Team-BHP - Renault Duster : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by austere_sly (Post 3277271)

I travelled with luggage filled almost to the top (parcel shelf removed) and 5 people on semi rural and rural roads of Haryana. These roads had good - bad - worse kind of speed breakers yet I didn't face any situation where I feared that I will scrap car's bottom. Though rear left tyre's mud flap did gave away somewhere during the 450 km odd journey. Wondering if its possible to get single mud flap ?

I know that the bottom won't scrap (courtesy the ~200 mm ground clearance). However, it spoils the stance of the SUV IMO (as in case of any other SUV). However, this is a safety hazard as you are unable to use the IVRM, hence, please avoid this.
For replacement of single mud flap, I would suggest try online portals for best deal & probably for single piece.

One particular experience I would like to share was when I took Duster on a small 5 kms stretch of sandy (desert soil) road which is usually taken by tractors, boleros and jeeps. Its the kind of sand which you see in beaches. Now usually most cars can cover the straight stretch with momentum as the path is well beaten by other vehicles but get struck when there are turns because of the high volume of sand which gets concentrated in small space by tractors and big vehicle tyres. On various turns, I tried with varying speeds , 40 kmph on 2nd gear as well as crawiling speed in 1st gear, yet I was able to pass smoothly.

I don't know what exactly was the factor that helped Duster complete that without stopping, may be it was combination of decently broad tyres + light body weight + good torque weight ratio. I wouldn't stay I felt very confident because there were 1 or 2 times when I got struck with 2WD Scorpio (mHawk) and Old Safari (non Dicor). On those stretches only a good 4x4 vehicle or Tractor can inspire you real confidence.

I would say it was the light weight of the Duster as compared to Safari or Scorpio, which helped it crawl out. Half of my current route in morning is little bit similar (bit simpler, but very bad when it rains) & I manage it in my Santro, which has ample low end torque & is light weight.

Also, always try to have one side of front wheel drive vehicle on harder surface & sufficient momentum, which will pull out out of such tricky situations.

That said, this incident did gave me some off-roading confidence in Duster, but ofcourse I will tread with caution.

Good clap: :thumbs up that you are enjoying your vehicle. I had just put across what I saw, & have also remarked to your observations.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CARDEEP (Post 3277537)

Good clap: :thumbs up that you are enjoying your vehicle. I had just put across what I saw, & have also remarked to your observations.

I had been through similar situations in my farm where the ground was slippery and duster came out without any problem where i can imagine a xylo with rear wheel drive and heavy weight being stuck as i had been stuck in a xylo in similar terrain ,so can confidently say that duster is a better in slippery conditions than a 2 wheel drive scorpio safari or any other car with rear wheel drive and double the weight and not broad enough tyres however there was a situation in my farm where i had to take a steep gradient upwards where there was a lot of wheels spin from front wheel before i made it probably a four wheel drive vehicle could have done the job better

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tgo (Post 3277518)

The duster will be easier to maneuver in crowded areas as well and will be returning a better fuel efficiency too.

I second that after having done 3100 KMs on my 85 PS Duster. Consistently clocks above 14kmpl in worst bumper to bumper traffic of Bangalore. Best figures were during a drive to Yeshwantpur & Sarjapur early morning when it read 21+ kmpl. A sedate highway drive should always return 20+ kmpl and that is too good for a mini SUV.

My friend driving a Ritz VDI gets almost similar figures. clap:

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Originally Posted by biplav (Post 3277328)

what would be the better option for a SUV in Delhi being sub 12L OTR: Renault Duster RxL 110, or the Nissan Terrano RxL 110 or Safari Storme Ex or Force One...
Main Parameters: Mileage, Interiors & finish, engine performance & tuning ....

If you want to got for tuning (over manufacturer warranty) Duster 85 is good enough. In any case, I would be most comfortable with Duster (which is also the cheapest amongst the lot you have shortlisted).

If your car purchase is not imminent & urgent (compulsory at the moment), wait & consider the WUV500-W4 as well.

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Originally Posted by snaronikar (Post 3277097)

Sorry for long post...but I need some answers before I take the plunge.

As far as I have experienced, unlike the Maruthi SA the Renault guys dont have the independence to play with figures and accessories. They just go by the books. This is the offer and thats it.

What I would do is make a simple spreadsheet with the Ex-showroom prices and all the add-on to finally get the OTR price.

Now start comparing various options against it.

One row for Exchange bonus deal.
One row for what If you sold the car outside.

It hardly takes 5 mins to prepare and you can compare the costs at a glance.

And if you are not in a hurry, like #CARDEEP mentions, wait for WUV500-W4

Quote:

Originally Posted by snaronikar (Post 3278343)

Is it by any chance Mahindra? And if any body knows the specifications of the above vehicle it will be good to know. :)

It's the new XUV500 W4 base variant with a lot of features stripped down.

You can consider that for sure.

As for the Duster I have seen, the exchange bonus is possible for an immediate relative. Is the iKon registered to cousin brother or first brother. Get confirmation from Renault in that case.

And if you are able to sell outside for higher price then forget the exchange bonus. Squeeze out some more discounts and sell car on your own. Will work out best option.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kartik Kumar (Post 3278715)

I have booked a 110 RxZ but haven't got my VIN yet. Is there a possibility of rejecting the vehicle and asking for another one to be allotted if the VIN indicates that the vehicle is very old - say older than 6 months?

Yes you can reject the vehicle anytime before you have signed the documents for insurance and registration. Once registered the vehicle is yours.

VIN will not be the basis for your rejection. The decryption method is not something they usually share with the general public.

You can ask for the date of manufacture, the dealer will have it. This information is provided to RTO for registration.

What I'll suggest is to match the feature list. The earlier models of Duster had a few changes. Like the RxZ now has and RxZ plus which comes without the rear A/C

Went for the PDI today! Here are a couple of pics! I visited the stockyard to see the vehicle but it wasn't washed by then. Anyways, i got to see it for the first time so didn't mind! :D

Inspected the car and looked clean. 22Kms on the ODO.

A few things I wanna ask: I saw the HR sticker on the car as you can see in the pics. The SA says that every car gets this once it comes here. Is that the case?

Also, when I was checking the indicators, the guy at the stockyard told me that they haven't put-in the fuses yet as sometimes, the ignition remains on, draining the battery. So, they will put-in the fuses once they ready the car. Same for the antenna. Some inputs on this?

The car looked clean. Seats had plastics covers with date of manufacturing as 10 August 2013. Glove box had the manuals and stuff. Toolbox was in place. Carpets looked clean with li'l dust, which must've been caused when the guy took the vehicle out of the stockyard. Engine compartment looked clean!