[akshay81]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

• Airbags

(RX)L has 1 against 2 in (RX)Z.
Q - anyway I can reinforce passenger safety since it will miss the airbag?

Since its a question of Rs.50,000 only in the overall cost, you should rather pay the difference for that one extra airbag. Also EMI wise it won't pinch you much.

[saurabh sharma]

I have a Rxz AWD bought this July, the Duster as it has few convenience and features. 1.30lac more for some very useful features isn't much if you see the number of years you will keep the car. The second airbag is very important atleast to me. My advice, go for Rxz.

[RAHS]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

Was about to finalize 85 PS RXZ when the SA teased me with the idea of AMT. The 110PS RXL AMT is about 25,000 cheaper than 85PS RXZ. In turn, the 110PS RXZ AMT is about 1.3L more than RXL AMT. Now I'm hooked and have removed manual transmission as an option.

Does it make as much sense to anyone else here, especially existing Duster owners?

Well, I would pick RXZ anyday ( 85 PS / 110 PS / AMT / AWD ). RXL misses on lot of features as you pointed out & some of them you cannot get it fitted outside. Most importantly Passenger Airbag & ACC. Considering there are reports of Dual Airbags becoming mandatory from 2018, think about resale value of the vehicle So top end RXZ is a safe bet & IMHO, it's a wise decision. Good luck

[thisissoumya]

[quote=Nonstop-driver;4117361]Was about to finalize 85 PS RXZ when the SA teased me with the idea of AMT. The 110PS RXL AMT is about 25,000 cheaper than 85PS RXZ. In turn, the 110PS RXZ AMT is about 1.3L more than RXL AMT. Now I'm hooked and have removed manual transmission as an option.]

I had also almost booked he 85PS RXZ and switched to AMT. Therefore would like to highlight that the driving dynamics of the 110 PS Duster (AMT) is considerably different form its 85PS counterpart (especially within city). You have to deal with the extra turbo lag along with AMT gearbox. My advice is to go for an extensive test drive of the AMT, check it with various traffic conditions and surfaces before cutting a cheque.

[Total additional cost if I get the RXL
ICE with new speakers and park assist - ~40k
5 spoke alloys with default MRF wanderers - ~30k
Armrest, chrome and other misc - ~20k
Total damage - 90k (ACC will be sorely missed)


Does it make as much sense to anyone else here, especially existing Duster owners?]

At the cost of sounding repetitive let me list down the features you will miss in RXL even after spending 90K and get those additional after market fitting.

ACC
Cruise Control
Additional airbag
Leather wrapped steering
Height adjustable driver seat and seatbelt (Though the quality and way of adjustment is debatable)
Lumber support
Silver Skid plates (Looks sportier, again personal choice)

I would agree that one can live without many of the above (for example – silver skid plate is completely aesthetic in nature) while additional airbag is an important feature to miss. However if you combine them together and analyse, I believe additional 50K makes sense.
I was doing the same calculation as you while buying my Duster AMT in Oct. At the end RXZ made sense to me and went for the same.

All the best. Keep us posted about your buying decision

[rajamuneeb]

Dear Friends. My O'ranger badly need a upgrade from stock headlights. They are very weak and simply inadequate. Kindly advice which bulbs to go for. Regards.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by amtak

Why not the RXZ variant Himanshu?

I somehow thought both had two airbags. The rest of the farkles don't interest me. Though in my case with my son's car seat being permanently installed in the front seat means that I don't need front passenger airbags for another five years easily. Can they be deactivated in the RxZ?

Originally Posted by C300

I haven't seen any long term ownership threads on AMT here. Your best bet is the official review and a thorough TD.

Anything in specific you would recommend in a TD? I've already driven it about 20km in a variety of traffic. The only thing worrying is that if you floor the accelerator then the car will not readily brake if some moron tries to cross the road in front of you.

Plus no amt owners in the universe of bhpians is slightly worrisome too. Don't you think so?

Originally Posted by agt7

# However, I found some glaringly visible rust at the iron part (don't know the exact name of it) where rear wheels are joined on both sides and may be in its close vicinity too (it was difficult to peek any further than this in the underbody). Confirmed it by rubbing with hands, it was rust. Now that got me really concerned. Dealer said that it would be all cleared and done with underbody coating during Waxoyl treatment; nothing to worry.
But I am not convinced. What to do.

Thanks.

Can you post a picture?

Originally Posted by thisissoumya

[
lyse, I believe additional 50K makes sense.
I was doing the same calculation as you while buying my Duster AMT in Oct. At the end RXZ made sense to me and went for the same.

All the best. Keep us posted about your buying decision

Please post your ownership review Soumya da!

[Nonstop-driver]

Spoke to the SA again about the availability of colours in 2016 model and final pricing. Now I'm not sure what happened here; maybe I heard it wrong in the first conversation or he revised the prices seeing my interest, but the prices that he quoted over the phone were:
110PS RXL - 12.10
110PS RXZ - 13.75!

Nonetheless, planning to negotiate it down to 13.40 which was my initial impression.

Originally Posted by RAHS

Considering there are reports of Dual Airbags becoming mandatory from 2018, think about resale value of the vehicle

This is very valid point that I overlooked altogether. Thank you for raising this.

Originally Posted by thisissoumya

My advice is to go for an extensive test drive of the AMT, check it with various traffic conditions and surfaces before cutting a cheque.

I TD'd the 110PS model and drove a friend's 85PS to Jim Corbett last weekend. Coming from a petrol hatch, I found the gear shift learning curve steep but manageable for both the models.

Will TD the AMT this weekend. Any pointers to keep in mind?
Planning to take it in bumper traffic, stopping it on flyover inclines and declines and do some over-taking on auto gear shift function to get a feel of the console. Have taken the MT version on off-roads so I can skip the suspension test.

