[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by GTO

The Renault Duster has been launched in India at a price of between Rs. 7.19 - 11.29 Lakhs (ex-Delhi).

As usual exceptionally balanced review .

Thanks for the pictographic comparison with the Scorpio, I want to see that before I took a final decision, Duster looks puny when compared to the Scorpio.

I was looking at 110 but I guess XUV W8 will be a better deal if I stretch my budget a bit more, but again final call after a test drive.

[himadrimondal]

Originally Posted by rohitbagai

Well, he is not entirely wrong. When on a wet surface if you break without clutch it will prevent skid to an extent.

Absolutely correct. Pressing the clutch will free the engine, with no engine braking advantage chances of the car skidding increases.

I am really surprised at how the representative has briefed about pushing the clutch down before braking. This is actually done by beginners who are used to low speeds.
Though I am no expert, in my opinion, the clutch should follow the brake in case of an emergency stop from say 100km/hr to 5km/hr. It is after you have rescued yourself from this position, you can downshift and move on (without restarting the car in only brakes are applied with no clutch to follow).

[floyd.bell]

Just checked with Renault Palace Orchards and they confirmed that today they have received 85PS Duster for TD . Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to make it before weekend. People staying close by can get behind the wheel and provide feedback.
Petrol no news yet

[RadiantKarma]

Great review GTO. As usual on team-bhp, it's so detailed that one gets the feel of having taken a test drive. And so brutally unbiased that someone looking to get a sraight recommendation gets disappointed!

It's clear that the crossovers are here to stay in India. Rightly so, for most of us do not really buy an SUV for off-roading. To that extent, would it be right to call the Duster an SUV rather than a crossover? Agreed that most of the common folk can't even distinguish between an SUV and an MUV, but this is a highly regarded automotive forum.

To me, for all the superb packaging of the Duster, the problem of finding a proper driving position (just like Linea, ugh!) and messy ergonomics alone kill the vehicle.

...the only other manufacturer giving a 4 year standard warranty is Honda.

I believe, Honda offers 4 year warranty as 2-yr standard + 2-yr extended.

The Duster has a meek single-unit horn. A powerful dual-tone unit would have been better.

To someone like me, who hates honking, can't they provide a horn that makes no sound at all, and maybe, to press the horn, you should need to get beneath the car?! On a serious note, would a dual-horn fall under the category of "Multi-toned Horn" which is illegal? (Ref.: Item#13 on Delhi Traffic Police, New Delhi (India) - Offences and Penalties of Delhi Traffic Police)

[Cruzerman]

Originally Posted by aniketi

People like me who travel around 500 Kms per month and want to own SUV, its better to go for good Petrol engine option if available. I guess 1.6 Petrol engine will also be good to buy. Also if you are saving 2-3 Lacs in the initial cost, you don't feel that much about the daily Petrol costs when your running is limited.

I am keenly waiting for a TD of the petrol version. Today I checked with the dealer here. They have no idea when a petrol TD Duster will arrive. They are like, ''why the heck should you wait for a petrol when 2 variants of diesel are available?''. Some people can't digest the fact that there are people like me still alive who think buying a petrol variant is not a bad idea. Considering the low running per month (around 500 kms) and initial cost saving, I think petrol Duster is worth considering. Anyway, I guess it would be a long wait for the petrol Duster as it could be reaching the dealerships after the 85PS comes out.

I just can't pardon the Renault guys for not giving an option of ABS & airbags in petrol variant. Hope they will come up with an option pack in a couple of months.

Originally Posted by himadrimondal

Though I am no expert, in my opinion, the clutch should follow the brake in case of an emergency stop from say 100km/hr to 5km/hr. It is after you have rescued yourself from this position, you can downshift and move on (without restarting the car in only brakes are applied with no clutch to follow).

