[PranavDesai]

Friends,

While coming home from work today evening spotted a signboard at a complex which read the following: Renault - Karnavati Central.

This is the place where previously there was Xcite Electronics Mall, near Reliance Fuel Pump, which is just besides C.N. School, Ambawadi area (people from Ahmedabad will know the area immediately).

I think Duster's success has led Renault to believe that they need a second dealership in Ahmedabad, good for customers I say. I looked up Renault home site, but it still shows only one dealer - Renault Ahmedabad West. Can somebody throw more light on this?

For those who don't know, Karnavati was the ancient city that we call Ahmedabad today!

Moderators: Please move/merge this to an appropriate thread if necessary.

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by BMW-X5

My friend has canceled his duster booking because of the price hike and booked a XUV 5OO this morning .

Well thats bound to happen now, the Duster has now gone dangerously close to the W6 XUV, the XUV offers more power, more bells and whistles (cruise control, bluetooth etc), has much better interiors, better service network consistently clocking 4500+ units each and every month and is a 8 seater. Most Indians love the big car feel with hordes of features (Verna and XUV).

I am particularly interested to see for how long can Renault manage the 4000+ sales of Duster, though VFM is subjective, Renault is just asking too much for Duster at present.

[suhaas307]

The price-hike will certainly hit them hard.

Once the initial euphoria dies down and the dust settles, Renault showrooms will wear a deserted look. Sure, the Duster has some strong points. The ride for instance is exemplary. It's dynamically sorted for a compact SUV, and it's got appeal.

But cars like the Yeti and XUV feel a full segment higher but they're priced not much above the Duster. The 85 will definitely outsell it's 110 brother purely because it's priced lower and will prove to be a good alternative to the Scorpio and Safari. But for those looking for a more premium SUV for 15 lakhs, the Duster will not cut it. But the XUV and Yeti would.

Apart from the premium feel you get in the Yeti, you get the Skoda badge that's synonymous with 'luxury' among other things. The XUV offers so much for in terms of power / performance, space, practicality (3rd row), wider dealership and service network, etc. All for just a little more. I know, they belong to different segments in the SUV world, but it if you're considering a 110 Duster, it will be hard to ignore the XUV especially if you're open to the idea of looking around for other cars.

[acroback]

I am gonna play a gamble.
Looking at incompetent Renault India management and sloth'esque production, I am sure there is no way I will get my 85 RxL (O) before Feb-March next year, i.e waiting of atleast 5-6 months. Damn, 6 months? I can book a XUV and get that before Duster :.

I am waiting for Ecosport 1.5 Diesel Mill launch early next year. If it suits my purpose, why not get a lot more premium car than Duster, if fundamentals are correct for Ecosport (i.e Handling and suspension). 300+ boot is acceptable to me I guess. I just hope than rear leg room is not less than that of duster.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

All for just a little more. I know, they belong to different segments in the SUV world, but it if you're considering a 110 Duster, it will be hard to ignore the XUV especially if you're open to the idea of looking around for other cars.

The only reason, one would like to get a Duster or similar one is when one strictly does not want to carry a baggage of third row of seats,

From that point of view, if they sell a Yeti 4x2 with a 1.6D at a price compared to Duster, then equation would totally change.
A 4x2 basic Yeti today starts at 16+ OTR which is again way over Duster top end price.

If some one one is looking at XUV, my thought is he wont look at Duster at all.
Duster will have real fight only from the Ford stable today and no one else till Maruti small SUV comes. But there again they are talking of 1.3L DDIS
based SUV, So I hope it again does not go go into the Quanto territory and lower price points. (Comments on Maruti I would reserve till its released).

To summarize: In the compact SUV category there would be sales differentiation according to seating comfort for four or five.
And for highway cruisers I reckon 5 seater comfort would/should outsell 4 seater ones.
But there again we would see price factor making some of the decisions (10-13L range)

[GTO]

The following information has been received from Renault:

- On July 4th , Renault Duster was launched with an introductory price and we have received over 20,000 bookings in less than 3 months from launch.

- Usually customers have to pay the price that is prevalent during the delivery time. However, as a special case, Renault is protecting all bookings made until 31st Aug 2012, which is = 18,000 bookings. The introductory price will be maintained for all the bookings made until the end of August 2012, delivered or not at the time of the price increase.

[suchit23]

Originally Posted by GTO

The introductory price will be maintained for all the bookings made until the end of August 2012, delivered or not at the time of the price increase.

OK now they are saying the original price was introductory and hence the hike instead of saying increased inputs cost and rupee value. At least now it makes some sense if not good pricing. Summary is, Duster is outside the VFM bracket in India. Thankfully, as somebody said the 85 PS will still be affordable for people with a 11-12 lakhs budget. On the long run the 85 PS will become synonymous to the Duster and the 110 will find few performance hungry takers with some extra bucks!

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by GTO

The following information has been received from Renault:

- On July 4th , Renault Duster was launched with an introductory price and we have received over 20,000 bookings in less than 3 months from launch.

- ...Renault is protecting all bookings made until 31st Aug 2012, which is = 18,000 bookings.

Attachment 995222

Time since Duster launch = 3 months.

