[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by AWD

Also have you posted a review of the vehicle, link ?

Sorry bro, not tried putting a cycle inside yet, but I think ACM has answered your query. I will post a review at some point. Not had the time to take photos and compile etc...

[AWD]

Originally Posted by ACM

My XL size Btwin Rockrider 5.3 fits in the eco sport with the seats folded. Will 100% fit in the larger duster. Sideways / at an angle though. Not standing.

Thanks, fitting in an Eco-Sport is a revelation for me I fit my Hybrid bike with great difficulty in Corolla with rear seats folded down. If Eco-Sport does the job, will try out the vehicle, will save me some money over the Dusty

Just a request, whenever you fit in the bike net time & happen to have a camera, please do click a pic, would love to see.

@4x4Addict, yes ACM has surprised me! Ok but if you could, post a prelude which could be without pics, then later on compile a full review when you get time. Also do pen in short comparos with Scorpio, Thar & other SUV/Jeeps in this price bracket you have used, this is will give a first hand user account on where the vehicle stands wiz the competition.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Sorry bro, not tried putting a cycle inside yet, but I think ACM has answered your query. I will post a review at some point. Not had the time to take photos and compile etc...

Originally Posted by AWD

Thanks, fitting in an Eco-Sport is a revelation for me I fit my Hybrid bike with great difficulty in Corolla with rear seats folded down. If Eco-Sport does the job, will try out the vehicle, will save me some money over the Dusty

Just a request, whenever you fit in the bike net time & happen to have a camera, please do click a pic, would love to see.

How about this 2 kiddy cycles thrown in along with Rockrider 5.3 XL size

[AWD]

Wow thanks a lot, thats a triple whammy ! Need to check out the Eco-Sport now, sorry for the Eco-Sport rant on the Dusty thread. Dialing both Renault & Ford tomorrow to bring their vehicles for a TD, will try to shove in my bikes. Now searching for a relevant thread, if there is for ferrying bikes on vehicles for further discussions. Mainly because I have other vehicles in mind too.

P.S: Btw I read XL size, whats you ht, 6.1+ ?

[xjosephjacob]

I'm not sure how famous is the place Kolukkumalai here in team-bhp. At around 7500 ft above sea level, the authorities say it's home to the highest organic tea plantation in the world. Geographically, the Kolukkumalai hills are in Tamil Nadu (It's Kerala-TN border), however the entry is from Suryanelli (Kerala) which is around 25km from Munnar.

From Suryanelli, Kolukkumalai tea plantation is around 1 hr 45 minutes of bone shattering climb in a 4*4 Jeep. An average tourist would call it a day, after a return journey from Munnar/Suryanelli to Kolukkumalai. The tourists usually hire 4wd Mahindra Commander Jeeps from the valley to reach there. I've been there thrice in these commander Jeeps, and have seen Boleros and once a Pajero too on the way.

We've two Duster's at home, I own a 85ps and brother owns the very capable AWD. I've always warned my brother that Suryanelli-Kolukkumalai journey will tire you out. Little did I know that he would climb the Kolukkumala hills in his own Duster AWD on his way (detour) to Bangalore from our native at Kottayam (Kerala) ! That's 650 km of driving plus 3-4 hours of offroading, all in a single day, and he went to office on the very next day. This speaks volumes about the magic carpet ride that Duster AWD offers. Not that he was not tired at all, but if it were any other vehicle in this side of 25 lacs he would have taken a day off.

Here's a pic from one of my trips, just to show you how the road to Kolukkumalai looks like.


Thought it's not a demanding off-road territory, you need traction on all 4 wheels. Chance of Duster 2wd making it - Yes, can be done if you have skills and patience and doesn't mind slipping your clutch liberally. Light weight, small turning radius, pretty good Approach-Breakover-Departure angle and that delightful suspension set-up that keeps fatigue at a minimum sure helps.

Few pics from my brother's trip and his experience going off road with Duster AWD.




.................................................. .................................................. ..
I decided to take a detour and try out the less heard ( at least I have not before my brother went) and less explored Kolukkumalai Estate on my way back to Bangalore from Kottayam (Kerala) after attending my cousins’ wedding. My wife makes a good navigator. Just to give an idea, we both have clocked closed to 1.5 lac km within 3 years of marriage. So much is our travel that our car’s (Swift DDIS 2009 and Duster AWD 2015) needs service every 2 months or so. Swift is for city commute and Duster is for highways and to carry our stocks for our shops (Wife is into retail business).

