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The more important point : One would go for a 85bhp version is more for its drivability. You dont want to give that best part away.
I think thats what even GTO mentioned in that thread.

Yes. From various British and European reviews. Surely the details of the mechanical spec in India can be had from Renault, or on-line somewhere from a thorough Indian comparison test?

Correct.

You get a very good four year warrany in India, and it isn't worth voiding this for a bit of exta power. Don't forget, if you needed to claim for any non-mechanical fault the tuning would kill your claim dead. It would totally negate your whole warranty. If the dealer knew of course :D

You might find yourself spending far more than you bargained for, so if I were you I'd leave well alone.

Hmm. I don't seem to see any Green tint. May be my whole car itself looks greyish green to my eyes that I don't notice the tint :)

Agree with this. The clutch keeps getting heavy. I also experience some jerks at low speed. Too much torque?

BTW. I see quite a few Dusters on road. One day last week, I saw 4 in 1 hour (trip to school and back).

Added a couple more to my gallery. please check them out.

Has any Duster owner changed the seat covers? Does the ones given by the dealer themselves good enough? A bit hesitant as they seem to be slip ons (not sure though) and I am worried that the contours of the OEM seats will be lost because of that.

Only now skin fit seat covers for Duster have come to my regular supplier in GP road in Chennai. Planning to get them installed this weekend. Will upload photos as soon as I get the job done.
Regarding the green tints, take a white sheet and place it behind any side door glass with the windows rolled down to 50%. You can see the shade and tint.

My brother in law took delivery of his 85 ps duster last week. He booked in coimbatore, TN 3 days before official launch. Got a chance to test drive it in some sleep slopes in Ooty the other day. The engine doesn't feel under powered at all even in the hills and pulls cleanly. It was only me in the car, so I don't know how it will be with a full compliment of passengers and luggage. Unless you are into a lot of highway driving, I think the 85 ps is sufficient.

A good endorsement from you.
I think all the power hungry out there would do well to take your point of view on board.
Given the sate of our roads, it is rare that one gets long stretches of road unmarred by traffic where one can unleash the vehicle.
And even then, one must be mindful of the speed limits mustnt one?

When I tried it 2 months back, there were 3 adults (including me) and a kid and the AC was on.
With that the guy pulled very cleanly from 30 - 60 on the third gear. Did not feel strained at all.

Did you get your Duster 2 months ago? Wow.
For the last month since I got my 85 I've driven it with the family (wife & 2 kids) and haven't felt any lack of power. Should also mention as this has not come up too often that I'm trying to stay below the 2500 rpm mark as the manual recommends due to the running-in period. Even touching no more than 2500 rpm I still don't feel power lacking.

On a similar note, I may have reached ~3000rpm a couple of times without noticing. Anybody have any ideas on what happens if we cross 2500 rpm during running-in?

I have changed the seat covers,had to leave the seats for factory fitting.

All i wanted to do is a test drive of the petrol. If they didnt have any dates, i would have been happy to hear that. My only issues is every time i walk-in, they say it will come by next week and again when i call, they repeat the same story. if they are not sure, i understand but they should not keep saying deadlines for the same. I am still tempted in spite of all this cos i like the Duster. I am in fact comtemplating if i should go and book the petrol without a test drive :Shockked: after all i know so many who booked the 85 PS version without a test drive and they are happy now. Its a 1.6 liter engine and looks powerful on paper. should take a decision soon.

My reasons are exactly same as yours. I want to use the money saved to get good alloys (thinking to upsize the already large wheels too) and music system.

No no... I meant when I test drove the 85bbp Duster. The engine felt very good and did not feel like it was lacking in power.

Urajkumar

Personally, I'd never recommend a car that's devoid of basic safety-features like Airbags and ABS. That said, the Duster is still a good car. No clue about the petrol engine, but it should be good.

It's sad to hear that Renault is simply not interested in selling the petrol. Why have the petrol-variant in the portfolio at all, if that's the case?

Like I'd said earlier, I really like the Duster and if we buy it, it will be the petrol variant. I'm hoping Renault introduces safety-features in the variant, at least as an option if not anything else.. Fingers crossed.

Simply to bring the baseline cost down and announce...."Duster launched at 7.xx lacs."

Its very shocking, but very very true. The Duster is one hell of a no frills, well designed product. :)

Had a chance to TD it, with 4 on board, and the ride quality is really good, The plastics looks bad, but its indeed very rugged and to the point. Interiors are well laid out and not overdone. I drove the 85 ps version, its sufficient for the city drive and yes, will not sweat when taken on that occasional highway drive.

For the money paid, its a Paisa Vasool.

According to UK reviews the petrol is not quite as refined as the Diesel, particularly at high revs. I have a friend with a Renault with the 1.6 petrol engine and it is noisy and gutless at high speeds. Merging onto motorways is not fun as the car (a Megane Scenic) struggles to achieve sufficient speed safely. But I'm talking about getting up to seventy plus mph in a few yards, on an incline!

And it isn't an economical engine either. There are far more modern petrol engines which give better fuel consumption.

However, it is a well proven engine with a chain cam, and it is easy to work on. If you don't want to drive quickly for long periods and don't do a high mileage it might suit very well.

In the UK it is only being sold on the basic version of the Duster, but then we don't get the 85hp Diesel either. Renault is careful to tailor specs to the market and there isn't much demand for petrol engines in this type of car here. And of course, the more complicated the options are the more difficult it is to manage supply. The Duster will be a relatively small player in the UK so Renault is keeping it simple. But I still think they have made a mess of the range options here :D