Team-BHP - Renault Duster : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by anilntny (Post 3641772)

You are 100% correct.I too had a trip to Banguluru recently on my 85 ps duster.It was an absolute fun drive with no fatigue added.
I have owned two swift diesels .Despite its size,Duster handles almost like a Swift when it comes to handling and acceleration, well planted to road.clap:

@ampere,can you please share the name of the android app? I use my car daily for 50 kms.But my fuel efficiency is stuck at 12.9. I drive mostly in hilly terrain and townships.

I too was a swift D owner before upgrading. However, I don't think Duster 85 can handle or accelerate like old generation swifts. That being said, the Duster is a decent handler and accelerates well till 110kmph considering it's size and 85ps engine. The 110ps Duster would be a better match for Swifts on the highway :)

12.9 seems to be low unless you are doing lot of short trips in stop-go traffic or driving with heavy right foot. The FE of Duster goes down drastically the moment you start aggressive driving with heavy acceleration/braking.

I have changed my driving style after getting the Duster and is now getting an average FE of 15-16 for daily office commute and around 17-18 for highway trips (in Kerala)

Quote:

Originally Posted by anilntny (Post 3641772)

Well said,that is the reason I am having a long steel rod,few wooden blocks,one can of WD 40 and a hydraulic jack in my car's boot.Now I think ,I will have to keep an extra spanner too,just in case.
The iron rod is the most useful item,it gives you enough torque.

In addition to the spares that come with the car, this is what I carry in my tool kit;
1. 12V air compressor.
2. Tubeless puncture repair kit including a cutting plier to pull nail.
3. Jump Start cable.

This has been my standard equipment for a few years now.

Only learning from the Puncture repair kit, is to spend a little more and buy ones with good metal grips. MRF tyres needs a little muscle to push the thread in.

For most cases, just the 12V pump is pretty handy. Fill-up the tyre and drive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselLover (Post 3642353)

I had both old gen and new gen swift diesels.Yes ,I may not be fully correct,but considering the size of duster to swift,I think it is still comparable.Up to 110 km/hr I find both accelerating well.After that Duster is no match for Swift.

I tend to drive aggressive at times and that is one reason for comparing Duster with swift,both handles well and I feel at home.

As you said that might be the reason for my low fuel economy too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anilntny (Post 3642370)

I tend to drive aggressive at times and that is one reason for comparing Duster with swift,both handles well and I feel at home.

As you said that might be the reason for my low fuel economy too.

Yes. It's easy to get carried away with Duster's negligible turbo lag and good acceleration in state highways/hilly terrains. I tried some aggressive acceleration in a recent trip to Athirappilly and FE went down to ~13. However a trip to Coorg with far worse traffic and lot of ghat driving returned FE of ~18.

The swift on the other hand returns decent FE even if we drive aggressively.

On a different note, which variant of the duster are you using? Is it the Adventure edition? I can see Adventure edition type crash guard in your Avatar pic and would like to know the cost of the crash guard if you purchased it separately

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselLover (Post 3642353)

I don't think Duster 85 can handle or accelerate like old generation swifts.

Your opinion will definitely change once you drive a remapped duster, swift is no way comparable.

Update : Did the 30K service and the bill came to 3K (w/o alignment as it was done 1week back and w/o airfilter as I have K&N)

Invoice details : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post3642481

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselLover (Post 3642393)

I agree ,I get the level of driving pleasure at the expense of fuel economy.That must be the reason why my fuel economy is stuck around 13 km/l.But that is fine considering the level of fun I am getting ,driving my Duster.

Mine is not adventure edition ,but I do have installed the whole kit.The front armour with fog lamps will cost around 10000 Rs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ::CMS:: (Post 3642484)

Please help me out with air filter.I had both K&N and Green filters in my previous cars.I used to clean Green filter by myself.Petes had cleaning oil and solution.
But I heard its not possible with K&N and how good are they?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ::CMS:: (Post 3642484)

Your opinion will definitely change once you drive a remapped duster, swift is no way comparable.