Total bookings for 3 months = 20,000+ [I assume the actual numbers are less than 21,000]

Bookings which are price protected = 18,000 [till Aug 30 or ~2 months from launch]

Average monthly bookings till Aug 30 [2 months from launch date] = 9000 units

Average bookings in the last 1 month = less than 3000 units!

If this is true, I see a HUGE dip in the Duster interest. It dropped to almost 30% of what it was in the first two months. If they can't sustain the booking numbers even in the 3rd month of launch, where is Renault actually heading with Duster? Add to it, the steep hike which will most probably translate to a 60K OTR prices in most of India.

[agambhandari]

Does anybody have any information on the petrol duster?
Does anybody here own one?

The lack of equipment will only further slide down its sale

It's available on paper but the dealer doesn't even accept bookings for it.
It seems like a mythical creature to me.

[raul]

The prices in India are not consistent with the Duster image. Many things need to improve for it to command 13 plus, now nearly 14 lakhs. That's a lot of money and not enough car.

Quirky design - it may work for low cost Dacia's in Europe but give the pricing here it needs to be much more modern

Interiors - utilitarian and bare basic and 14 lakhs do not go together

Overall build quality - the quality of metal seems flimsy compared to the Fluence, and other vehicles.

Irritants like wind noise and other things associated with cheaply put together cars,.

Of late we have seen a frenzy for the XUV, Ertiga and now Duster, the first 2 were extremely good VFM at launch, the XUV is not so VFM now with the price hikes.

The Duster was not VFM but it had novelty going for it. Whether it can sustain 4000 or 3000 remains to be seen, at the current prices I suspect no. At 12.5 OTR for the 110 RXZ it will, so we are talking 1 lakh more than it should be.

The Yeti on the other hand is available for 14.7 on-road (Pune) for the Active 110. It's a better put together car, you don't get the feeling this is a cheap car like you do with the Duster. Some people cannot digest the Yeti's looks, its a polarizing vehicle.

The XUV Mahindra lineage does not work for others and the overly busy design accentuates this - its a bit of a snobbish thing at play here. So Duster has some room given its middle of the road.

More competition needed and the weird according to me hatch on stilts looking ecosport will probably not cut it.

[himadrimondal]

Just back from my birding trip to Sikkim which was washed out by rains and fog but did a whole lot of good from the Duster point of view.

Even though I bought the Duster, my mind was overwhelmed by lines like
"Quirky design - it may work for low cost Dacia's in Europe but give the pricing here it needs to be much more modern".

"Interiors - utilitarian and bare basic and 14 lakhs do not go together".

"Overall build quality - the quality of metal seems flimsy".

BUT at the end of the trip, I would beg to differ.
Threw the car to all kinds of roads,
the very good ones,
the bad ones,
the very bad ones,
the steep ones,
the non existent ones and
once over a road washed by a landslide cluttered with gravels and stones.

The car did not develop any kind of rattle.
It behaved well composed and relaxed and not a single time did it make me feel I was pushing it on the edge.
Will update my initial ownership report in time.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by raul

The Yeti on the other hand is available for 14.7 on-road (Pune) for the Active 110. It's a better put together car, you don't get the feeling this is a cheap car like you do with the Duster. Some people cannot digest the Yeti's looks, its a polarizing vehicle.

When I checked last time in Bangalore the Yeti active pricing after discount starts from 16.25L OTR (includes Skoda Shield)
Can others confirm this? Also is it that big a difference in pricing across 2 cities thanks to taxes?

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

The price-hike will certainly hit them hard.

I know, they belong to different segments in the SUV world, but it if you're considering a 110 Duster, it will be hard to ignore the XUV especially if you're open to the idea of looking around for other cars.

I waited for the Duster for almost 6 months, but it turned out to be a disappointment as far as I am concerned. So it is back to the XUV

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by ampere

When I checked last time in Bangalore the Yeti active pricing after discount starts from 16.25L OTR (includes Skoda Shield)
Can others confirm this? Also is it that big a difference in pricing across 2 cities thanks to taxes?

A friend of mine was looking to buy the Duster 110. Now after the price-hike, he's thinking twice about it. He's interested in draping the entire interior in leather and is also looking to upgrade the audio as well. His budget initially was 15 lakhs and now it's 16 lakhs. But after the price-hike, he decided to check out the XUV and Yeti because it costs 50k-100k more than the Duster 110, and this is without the accessories that he had planned.

I suggested he buy the Duster 85 instead. His driving comprises of 90% city limits and 10% highway drives.

He really likes the Duster but the price-hike has put him off.

Originally Posted by m_upreti

I waited for the Duster for almost 6 months, but it turned out to be a disappointment as far as I am concerned. So it is back to the XUV

If you're looking for a 5-seater , the Duster is still the better car. If you want bang for your buck though, the XUV makes a strong case for itself considering that the price-difference is not much.

[Vid6639]

With the price hike, the Duster 110PS is now entering the D segment sedan territory. I don't think it belongs there and now does not look VFM at all.

The Duster was supposed to be a VFM option to counter the Safari and Scorpio. Instead it is going against the XUV, Yeti and c2 and D segment sedans.