I was so intrigued by this place from the many threads I read online that I decided to give it a shot but I am not going to rent a Jeep and drive all the way up. I have a 4X4 too! I knew it’s a capable SUV which can be used for mild off-roading but never expected the car to be so agile when it came to taking on a territory which was set aside for only ‘JEEPS’.

We drove for 4.5 hrs. from Kottayam to reach Suryanelli. At Suryanelli, we stopped by to ask a few Jeep drivers on directions; they gave me directions for sure but also added you cannot take this ‘CAR’ up there. I said, let me try once.

We started the ascent around 1:30 pm. The roads were OK for a kilometer or so. The bad roads start after that! When I say bad roads, it’s literally no road at all! All I can see is mid-sized boulders the size of a football. I am an amateur in off-roading techniques. I decided to lock the car in 4*4 lock mode (Duster comes equipped with 3 modes- 2WD, Auto and 4WD Lock) and crawled up slowly. The terrain was worse than I expected. I tried to maintain my composure and pretend to be ‘cool’ looking at how the jeep drivers were looking at you in pity and the tourists with an open mouth. I even heard a few people saying, this guy is crazy. I negotiated the sharp edges of the rocks with precision so as not to cut my underbody. Duster comes with a proper engine guard still I had to be careful not to get stuck on a rock. Even with 210mm clearance, the underbody did take hits a couple of times though.

I was crawling up at a speed of 5 km/hr which is too slow. The Jeeps do a bit more at around 8-10km/hr. I can see people in Jeeps getting tossed around mercilessly. They pay 1500 for this bone jarring return trip. Thanks to Duster’s superb suspension, the ride was bliss. We had to give way for all Jeeps which were going up and down which was a bit tricky. The path is good enough for only one car at a time. You have to keep honking in intervals of say 5 minutes to alert a vehicle coming from the opposite directions. The Jeep drivers are courteous enough to give way by stopping at a curve. Most of the Jeeps have to take the hair pin bends just like a Volvo bus does for most of the hair pins. Stop->Move Forward->Reverse->Take the bend. With its small turning radius, things were easier for the Duster; I just had to make sure I had sufficient banking on my left side as not to scratch my running board.

The scenery is electric!! The climate was super cool and luckily it wasn’t raining. Temperature hovered around 22 degrees. It was a perfect day for a novice to climb.

After a climb of close to 2 hours, we reached a placed called ‘View Point’; Beautiful location. It’s touted as the highest point in that range where you can take a vehicle. The tea factory is further 2 km from here, but you have to decent for that. We stopped at View Point. We were quite celebrities by then with all Jeep drivers curiously looking into the car to find the ‘Low Range Gear’. One guy came and asked, ‘I cannot find the other gear. How is that you guys climbed up’? I had to show the knob for all wheel drive selection and he was convinced.

The tea factory was an orthodox one meaning it used the age old techniques in tea manufacturing. Automation is very less. You could see the machinery from British’s era. Unlike some post online, there is no charge for a vehicle entry. But they will charge you 100 per head if you want a tea factory tour. You can get tea for 10/- INR. We spent an hour there and it was already 4 PM. Time to head back and weather was changing. Fog was descending fast.

The climb down is more treacherous. In the best interest of safety I put 1st gear and descended in that gear only in 4*4 lock mode. A few instances I could find my rear tyre off the ground. Descend was done in 1.5 hours.

I may not take my car again on these roads but needless to say this is the best off-roading track for an amateur. A bit of courage and luck will favor the climb. I am sure, lot of tourists and jeep drivers will be discussing about us. While the Jeep Drivers might fear, they will lose out on customers if tourist’s starts bringing their own vehicles, the tourists would definitely tell many more people about this.

Happy Motoring.

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[ACM]

Originally Posted by AWD

P.S: Btw I read XL size, whats you ht, 6.1+ ?

6'

When fitting a cycle do remember to turn the front tyre sideways in the front. It won't fit in almost any vehicle if kept straight.

