Re: Renault Duster AWD : Official Review Hi
After the compelling TBHP test drive & a couple of suggestions to try out the Duster, I thought I must keep the Sedan obsession at bay for a while.
I tried the Duster AWD (top version) a while ago. The response from the Renault team was super quick & they got the car in no time. I drove it through:-
- Rough roads.
- Winding roads.
- Blinder corners &
- Straight roads.
My feedback is:-
- Steering moves with road conditions. The reps expressed shock & claimed this was the first time someone reported such action on the steering wheel.
- Steering response is a wee bit inconsistent (slow at times)
- The car doesn't care about road conditions, but there's a bit of a bounce. Dampening is a big slow.
- Cornering is not all that sedan like. Though car is stable on the road, body roll is evident, though not alarming. Tyres didn't squeal on pushed at the corners.
- Engine noise evident at any rpm & speed. Not too obtrusive though.
Have others too experienced something similar?
On the positive side:-
- No turbo lag. The very slight sluggishness is quite acceptable for a mini SUV
- Eats up roads. No thumping & rocking on the underbody (deliberately passed over a nasty pothole)
- The back seat hump is almost no hindrance. (Rapid & Yeti have a useless middle seat)
- Absolutely no drama on braking hard/panic braking.
My observations on cornering & steering response is based on my experiences with the Rapid & Yeti, which I drive often. Just did a Mumbai - Ankleshwar round trip on Thursday (drove for a good while & was on the front & back seats).
The obvious & evident differences (Yeti vs Rapid)
The steering wheel of the Yeti is firm at any speed & doesn't twitch or move on uneven surfaces. Inspires supreme confidence.
Body roll on the Yeti definitely is well controlled.
The torque boost is beastly in the Yeti. This helps during tight spaced overtakings (especially between undisciplined trucks) Torque flow is well controlled in the Duster.
Cornering is very evidently easier on the Yeti. Though not bad, the Duster is miles behind Yeti.
On back seat leg space the Yeti wins hands down. Being based on a larger platform sure helps. But Duster isn't bad at all. For average Indian heights, I doubt if someone would complain. Shoulder space too seemed adequate. Also, the useful middle seat helps. The Yeti's middle seat is good for the handrest. The huge hump take away its utility.
The Yeti, with all its refinement, has no silent cabin. Though wind noise is cancelled, road noise is evident, especially at high speeds. And it indeed is annoying. Didn't drive the Duster so long to make comments. But if its on the same level, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.
The Dashboard & interior quality of the Yeti is far too ahead of the Duster in every way. Duster simply can't get there. And this is unjust for the price you pay. We drive the 2WD Yeti whose on-road pricing is only a little more than Duster. For that price Duster isn't giving the money's worth.
But here's the strange part. The ride quality (back seat) of the Yeti doesn't measure up to Duster. Its my personal feeling & I could be wrong. Except for the slightly bouncy dampening (which probably can be tuned to be stiffer), the Duster beats the Yeti here.
Rapid vs Duster
The segments are different, but since the Rapid was the car I almost finalised & since I drive it or travel on it frequently, I'd like to make a personal feedback.
- Driving dynamics of the Rapid beats Duster's & Yeti's by multi miles. The car sticks to the road adamantly, at any speed. Body roll is almost non existent. Ofcourse, here we are talking about a sedan with much lesser G.C. Its the perfect runaway car.
- Again, Duster's ride quality has no match in the Rapid's. While the Rapid indeed soaks up bad roads, you still have to slow down. The Duster doesn't care a damn.
- Again, mid seat is useless in the Rapid.
- The steering, though lighter than the Yeti's, is evidently firmer than Duster's. Response at any speed is super quick.
So well, it seems like my choice of a new car has a new contender - The Duster.
Tomorrow I shall be testing the 2WD Duster (Torsion bar). Shall take a decision after that & trying the Mobilio as well. |