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-   -   Renault Duster : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/123824-renault-duster-official-review-33.html)

Yes,they can be,but if u want longer lasting finish then get them powder coated also called Bhatti (Furnace) paint.
I have seen Endeavour OEM alloys painted black powder coated with red lip line & man they were looking awesome.

I am watching the reviews and ownership reports closely. Request recent Duster buyers to start filing their ownership reports. For me it will be a diesel 85ps duster in 1 year's time frame if the 4x4 does not get launched by then. I somehow have a strong feeling that the 4wd duster might come to india sooner than later. Till I buy the beast, I will continue drooling over the limitless possibilities that the vehicle is capable of and the limitless external modifications that seem possible on the beast like these :









regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

Hey Driven-Tweel - thanks for the regular updates. Its different to see the car in a real life scenario. The 110 lag in my test drive was quite severe, GTO reported the same, yet others report its ok.

The first gear is short, the second gear is a bit dead below 2000 rpm, I can think of all kind of scenarios where this can frustrate owners.

Renault knows about this, the new Fluence engine had the exact same problem until they resolved it recently. A mystery that they didn't offer it on the Duster, added benefit is the new engine variant would support ESP.

An excellent point of view! Yes, it is just a matter of time before these large sized personal vehicles are no longer seen as a status symbol. Things develop very quickly indeed in India. Trouble is, by then, the roads will be choked with super size vehicles, given the way people seem to be snapping them up from the showrooms!

I still strongly love the 110. Its a fun car. As you said short first gear and slow second gear can really get irritating to people with bumper to bumper traffic. It suits my purpose and driving style.

I had tested both 85 and 110 in my type of conditions before buying, and i felt 110 much more suited to me. I did feel the vehicle like a sitting duck at 1000rpm in second gear. I was ready to compromise on turbo lag for the turbo kick after 2000rpm.

I dint like the gear shift and refinement of 85 when compared to 110 which was much smooth and silent. The main reason why some people can live with and some can't live with the turbo lag, is due to different types of driving styles and the way we take it.

In fact, I shudder to imagine the traffic on our 'highways' just 5-10 years from now. Even today, we still have a number of charming, narrow, tree-lined double-lane/single-lane roads with little traffic that make for some incredible drives, and I would want to traverse these pathways before they're irreversibly altered by inevitable traffic growth.

A bunch of questions - Did you personally find the steering centering action particularly annoying? What's your feedback on the clutch hardness after having driven what I'm assuming was at least a 30 minute drive in the city? Did you also drive the 85? If so, was the clutch hardness any different?

You are spot on. But having to spend upwards of 12 Lakhs for the duster and not have your 15 minutes(or is it seconds) of fame is cruel. At the cost of repeating myself, Duster is a pretty average vehicle whose time will be up, come the competition from Ford, Maruti, Chevy and other Phoren brands coming out with compact SUVs(actually crossovers). The DUSTER will stand out for real nut jobs like me who specifically want the DUSTER and nothing else.Still, at least we early bird Duster wannabe owners are entitled to a certain degree of vanity( or is it stupidity?) Don you think?:)
There is a great band called EAGLES on whose songs I grew up when I was a kid. One was " NEW KID IN TOWN", which is what I will be feeling when I get my DUSTER. The other is "AFTER THE THRILL IS GONE", which is what I'll be feeling when the real competition to the DUSTER comes calling.stupid:

Duster 85 = Done & Dusted :D

Our review will be up in 24 hours.

So GTO to set expectations right, is there any hope ever that Renault will allow petrol versions to be tested? From the looks of it, if no one buys petrol, they might decide not worth spending 8 lakhs on a vehicle for test drive. :Frustrati

I have now given up! Ford Eco-sport it is!

Exactly my point Driven_Tweel.
When I drive through 1st gear, don't let the RPM to cross 1500 rpm. But as one pushes the clutch, the rpm falls to idle mark. The key is to engage 2nd gear as fast as possible and prevent the rpm to fall below 1000rpm. Now as I pull through 2nd gear, shift to third at 2000rpm but care should be taken not to let the rpm fall below 1500rpm while engaging third gear.
Optimum light foot acceleration with quick gear shifting will certainly help in bypassing the so called LAG.

Tested the Duster against my friends 6 months old Scorpio on a straight road. Guess the results, my friend came out nodding and I came out grinning.

By the way, I am getting a mileage of 13.5km/l in my city drive with AC on. I guess this should go up later.
About the sound while starting, it has decreased a lot. The engines are brand new and will settle down after the run in period.

Thats great news GTO clap:

This exactly is my question. Is there any chance we might see a duster Petrol review? I was really shocked at the utter disinterest shown by the company towards petrol model. But was however under a hope (which seems false now) that in maybe a years time Renault would offer safety options in the petrol model too. But somehow I have lost hope now. It still makes sense for anyone who does nt have too much running to go for a petrol Duster, but I am afraid there would hardly be any one who would be buying one.
Petrolheads I feel are soon going to be a dying breed in India thanks to the fuel pricing policy :Frustrati

All hopes pinned on the Ecosport now.

We're always hungry to review new cars & engines. Therefore, the Duster petrol will be reviewed as soon as it's made available through Renault, at a local dealer or a BHPian (who buys one!).

So the handling is ok or good or bad? Can you elaborate more?

Anyways, it was another day at the office of belligerent anticipation turning out be 'just as predicted disappointment' because of the total lack of clarity on the delivery date. So I thought I'll do a flybye at KHIVRAJ PEARL and as is usually the case, caught my SA and badgered him into giving me a engine no. and chassis no.( fictitious until proven otherwise) and threatened him that I'll check it in person. Just as i was returning back to the office, I thought, what the heck, I'll just check out the yard. Imagine my surprise when I saw a fully accessorised(if there is a word like that) DUSTER I'm attaching the pics below as a picture speaks a thousand words. Seems these accessories will be made available to all dealers soon.
List of accessories I saw.
Front Bumper with integrated lights
Door Pedal with rubber cushion
Arch mud guard cladding
Door Cladding.
They are doing everything right except delivering the vehicle:Frustrati

Good Catch ! - Should we watermark the pictures ?

The Front Bumper with integrated lights - this is a big one - if it is coming from Renault !. It is not a plain plug and play. Would need switches and wiring changes.

Kudos to Renault. :thumbs up Way to go.