Team-BHP - Renault Duster : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharninder (Post 2947575)

Are you sure the dealer will offer price protection? With the way the dealers seem to be behaving these days, he might just say that a transfer will be treated like a new booking.

Yes, I can confirm this. No price protection for a price protected booking if it is cancelled and then alloted to a new customer. Though the dealer makes a cool 60K more profit on the same car :).

Quote:

Originally Posted by shivmarwaha

I will ask my friend to confirm with the dealer and revert. Apparently he was sure that the price protection will be there since the booking was done earlier and only a name change is being done. He can cite financial reasons etc for changing the name.

There are meagre chances of dealer agreeing to price protection.
I have confirmed this,dealer straightaway refused to give price protection if booking is changed to someone's else name.

Quote:

Originally Posted by h.s.r

There are meagre chances of dealer agreeing to price protection.
I have confirmed this,dealer straightaway refused to give price protection if booking is changed to someone's else name.

How can the dealer take that call??
Shouldn't it be up to Renault to decide?

I'm not sure what a name change at the RTO would cost but one, if he doesn't mind being a 2nd owner, can go that way for the Duster on someone elses booking. It sure would be less than 40000 and the long wait for the vehicle.
What would be the best driving speed for the duster? Since the last refuel I have kept an eye on the MID and have noticed that the best average is when I drive between 50 and 60 Km/hr. Going above 80 and the average drops like a stone.
Yesterday noticed for the first time, there sure is a lot of wind noise. I plan to get the wind deflectors fitted on the doors and hope that would reduce the wind noise. Accessories still missing from the Indore market and the dealer has no idea when and if there would be any accessories coming from Renault in the near future.
I feel Renault was really not geared for the response that they got for the Duster, considering the near negligible presence in the market with their previous launches. I have seen just 1 Koleos in the last 6 months and less than a handful of Scalas and Pulses. Team Renault needs to do a crash course in mass marketing and after sales if they plan to make a name for themselves in the Indian auto market.

What is the current waiting period for 110 RXZ in Bangalore? After the recent price hikes, did the on-road price for 110 RXZ did went above 13.5 Lakhs in Bangalore? What is the current on-road price? In terms of quality and overall product stand point, apart from of course both are different types, has any one compared Fluence and Duster? I am contemplating between Fluence, Duster and Yeti. Any help is appreciated.

Question for Owner's of the Duster.

Have you done any "Rough Roading" yet on it? The ground clearance does not look very "SUV-ish" in real life.

The road to my in-laws home town has got a stretch which is straight out of hell. It's even overturned some trucks. However, Bolero's and Scorpio's handle it, just barely. The Duster looks like it will get stuck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swaraj!! (Post 2948830)

Hope this link puts your doubts to rest. And yes, I am a former bolero owner and I can safely say that Duster GC is far better.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2896861

My "Off roading" was done during dry weather. How Duster will perform in slushy conditions remains to be seen. Bolero was a rear wheel drive with plenty of low end torque. SO slush was never a issue with bolero. But rough roads alone, I'll choose the Duster any day.It's off roading design is far more superior compared to the bolero.
O.T - The rains in chennai is making me happy no end on my choice of Duster.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexanish (Post 2948767)

Don't compare Apple with Oranges.
Duster is compact SUV, where as Fluence is full fledged sedan.
Its up to you whether you want a Sedan or Suv.
Yeti is better in terms of equipment level,fit & finish, but expensive,so is Fluence.
Duster USP is go anywhere stance & ride quality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swaraj!! (Post 2948830)

Go through the whole thread & first make yourself well versed with the Duster, i guess it has more information than you require.
Duster ground clearance is higher than Scorpio, Innova, even ride quality is mile ahead of Scorpio.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rigid Rotor (Post 2947232)

The Duster has a monocoque (unibody) shell. I'm not sure whether its advisable installing the bull-bars and rear-bars as shown on the vendor's web-site. Similarly, the side-step needs to be designed to fit into the slots given under the body. Its perhaps better to go in for OEM recommended accessories only.