I have seen your thread. It is an interesting option. Something I would like to consider down the line :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by anilntny (Post 3643080)

Mine is not adventure edition ,but I do have installed the whole kit.The front armour with fog lamps will cost around 10000 Rs.

Did you get it from the dealer or outside? I thought it will cost much more. Is the fog lamps fitted on the armour perform well at night? I am not very happy with Duster's lights on the highways. We had a tough time in the recent Bangalore trip while driving at night and were forced to use high beam frequently to get better visibility.

Had been to the Renault and Nissan showrooms with a friend today. He was keen on getting a Scala or Sunny and I had a wonderfully loonngg time checking out the Duster and the Terrano.

After spending a lot of time on the front seats and dreaming about buying a Duster I moved on to the rear left seat. I noticed that the seat sloped down and out towards the door from the centre. I initially thought it was a one off problem on the display car but I found it on the other side and on the all new AWD as well. Long trips on the rear seat are definitely going to be uncomfortable and may cause back problems with the unevenness.

The Terrano on display did not have this problem and the rear seat felt a lot more comfortable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselLover (Post 3643133)

I have seen your thread. It is an interesting option. Something I would like to consider down the line :)

Did you get it from the dealer or outside? I thought it will cost much more. Is the fog lamps fitted on the armour perform well at night? I am not very happy with Duster's lights on the highways. We had a tough time in the recent Bangalore trip while driving at night and were forced to use high beam frequently to get better visibility.

It is just an approximate figure ,the whole kit cost me around 50000+ from dealer ,so am not sure about individual costs.My kit belongs to previous generation,that is not upto the original adventure edition ones.They had to be painted in matt black.That was the reason for higher costs.Now you can get original adventure kit.

Painting was not perfect ,so I was forced to wrap whole kit in 3M carbon fibre vinyls.That cost me another 7000 Rs.So if you are interested ,you can get original adventure kit ,at much better rates from dealer.

Offbeat, the main reason why I ditched Nissan Terrano was for those kits.They change the looks to great extend.I have enjoyed people surrounding me with appreciation and enquiries especially, after the vinyl wraps.

However there was one big plus for previous generation kits, that they got duster name engraved onto the door guards.I have painted them silver to make them look even better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sivasankar (Post 3643142)

I noticed that the seat sloped down and out towards the door from the centre. I initially thought it was a one off problem on the display car but I found it on the other side and on the all new AWD as well. Long trips on the rear seat are definitely going to be uncomfortable and may cause back problems with the unevenness.

I think the seats should not be a major problem. This can be taken care of by using a little padding while getting the seat covers done. See a sample picture of seat covers done for a Duster. Moreover, the slope you are talking about gives a bucket seat kind of effect for the 2 rear passengers.
My 2 cents.

Falcon, the slope did not offer bucket seat comfort. It forces one to sit tilted rather than level on the seat. The outside bum sits lower than the inside. I was aghast that the original seats could cause such discomfort.

Moreover, the Terrano did not have that problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falcon_blr (Post 3643327)

Quote:

Originally Posted by anilntny (Post 3504055)

Updated my duster with original renault reverse camera .

If i understand correctly only a portion of the mirror assembly has the LCD Stuff, while the remaining is still a Mirror. Do you find any difference in visibility w.r.t a regular mirror when viewed as a rear view mirror only.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rigid Rotor (Post 3506388)

I installed a Toyota-type fender mirror.
Works out quite useful to clear the blind spaces in the front left quarter, especially in tight spaces whilst parking.
The Nissan Terrano dealer in the city is also fitting these as an accessory - however, I found those prone to shaking.

How is it fitted? Was there any drilling done and does it require removal of the side fender itself ? Also do you find any shaking issue aka as mentioned by you for Terrano?