When I was learning to drive some 20 years ago, even my driving instructor advised me to apply brake and clutch simultaneously. I never asked him to explain about this. In due course I developed something like the clutch follows the brake at a hard braking situation. It’s not always possible to do so in panic braking situations as I found out a few months ago while driving back home one night, a Range Rover had stopped in front of my car (Chevy Cruze) abruptly. I was going at around 50kmph as I stamped on the brakes hard but never got enough time to press the clutch (I guess I was going in 4th gear). The engine stalled just before the car came to a complete stop and to my horror it skidded for at least a meter and luckily stopped just behind the RR (had my Cruze kissed the behind of RR, I would have had a tough time explaining things to the RR driver). I was wondering why this happened (the skid) even though the car is equipped with ABS. May be as the engine stalled, the ABS stopped working? Not sure. Experts please comment.

[GTO]

Mod Note : Please do NOT go off-topic. All the clutch + brake posts can continue on the other thread.

Originally Posted by PrideRed

The interiors is not great but that is when you compare to c2 sedans. But it miles ahead when compared to Scorps/Safari which for me are its direct competetion.

Agreed. There is simply no comparison between the Duster's interiors and that of the Scorpio & Safari; the latter have atleast 10 years to go before they catch up with the Duster.

When i checked Duster i saw greasing done in couple of places(seat underneath rails,door leavers etc). Did the test drive cars had the same? Does this mean the car would be a RATTLE master in long run?

There is no correlation between the grease you saw and probability of rattling.

2.Provided that 85PS are 110PS are essentially same engine, will there be a difference in Service/maintenance cost?

I highly doubt. Even if there is, it will be too marginal to make a difference. One thing though : The 85PS will be cheaper to own (due to better fuel efficiency) while the clutch plate will also last longer in the 85

At the time of resale, don't expect much of a difference between the 85 & the 110. The market will only care about "diesel".

What makes Duster a Full 2 lac costlier compared to Sunny? considering the 85PS RXL(o) Duster, the similar spec'd Sunny(XL). Is it just because cost of manufacturing SUV is higher?

There is no correlation between the manufacturing cost & MRP with cars; the pricing is entirely handled by the marketing who will set the maximum price that they think the market will pay (for an intended monthly volume).

2 lakhs more than the Sunny? It depends what you are looking for. Personally, I think the Sunny's value is in the back seat and better ergonomics.

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Though it has been mentioned by someone that the wiper has only 2 speeds

I don't see what the big deal is. My Civic also has intermittent + slow + fast speeds (only) for the wiper (just as the Duster).

Most importantly, I am missing the section on "Chief competitors"

We've not officially reviewed most of the direct competitors (Scorpio, Safari, Innova, Yeti 4x2), hence the competitors overview post is missing in this thread.

Originally Posted by AltoHoncho

excellent review GTO. Here's a less expensive, comfortable, monococque, light weight, High GC and potential mod-friendly machine. here's my question, will it be targetting Pajero in future if its 4x4 is out?

Not really. The Pajero is much bigger, expensive and older. I don't see any direct competition between a Duster 4x4 and Pajero.

Originally Posted by Sharkpin

i have just test driven the 85 ps model of the Duster and have to say that it did feel a bit underpowered in the sense that i was able to quickly getaway from the traffic at lower rpm's but you could feel the strain on the engine

As mentioned in my Sunny review, the old school engine makes quite a racket at high rpms. However, that doesn't mean it's slow. An engine can be acceptably quick, yet sound strained. The Sunny is amongst the quickest sedans from its segment (thanks to the light weight).

, now i have driven the sunny as well which shares the same engine but there the engine feels a lot smoother i guess due to the ways its tuned for a sedan like drive.

The Sunny perhaps has better NVH than the Duster 85.

Originally Posted by h.s.r

After going through the TeamBhp review and reviews of the fellow Bhpians like shankar,suhaas,buxx etc etc, i am now going for variant change which will be 85 ps with option pack.

Cheers to safety. Good call, congratulations!

Originally Posted by aniketi

Good review always, but i am disappointed that it don't have mention of the Petrol engine

I'm disappointed as well, but we haven't gotten a chance to drive the petrol & 85. Hopefully, they will come soon.

