Team-BHP - Renault Duster : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by thalavoy (Post 2865003)

The Duster with the side claddings and front bumper guard with fogs look quite good.
Any idea if the existing cars can be modded at show room after being purchased?
BTW. Where is this Renault yard in Chennai? Thanks.

All those fittings will be available at showroom latter but not now because nothing is displayed at the showroom except the Alloy wheel, Jump seat, & body cover not even price list. The one vehicle with all those fittings parked at the yard is an internal test vehicle used buy Reanult official as per the SA.

The yard is at Gemini flyover you need to take the first right after the flyover while going towards Mount road from Kodambakam. Hope this helps you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 2864976)

This is sort of off-topic, yet worth a mention : The power steering of our 600 kms run Duster 85 had gone bust.

Thanks for this GTO. Most of your points were confirmation for me. With 5 people and full load, on a highway, it surely cannot accelerate fast.
But if it can cruise, then it would just do its job. (In accordance with your earlier point on sedate driving styles)
Maybe a sixth gear would have helped (like the point made about Altis Diesel in an earlier post)

Also any specific reason for power steering going kaput? It has to be some thing out of the ordinary.

Thank you for adding the 85bhp version review GTO. I was awaiting for that since 110 version had too much turbo lag for a easy city/ghat drive. IMO, the 85 version with option pack comes as a winner hands down! Easy to drive in the city and good highway manners too!

Only sore thumb I wish we had was the sliding second row of seats. As rightly mentioned, let the customer decide how much space one wants for passengers and for the luggage.

I had one question, what does the first two images on the passenger side vanity mirror indicate?

Thank you GTO for that excellent review!! Must make life easier for people booking one.

Quote:

This is sort of off-topic, yet worth a mention : The power steering of our 600 kms run Duster 85 had gone bust.

I dont think this is OT at all.
How can such a thing fail in such short time?? These things are meant to be used.

Makes me highly suspect the QA/QC levels in Renault. After all, Quality/Reliability is the major differentiator for a lot of people going for the Duster, instead of the home-grown UVs !
The last time I was in the showroom, the Display Car had the Door lock jammed, some rubber beading coming off in another..:eek::eek:

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Originally Posted by BUXX (Post 2863105)

Can the Standard Renault alloys be painted black? and will they look good?

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Originally Posted by narayan (Post 2863454)

you can get them painted but it wont last long - maybe a year or more - but definetly an economical option than going for another set of black alloys

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Originally Posted by idofsuresh (Post 2863551)

Don't think painting the alloy black would look good. The car could look more like it's on a stilt. You might want to try blackening the B-pillar. Someone had a photoshopped pic on the forum. It looked good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by h.s.r (Post 2863579)

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.

Guys, just remembered having read about a "not so expensive" alternative to painting the alloys with a colour of your choice. What's more, you could easily get rid of it in case you don't like the final look!.

Some googling wihtin the forum & voila. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...ap-alloys.html.
Once you are sure about the color, you could go in for a better quality paint of the same colour. Hope this helps!

A big shout-out to Scorcher for sharing the info!

Thank you very much GTO. Just booked 85PS (with option pack) - after comparing my TD notes with your 85PS review.
Your review is a very valuable second opinion. Thanks again.

Cheers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO;

Compared to the more expensive 110 variant, the Duster 85 has 25 BHP & 48 Nm of torque less. Is the Duster 85 underpowered then? Not at all. It's power / weight and torque / weight ratios are still superior to the Scorpio, Safari and Innova – thanks to a lighter kerb weight. Further, the power ratios are about the same as the Maruti Ertiga, and within 10% of the more expensive Mahindra XUV500 and Skoda Yeti.
...

Overall, does the Duster 85 do the job? You bet. Power delivery is adequate, even if it lacks the muscle of the 110.

Thank you GTO. I think the behavior of 85ps Duster in ghats/hills plays a big role, apart from the price, in tilting me in favor for booking one. Gear changing and a bad turbo lag can be a pain climbing hills.