[AWD]

Originally Posted by ACM

6'

When fitting a cycle do remember to turn the front tyre sideways in the front. It won't fit in almost any vehicle if kept straight.

Oh in that case a size L would have been better suited. I say this because Ive had RR's in the past. Im 6.1 & L is recommended.

Oops, wont it fit straight say in a Scorp or a Storme? Will summon a Dusty tomorrow for a check.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by AWD

Oh in that case a size L would have been better suited. I say this because Ive had RR's in the past. Im 6.1 & L is recommended.

Oops, wont it fit straight say in a Scorp or a Storme? Will summon a Dusty tomorrow for a check.

Didn't really fit straight even in the aria also due to the height of the bike.

Yep for 6' L is the right size normally but since I am heavy and the frame is also thicker in the RR 5.3XL vs L selected it for the strength and then used angled stem to get the handle back a bit. In hindsight possibly L would have been better overall as every thing is over designed. Unlike TREK which rates for 135kgs Btwin shops only assure till 100 formally.

anyway too much out of topic.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by xjosephjacob

I'm not sure how famous is the place Kolukkumalai here in team-bhp. At around 7500 ft above sea level, the authorities say it's home to the highest organic tea plantation in the world.

Wow! I have been to Kolukkumalai with friends a few months back in a Jeep. The terrain is very treacherous to say the least. The climbs are not too steep but the road is in very bad shape. Its boulder to boulder and fully dusty. Quite a vehicle breaker. By the time, we got on top, we were very tired and was wondering why did we even attempted the terrain. I am astounded that someone took a Duster AWD there.

[divyankar]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Hijon Racing (HR). Think the new price is 5.5 or 6K each. I gave my OEM alloys and 1500 per alloy so felt it was a decent deal. I am not a big fan of the Duster OEM alloy design. This one has a slight neagive offset. The tyres stick out maybe just an inch or so.

Thanks for the quick reply.
Mine have steel wheels so looking for alloy options in pune.

[surajitatha]

As some people have already answered - a MTB fits in a Duster AWD with 2nd row seats down. But it is still not super-easy to do it. One question - why would't you just spend around 6 - 8k on a decent bicycle rack? I got one immediately after buying by cycle, and it has served me well. Very easy to assemble / dismantle, and can carry up to 3 cycles (though I have tried with maximum 2 at a time). Also, you can still seat 5 if you want to. Additional advantage: coolness factor !!

Safe driving & riding !

[Zappo]

I have a question for those who have a Duster 4wd. The Owner's Manual says that if you acquire a 4WD Lock by turning the dial then beyond 36mph or 60kmph speed the lock is released and the display on the MID goes off. Has anyone tested this for themselves? In other words have you ever tried to turn the dial to 4WD and then tried to run beyond 60kmph and have seen the 4WD lock display notification on the MID go away?

[soumobakshi]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Hijon Racing (HR). Think the new price is 5.5 or 6K each. I gave my OEM alloys and 1500 per alloy so felt it was a decent deal. I am not a big fan of the Duster OEM alloy design. This one has a slight neagive offset. The tyres stick out maybe just an inch or so.

Can you please PM me the Model details and Cost ? I am sure it will look good on my Black Duster.

Also does it increase mud splattering on the "known areas" by virtue f it sticking out a bit

[v6kgang]

Originally Posted by Zappo

I have a question for those who have a Duster 4wd. The Owner's Manual says that if you acquire a 4WD Lock by turning the dial then beyond 36mph or 60kmph speed the lock is released and the display on the MID goes off. Has anyone tested this for themselves? In other words have you ever tried to turn the dial to 4WD and then tried to run beyond 60kmph and have seen the 4WD lock display notification on the MID go away?

I have tried changing from Auto to 4WD LOCK at approx 60 KMPH and it worked. The readings as per the manual are in 36MPH, roughly 58 KMPH, so just about the lower limit i guess. I did that only for testing purposes though, No real necessities per se.

[PapaBravo]

I have a question. May be a silly one. It is pertaining to the picture attached below which was posted on the second page.

Can someone tell me why it cannot be towed with four wheels on the ground ? Also, if it cannot be towed with four wheels on the ground, will coasting around in neutral for sometime before you stop also damage the car in the normal daily driving situations as it is essentially the same thing ?



Regards,

Pawan