website. The piano black bits have been substituted by an aluminium/chrome type finish. Don't recall seeing this option in any of the reviews/previews. Any idea if this is available and if so, on which variant? Looks better than the black/wooden finish IMO!

This is the RXL variant both 85 & 110 ps.In this variant only center console has piano black finish.
Piano black door finish available only in 110 RXZ variant.
Wood door inserts available only in 110 RXZ + leather pack.
Renault seriously goofed up on variants with the duster.

@GTO:Wow,amazing review as always.
My favorite pic is size comparison with the scorpio.
I have booked 85ps RXL version,seems i have made right choice with the engine but wrong one with the variant as RXL does not have any safety features.After going through the TeamBhp review and reviews of the fellow Bhpians like shankar,suhaas,buxx etc etc, i am now going for variant change which will be 85 ps with option pack.

[Shandy1981]

Not sure if this link has been posted before, but this gives the list of internal and external accessories:

Duster Interior

Nothing to jump in joy, especially on the exterior front, wish they would have offered some cool stuff that other emerging markets get. Not sure why they aren't cause it aint adding to cost.

Would it be because the delivery organization is not geared to handle accessories beyond just throwing in stuff that they really dont have to get trained on in terms of fit and finish?

Side note, even the 25L koleos doesnt seem to have great list of accessories.

[Shreyas Aterkar]

Finally, get time to thank GTO and team for another wonderful review! As many have said earlier, this puts to shame all the other reviews hands down. Indepth coverage of even the smallest of things is what makes the review so valuable and worth waiting for.

Well I had a chance to see the Duster in flesh a couple of weekends back, could not drive it as there was an hour's waiting. Loved the exteriors, really looks good. Very nice rear seats as aritculated in the review. Panel gaps were consistent. Interiors were just ok. Almost all required features present. OEM audio player sounded BAD. I second everyones opinion on cheap looking silver paint on the door handles and ORVMs. Felt the ORVM adjuster and the rear AC fan knob are of cheap quality and may not last long. But overall I liked the car.

Will I buy it? Well with the top end costing more than 13.5 lakhs OTR Mumbai, I will think not once or twice but many times before taking this decision.

[docmech]

Originally Posted by thalavoy

Are you sure that it is advisable to depress the clutch when braking? I have read many places not to depress clutch ever when braking and that one can depress only if the vehicle is going to stall.

my friend has a sunny, even before his registration process was completed he rammed into a qualis (who as is expected made a sudden turn without any indication) he depressed the brake pedal completely it slowed down the car but did not stop it! he had a massive damage to the front right side. later when we took the car for repair we learnt that both the clutch and the brake levers have to be depressed simultaneously for complete action.

on my test drive of the duster tried to do an emergency stop by depressing the brake pedal alone........pathetic the car doesn't stop, however when both the clutch and the brake pedals are depressed it works like a charm!

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by docmech

my friend has a sunny, even before his registration process was completed he rammed into a qualis (who as is expected made a sudden turn without any indication) he depressed the brake pedal completely it slowed down the car but did not stop it! he had a massive damage to the front right side. later when we took the car for repair we learnt that both the clutch and the brake levers have to be depressed simultaneously for complete action.

on my test drive of the duster tried to do an emergency stop by depressing the brake pedal alone........pathetic the car doesn't stop, however when both the clutch and the brake pedals are depressed it works like a charm!

This is totally weird and for me the absolute first time I am hearing such a thing!
I have driven all sorts of cars and I have never come across something as weird as this.
Can some serious expert please clarify?

[raul]

I don't remember this. I test drove the Duster 110 twice and remember the brakes work as expected. I was intentionally pushing the car to get a feel of the acceleration and braking. None of the reviewers have mentioned this, infact most have praised the braking, so I am sure there is some sort of mistake or this would have been picked up.

[sumeshmani]

Originally Posted by Sharkpin

Hi Everyone,

just a newbie here , i have just test driven the 85 ps model of the Duster and have to say that it did feel a bit underpowered in the sense that i was able to quickly getaway from the traffic at lower rpm's but you could feel the strain on the engine, now i have driven the sunny as well which shares the same engine but there the engine feels a lot smoother i guess due to the ways its tuned for a sedan like drive.

i have test driven the 110 ps a few times and can say that if there is a bit of highway driving involved like in my case , i would definitely opt for it because i am pretty sure the 85 ps will be out of breath very soon on the highways.

all in all very satisfied with the Duster 110 ps and willing to forego its quirky ergonomics, absolutely hate the way the powe window switches are placed in the rear, you have to lean all the way back to access them , making it very uncomfortable to use them.

Glad to see that finally the 85PS test vehicles have started arriving.

Originally Posted by docmech

later when we took the car for repair we learnt that both the clutch and the brake levers have to be depressed simultaneously for complete action.

If this is true, then it is the biggest goof up from Renault and Nissan.
Making emergency braking ridiculously complicated and dangerous. I doubt if its true, but now that two different members have bought out the same point, an expert investigation is definitely required.

GTO, is there any way you can check with your contacts in Nissan/Renault??

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by docmech

my friend has a sunny, even before his registration process was completed he rammed into a qualis (who as is expected made a sudden turn without any indication) he depressed the brake pedal completely it slowed down the car but did not stop it! he had a massive damage to the front right side. later when we took the car for repair we learnt that both the clutch and the brake levers have to be depressed simultaneously for complete action.

on my test drive of the duster tried to do an emergency stop by depressing the brake pedal alone........pathetic the car doesn't stop, however when both the clutch and the brake pedals are depressed it works like a charm!