A question regarding the quality control comes up with the power steering issue et al. I have been under the impression that Renault would be better than say a Skoda. Because the other car I have in my list happens to be Rapid (I know, SUV vs. Sedan - the boundary gets blurred right here with the Duster!).

Not to change the topic! - But, what would be the reasons for buying Duster over Sunny Diesel given that Sunny is easier to drive in the city, with almost turbo lag? The only reason would be the need for a higher GC or a SUV feel?

Otherwise, does Sunny score better as it seats 5 people more comfortably than the duster (given the AC unit protruding into the rear leg room area?), and probably better FE than duster?

Quote:

Originally Posted by vasanthn21 (Post 2865322)

1) Go over bad roads in hills. Sunny will scrape. And scrape. And Scrape. Okay..that is enough. lol:

2) SUV look/feel.

3) Unavailable Nissan dealer in town.

All three would apply to someone like me. I would buy a 85Ps with or without option pack; don't need the protruding AC thingy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by johy (Post 2865342)

3) Unavailable Nissan dealer in town.

All three would apply to someone like me. I would buy a 85Ps with or without option pack; don't need the protruding AC thingy.

Right, I overlooked the part that these 2 are from 2 different dealers!stupid: Was just thinking about the engine.

Yeah, even I felt going for the Duster without the protruding AC thingy makes more sense else it actually becomes more of a 4 seater than a 5 seater (especially if there are ladies in saree! - typically the case when there are more than 2 people in my car!)

Thanks to the Duster effect, M&M has started aggressively marketing the Scorpio through road shows i guess. They have displayed the Bolero and the M2DI versions in our office and 2 other colleagues offices as well. Probably they want these vehicles to slug it out with the Duster given the price similarity.

But one look at these vehicles and you realise the Duster is LEAGUES AHEAD !! the M2DI's interiors are pathetic ( not that the mhawk has any great interiors to boast about ). It still costs 8.4lakhs ex-showroom ( !!) with a discount of a princely sum of Rs8000 (!!!!) for "select" corporates.

am eagerly waiting to see the Duster effect in the discounts for the Lx and the Sle models.

Quote:

Originally Posted by narayan (Post 2865446)

Exactly my thoughts when I saw them in my office (are you in Olympia Techpark as well?)
That and the couple of comparison reviews between Duster and Scorpio in the magazines point to some stiff competition between the one time partners.

Would we have had Duster, if the Mahindra Renault partnership had continued? I doubt it.

Rear passengers can charge their laptop or cellphone on the move:
Well thought and placed.

OBD Port is located inside the glovebox:
Dangerous if you have flamable materials in the glove

The strap for bottle opener is a disauter. and what's with the foam near door hinge? Come on Renualt, you aren't Safari (quality-wise).

duster and storme will be neck to neck on M-O-M sale figures.

Marketing team (duster and storme), innovate or tweek? Food for thought

On the delivery front, in Chennai the status is unchanged. No STATE TRANSPORT AUTHORITY approval is obtained for any variant of Duster except 110RXZ. More than the delay, it is the lack of clarity or on a worse case scenario the inability of the Local dealers to get the approval.
Renault themselves have a huge role to play in getting the approval by submitting the necessary manufacturer documents. I dont know where the fault lies, but I'm already having panic attacks when I look at the sheer helplessness that the dealers are displaying.In fact, I'm starting to wonder if Renault will go the FIAT or in worse case the SKODA way by giving good cars but poor dealer or manufacturer support. In fact I'm sincerely praying that French eccentricity is limited to design and not taking my money for granted(remember peugeot?)
Latest news is that approval is not yet issued today and tomorrow is govt. holiday. So even if hypothetically,the dealer gets approval on friday, registration will be possible only on monday, all of which are pure speculation at this point.
Here Iam, making 100% upfront payment, selling my old ride and stuck in the middle of nowhere, with my EMI count starting from the 2nd of this month itself, not even knowing when delivery will be made.I sincerely hope this not the "DRIVE THE CHANGE" that renault had in mind for India.