Originally Posted by Mindgrinder

good review, one question, the Bluetooth and Media unit behind steering does it turn with the steering just like on steering controls? what if you are on a turn or stuck in traffic and get a call etc.

Luckily, it does NOT move with the steering. The position is fixed.

Originally Posted by Sharkpin

there is nothing worse than having a low powered suv

The power & torque / weight ratios of the Duster 85 are superior to the Scorpio, Safari and Innova, and aren't too far away from the Ertiga and Yeti 4x2 either. It won't be as fast as the 110 on the highway, but I doubt the 85 will be "low powered".

[raul]

This is getting interesting, is there any use case for the 110 compared to the 85 for general driving and the occasional highway run?

City use - we already know the 85 is more drivable in the city due to absence of turbo lag

Highway use - its likely both will do speeds of 140, the 85 may be strained but it will do it probably 3 seconds later. Maybe the 110 will touch 160 and higher but is that marginal use case and for a few folks I think, worth 1 lakh more?

Inclines and declines - I don't see much of a difference here - 85bhp with 200nm is not too bad for a 1200kg vehicle, on the contrary the turbo lag of the 110 might get you here.

So what is the use case for the 110?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by GTO

The Sunny perhaps has better NVH than the Duster 85.

Does that mean a same engine in a different state of tune can be noisier?
Is it because, since the torque speed curve is different, it can make more noise and the same insulation unable to keep noise outside the cabin?

Also why is wind noise prominent? Is it again because of metal gauge thickness or again this pertains to sound damping/isolation?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by raul

Is there any use case for the 110 compared to the 85 for general driving and the occasional highway run?

So what is the use case for the 110?

The same that is there for the:

i10 1.2L over the 1.1
Old Honda City 1.5 over the 1.3
Linea T-Jet over the 1.4 N/A
Skoda Laura 140 over the 110 BHP
BMW 525d over the 520

There isn't a doubt that the 85 will be the best selling. Equally, those looking for additional power will stretch to the 110.

Originally Posted by ampere

Does that mean a same engine in a different state of tune can be noisier?

Nope. But from whatever I've heard so far, the NVH insulation in the 110 is better. Again, I cannot confirm until having driven the 85.

[citron]

Thank you,GTO, for the excellent review.
How good are the headlights of the Duster?
Did you get a chance to test the fog lights too?
Cheers!

[drmohitg]

What is a realistic FE figure for the Duster in the city and more importantly on the highways? A friend is confused between the Sunny diesel and Duster diesel with the major concern being Highway driving and better FE.

[raul]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

What is a realistic FE figure for the Duster in the city and more importantly on the highways? A friend is confused between the Sunny diesel and Duster diesel with the major concern being Highway driving and better FE.

Take this with a huge pinch of salt but from my cursory scan of the myriad duster forums in Romania, France, Russia and Germany the mileage for the 110 is around 6.5/100km for extremely careful driving, around 7.5-8/100km for normal driving, and around 9-10/100km for aggressive driving. This is a mix of city and highway driving.

The amazing thing in all these forums across different countries and cultures is a serious obsession with mileage of the Duster!


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[h.s.r]

Some drool maal stuff..

Duster with Thule Rack.

Duster with Yamaha boat.
Although seeing this in India is a distant dream.

[sumeshmani]

Like so many others, I am going to complain about the ex-showroom price in Bangalore (10,03,369 for the 85PS-O). If only it was priced 4K less, the road tax would have reduced by ~34K.
I see that in some other places the ex-showroom price shoots up to 10.2L. I hope these states have a more friendly road-tax structure.

Most of us seem to agree that for the kind of interiors provided, top end versions are overpriced by around 50 to 75K. Yet look at the mad rush of bookings, most of them without even a TD.
Clearly Renault is going to get away with overpricing. When did we become such a rich nation (don't take this line too seriously )

[h.s.r]

Duster Vs Scorpio comparison. Source: BS Motoring.
Duster vs Scorpio - Newcomer or old faithful?