Originally Posted by docmech

braking is some thing which the company guys should inform every customer who buys or rather test drives the duster... they will not do the job when stamped upon, you need to press down the clutch as well to get the full bite. (just like sunny) i find that both the nissan and renault show room guys do not inform about this to the guys who are graduating from small cars!!!!!!! this could prove dangerous and one of these days we could hear about a serious accident happening on a test drive.

When you press the brake but not the clutch, the rpm drops since the speed reduces. When the rpm drops below idle in diesel engines, fuel is injected to prevent the engine from stalling. This causes the vehicle to accelerate slightly and as a result the braking will seem to reduce since the engine is trying to fight the stalling. In case of Petrol engines teh engines don't stall as easily and you can go to really low rpm's without feeling it.

I'm not sure but do you drive a diesel car or a petrol one? If it's a petrol you will face this problem till you get used to this characteristic.

[vivriti]

When I had my first driving lessons in the late eighties, the instructor specifically
told me that I will have to press both the clutch and accelerator while braking to a stop or drastically reducing speed. The vehicle was a Premier Padmini.
The instructor also asked me to practice shifting to a lower gear when doing the drastic reduction of speed.

I don't remember clearly whether the reasoning was also to avoid stalling the vehicle, apart from the engine not reducing speed immediately after taking the foot off the accelerator.

Nevertheless, I did follow this routine when driving manual gear vehicles. Most of my experience however is driving automatics.

Coming to the comments about the Duster, it does remind me of the days when the Maruti 800 made its debut and the comments then. Very less car for money, too small, not sturdy, will break up soon, not suitable for 'Indian conditions' were common as also comparisons to the Amby/Padmini.

[DieselDon]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

braking will seem to reduce since the engine is trying to fight the stalling.

Now I know why I somehow got the habit of clutch, then brake. Diesel Vehicle.

In Theory:
- One should try and use the Engine Braking till the Stalling point & then depress the clutch for full Braking functionality. Beyond stalling, the engine does not continue to help.
- There is an entire thread devoted to the general topic (Shifting to Neutral or Pressing the Clutch when Braking - Is this right?).

In Practice:
- In an emergency, I cannot care to notice when the point occurs. So one can either go a) Brake only or b) both together. I am of the b) variety. Need to learn a) as this is seemingly better. I can then change my brake pads less often.

With specific mention to Sunny/Renault(Nissan) - Need to consult if there is an extra feature (Eg. Hypothesis: Renault/Nissan Brake Assist kicks in only if clutch is depressed + brake is applied urgently + Foot is taken off the accelerator suddenly + ? )

[Jammy70]

Originally Posted by razor4077

Great review GTO, thanks. Lovely pics of the Duster and Munnar! Looking forward to the review of the 85 BHP version. That really seems like the best bet (unless the td throws up some nasty surprises). On the flip side, the petrol variant has received practically no interest!

It would have interested me if the safety features hadn't been compromised. The mileage seemed decent - if test figures are close 14kmpl, I suppose one can expect 12kmpl average. I am currently considering the City & Rapid petrol; both these in my mind, give more for the buck than the Duster petrol.

[Honda Monk]

The Review is fabulous as always!
For the part discussing about the interior quality and comparison with home grown SUV, I would rather say given the price bracket more or less same as of our poor quality (Typical Indian Attitude) SUVs its commendable that Foreign brands give better quality whereas they struggle more with cost efficiency. Renault is giving Better refinement in terms of engineering, Sturdy and consistent built whereas TATA (PATHETIC of ALL) and MAHINDRA still struggle to roll out a single issue free vehicle.
Don't know WHY our Home firms believe in rectifying issue at workshop rather than taking necessary actions at production level to avoid the costumer hassle.

[johy]

Originally Posted by Sharkpin

Hi Everyone,

just a newbie here , i have just test driven the 85 ps model of the Duster and have to say that it did feel a bit underpowered in the sense that i was able to quickly getaway from the traffic at lower rpm's but you could feel the strain on the engine, now i have driven the sunny as well which shares the same engine but there the engine feels a lot smoother i guess due to the ways its tuned for a sedan like drive.

Well, that is a bit disappointing to hear. So one should definitely wait for the 85 ps test drive vehicle before taking the plunge. If I don't like it - then I should probably be waiting for the EcoSport.

[DRIVEN-TWEEL]

Originally Posted by Sharkpin

Hi Everyone,

just a newbie here , i have just test driven the 85 ps model of the Duster and have to say that it did feel a bit underpowered in the sense that i was able to quickly getaway from the traffic at lower rpm's but you could feel the strain on the engine, now i have driven the sunny as well which shares the same engine but there the engine feels a lot smoother i guess due to the ways its tuned for a sedan like drive.

i have test driven the 110 ps a few times and can say that if there is a bit of highway driving involved like in my case , i would definitely opt for it because i am pretty sure the 85 ps will be out of breath very soon on the highways.

all in all very satisfied with the Duster 110 ps and willing to forego its quirky ergonomics, absolutely hate the way the powe window switches are placed in the rear, you have to lean all the way back to access them , making it very uncomfortable to use them.

Thank you for your valuable post. Im supposed to get the delivery of 110 in one week. Going through the thread i was worried if i had gone for a wrong choice. Since i have city and highway drive mixed,im happy to have booked the right one. Looking for more comments on 85bhp. It was very bad on renault's part to delay the 85bhp. I was totally puzzled for quite long, for which one to go for.