Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Official New Car Reviews (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/)

-   -   Renault Duster : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/123824-renault-duster-official-review-45.html)

Anyone got their delivery date in Bangalore?
I booked 85 BHP Base version from Whitefield Renault Bangalore on July 7th and delivery date given was some time in september

But they are not telling exact Date

Got my Duster 110 RxZ (option pack) in Jaipur today! Surprisingly, the turbo lag present on the test drive car was absent totally. Felt like a breeze to drive. Has Renault worked up on the turbo-lag front before putting the cars for sale?

Will put up detailed ownership review and images soon. Planning a trip on the coming weekend. :D

@ Bhopal its the same scenario, booked 85 + Optional Pack on 2nd Aug and projected delivery is by Diwali.

Prophetic words,i had my first brush on the rear wheel arch while negotiating a narrow turn in a multi storey parking lot.Need to fix the side cladding accessory at the earliest.

Having started seeing Dusters on the road in Mumbai, mainly in Goregaon. Saw a few in Pune too. Needless to say all brown!

Have to say I knew this but it looks too plain jane, all utility and just a bit 'tired' in the real world. It doesn't have the presence of a 13 lakh car. No offence to owners, this is my personal opinion of course and looks are completely subjective.

I still feel this should have been priced 12 lakhs tops to make the 3000 a month Renault wants, 11.5 would be the sweet spot. 13 lakhs plus as it is in Mumbai is a bit too much for whats on offer. At the moment the pluses are ride quality, a frugal engine and the ground clearance advantage.

Renault should start delivering before folks change their minds.

Should be interesting to see how the dynamics change once the Ecosport Debuts. I read a comparison of the two by a brazilian site and Ecosport trumps it on most counts. Interestingly Ecosport is priced slightly above Duster there. I doubt if that would work here.

As of now Duster seems to be in an enviable position. If the Ecosport is priced at par or above the duster, then the Duster party would be dented only by a very good frugal diesel mill. The Petrol may be a gem, but here nobody cares for it and the duster always has the space advantage over it.

So dated or not dated, I guess the 6-7 months till the ecosport is launched would be critical and if the ford fails then Duster may just keep going great guns. But they need to sort out their delivery issues.

Sorry for going OT.

This is that Brazillian comparison between 'Duster & Ecosport': http://*******.com/8rpxcs5

I strongly feel for Duster, its more strong and confident (the main reason behind buying a mini-suv/crossover) to look at compared to Ecosport, which is more new-age and sensitive looking... Not to forget, I HATE THAT wheel on its behind, reminds me of those cheap-desi mods on Altos, Zens and Maruti 800s, yuck! Probably it looks betters in person, which we will find out soon!

Some pics:

It will all depend on Ford's pricing strategy. They have the under 4m excise duty advantage & 80% localization target to play with the pricing (Duster is over 4m with 60% localization). If Ford doesn't get too greedy & are not over ambitious in playing their technology card, then it would be easy for them to price it at par with Duster.

Duster definitely has the first mover advantage & they will try to milk it as much as possible till the competition opens up. So you hear of cases where sales staff do not respond to customer queries, TD vehicles not being made available in time, take it or leave it attitude of dealers etc. Remember, when the Duster bookings opened up, we saw many cancellations of the XUV5OO. Who knows same could happen with the Duster when the Ecosport (Mini-Xylo or any other SUV bookings for that matter) open up. That would be a wake up call for Renault Dealers. Till then let them enjoy the hey days.

I have done 1500 kms. Had gone to mangalore which is 250kms away. It was really good at highways. Overtaking was easy and power was allways on tap.

Driving din't tire me, even though i dint have height adjust. Few times when i got strained in the same position, i tilted the steering down and seats reclined.

Suspension is very good with good handling. Its comfortable on patches and broken roads. Ride was not bumpy too.

I want to mention few things that im having a problem with.
It was raining for last few days here. Left side floor, front and back is fully soaked up in water. Had dried it once and again after a long journey its wet again. Is it something related with the door beeding.? How come only one side.?

Then on the right side front floor, below the clutch and brakes, ac water keeps dripping. Im sure its only on the right side, and left side water is not ac water. The water dripping is few drops when compared to left side which was almost a litre.

From two days some foul smell started to come from ac vents. From yesterday its become much more with some sort of chemical smell.

I will take the car to showroom today. Hope nothing serious.

To each his own. I for one love that spare wheel on the boot, this is one of its USPs, which gives the Ecosport a macho look

What is the experience of other Duster owners while driving the vehicle in rain? Have you checked the beading if it well entrenched in its groove/projection? When you visit the service centre ask them to do a test by pressurized water & check if it is leaking through the beading only & not elsewhere.

The right side water leakage could probably be due to the AC drain pipe outlet being left inside the car cabin. This should ideally be outside the car cabin, through the firewall, so that the AC water is drained outside. Just need to reposition the pipe.

This may be due to the wet carpet. I have experienced it many times, especially in the rainy season when the carpet gets wet.

Though not conventional, duster's looks can grow on you.
But the front wheel arches stick out like a sore .. er.. arch.
My prediction is a lot of dusters will be seen with "run-flat" arches soon, thanks to friendly bikers and auto-wallahs.

Something similar has happened to the Fiat Adventure I had. When you drive over slushy roads a bit fast (like I did with the confidence other sedans didnt' have), the mud got into the AC water outlet pipe and clogged it. This made the carpet wet and I hadn't realized it because of the thick mat I had.
The SA then forced out the mud by blowing pressurized air and no more problems after that. Of course, this is what he told me and I had no way to verify if there was some thing else he did to fix it.
The corollary was after that I took my Adventure over slush with little more respect :)
You could ask your SA to see if there is any blockage of the outlet pipe. And please share it with current and future owners.

Could any of the owners please confirm if the VIN and Customer name was present in the glove box as mentioned in the review?
I was told by the Renault customer car that I'd be getting my car (Black RxL 85 PS) this week or the next week.
The dealer (Renault Coimbatore) tells me a Silver 85 PS RxL has been alloted for me and it'll be available sometime next month.

Good to hear Duster performed well.Any pictures, please post them.
Regarding that water problem,culprit seems to be ac drain pipe,get it checked from Renault.
Also post your experience of the Renault After sales.
I fear Duster is heading same way as XUV, with issues cropping up on new vehicles.