I am also being actively discouraged by a friend not to fit front bull-bars on my Duster. His argument was in the remote eventuality of a frontal collision, the air bags may not deploy correctly. He was also saying in such instances, the insurance guys may also raise some objections regarding disbursement.

Would appreciate if a senior BHP-ian can throw some light on this matter. stupid:

Thank you in advance. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swaraj!!

...Have you done any "Rough Roading" yet on it? The ground clearance does not look very "SUV-ish" in real life.

.....However, Bolero's and Scorpio's handle it, just barely. The Duster looks like it will get stuck.

Were those Scorpio & Bolero 4WD?

Is your concern only with ground clearance? If so Duster (GC=200 mm) is far better than Scorpio (GC =180 mm).

Quote:

Originally Posted by gemi_kk (Post 2946794)

This is 4th month after launching the duster. Down the line this will definitely happen as renault cant keep on loosing customers. I hope you would wait, do some negotiatioins and take the vehicle. your choice of selecting duster is correct.

Hi,

Just to add, M&M actually "closed" booking for their XUV for some time. That didn't affect the demand much, did it? I think it's good that the Renault people are being upfront about the delay. That way you know what you're getting into and can plan for it. Also their estimates are on the outer limit and if you are persistent you should get the vehicle before the outer limit they specify. Ultimately what you mention about the Duter being the right choice means a customer should be willing to wait if he really likes it.

Cheers!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clouseau (Post 2949303)

hmmm.... I hope, the demand for XUV is comming down. Duster is one of the reason for it. I wont say it is a significant effect on M&M. Also, M&M has started advertizing their XUV and xylo in Mumbai Malls itseems (remember, this hasnt been done earlier). Which clearly means, they see some demand going down(May be they are projecting the demand going downward). I cant be sure of this, but The sales charts will show it down the line.

When i say Duster is the right Choice, i mean to the one who made a booking and is waiting. which itself means, he loves it, so i dont see any point in changing up his mind and going for something else. Life is short, and i would want a fellow BHPian to have all the fun that he could especially with CARS :)

I came across the Duster brochure for the UK and have attached it.
As usual, the international version of the brochure has more detailed specs, some of which are not mentioned in our local brochures.
Since the UK Duster is planned for export from our Renault outfit here and if one assumes that the vehicle is essentially the same,
then a few noteworthy points are:

1. The 110 Diesel engine version is listed with the max torque (240 Nm) at 1750 RPM, instead of 248 Nm at 2250 RPM (given in the early launch Indian brochures). If the engine tune has been retained for the domestic engine, then it perhaps may explain the reduced turbo-lag observed by many BHPians in the production versions.

2. Kerb weight (excluding driver) for the 110 diesel is listed as 1205 Kg. Now, that is significantly lesser than figures such as 1280 and even 1300+ Kg that I have seen at several places. So, its quite a light-weight with 107 HP and a power-to-weight of about 88.8 bhp/tonne (empty), coming down to 60.9 bhp/tonne when fully laden at max weight of 1755 Kg. (That is if one assumes that all the 107 HPs are available at the wheels).

3. It has an OEM declared acceleration time of 0-100 km/h in 11.8 s.

4. Max declared speed of 171 km/h - already checked out by Neil Roy, I believe;)

5. Its cleared to a water wading depth of 35 cm (about 14") - which should come in handy on our water-logged roads in the rainy season (including Cyclone Nilam!). However, one cannot over-estimate its water wading capabilities, either.

The UK version has the 1.5 dCi in a different tune with DPF (diesel particulate filter), this version supports ESP and has the turbo kicking in earlier. We get a older version without ESP support and DPF.

I think the lag was really bad in the demo vehicles and have been resolved in production but more details are required on this by Renault, for instance my 110 does not have too much lag, but I think the turbo still kicks in at around 2000-2200 RPM at stated in the specs, so its not a retuned engine.