Originally Posted by thisissoumya

However if you combine them together and analyse, I believe additional 50K makes sense.
I was doing the same calculation as you while buying my Duster AMT in Oct. At the end RXZ made sense to me and went for the same.

Yes, Airbag and ACC are the features that I'll miss the most and there is no after-market solution for them. The rest have better options outside of Renault.

I'll meet the dealer this weekend and finalize. Will update the thread then

In the meantime, please do update your ownership experience.

[RAHS]

Originally Posted by rajamuneeb

Dear Friends. My O'ranger badly need a upgrade from stock headlights. They are very weak and simply inadequate. Kindly advice which bulbs to go for. Regards.

Go for OSRAM extreme night breaker unlimited (110%) OR Philips Extreme vision 130%.
OSRAM is installed by some of Duster owners & feedback is very positive. Good luck

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by rajamuneeb

Dear Friends. My O'ranger badly need a upgrade from stock headlights. They are very weak and simply inadequate. Kindly advice which bulbs to go for. Regards.

The Philips race vision and Osram Nightbreaker laser are the newest in the series. You can get them from Powerbulbs. These are improvement over already decent performing Xtremevision and Nightbraker. If you are ready to spend more, you can get Philips Ultinon which would cost about 12K for a pair. These are LED based headlamps and fits without any modification.

[a_bharadwaj]

Hi,
I'd initially booked RXZ AWD Amazon green. dealer offered 95k discount total.
The dealer, after 3 days called me to inform that the vehicle is ready. When I decoded the VIN, it was March 2016 made!! It was lying in dealers yard for ~ 6 months!! The dealer initially did not agree about date of manufacture & insisted that Form 22 is dated June 29 & that date should be considered. Plus he told me stories about how they store the vehicles in perfect condition, how they do PDI every 15 days, etc !!!

Also, they argued that since AWD models are premium/slow moving variants they're manufactured in batches & this present batch is the only one available. Even if he orders one more for me, he cannot guarantee a newer one. Finally I was about to cancel the booking itself. Then they offered a new Adventure AWD with discounts.

So I booked Adventure AWD - outback bronze.
Got a discount of 35k.
OTR M'lore (Karnataka) : 16.93k
Ex Showroom :13.94 - 35k (Discount) = 13.59L
Insurance (through dealer- with discount) = 33.9k
Road Tax : 2.63L

VIN says Mfr in Nov 2016.
Loan secured, Duster in transit from company, registration formalities in a weeks time.

[rajamuneeb]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

The Philips race vision and Osram Nightbreaker laser are the newest in the series. You can get them from Powerbulbs. These are improvement over already decent performing Xtremevision and Nightbraker. If you are ready to spend more, you can get Philips Ultinon which would cost about 12K for a pair. These are LED based headlamps and fits without any modification.

Thanks PrideRed. I had a look at osram lasers on powerbulb. The options available are h7 and h4. Also they come in twin avatars, single and twin. kindly guide me on which one's would be better as I am a complete layman in these things. regards.

[thisissoumya]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Please post your ownership review Soumya da!

Of course I will bro. To be honest I am still getting used to this new ride. For me the learning curve has been very steep and still going on. I am coming from a petrol hatch (Grand i10) hence this bigger size, turbolag, diesel engine, AMT gearbox all thrown at me in one go. However I am writing the ownership review and will post very soon once I feel the same is a little meaningful (No point in posting how brilliant the suspension is or how mediocre the interiors are )

[thisissoumya]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

Will TD the AMT this weekend. Any pointers to keep in mind?
Planning to take it in bumper traffic, stopping it on flyover inclines and declines and do some over-taking on auto gear shift function to get a feel of the console. Have taken the MT version on off-roads so I can skip the suspension test.

The road/traffic conditions you mentioned would be enough to get a feedback of the car. I just want to highlight one point I am suffering from.

Let's say you are going in 3rd gear in moderate traffic and have to slow down and downshift to 2nd because of a vehicle coming in front, the vehicle passes and you accelerate without expecting a further downshift as according to you the car should pull in 2nd and the power supply has not dropped to the extent that 1st gear is needed. At that very moment the car downshifts to 1st (remember your foot is already on the gas pedal as you din't expect further downshift). As a result the car roars and you don't get to move fast as per your expectation. If this happens when you are about to go incline, during the unwanted downshift, the car feels as if it rolls back a little (or may be I feel so) as the hill assist control takes a nano second to react when the vehicle is moving.

I hope I am able to convey my message properly. Please let me know if you don't really follow what I said .

[Nonstop-driver]

Originally Posted by thisissoumya

If this happens when you are about to go incline, during the unwanted downshift, the car feels as if it rolls back a little (or may be I feel so) as the hill assist control takes a nano second to react when the vehicle is moving.

I think I can visualize it correctly but I'm wondering if it happens too often? Another possible area of concern could be an unwanted gear shift during a quick overtaking maneuver. Does that happen too often with you?

[thisissoumya]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

I think I can visualize it correctly but I'm wondering if it happens too often?

I can't really say if that happens too often. Since I have that thing in my mind my brain is sort of ready for that unwanted shift so I wait a little before putting my foot down on gas pedal in those tricky situation. But yes, it can happen any time, in case you are not ready, the jerk, roar and sluggish move is annoying for sure.

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

Another possible area of concern could be an unwanted gear shift during a quick overtaking maneuver. Does that happen too often with you?

yes it does. However I mostly drive in manual mode hence the car remains under control as far as up shifts are concerned. Once I am done with that quick overtake, I shift. In auto mode, one has to plan an overtake carefully.

Overall I can say that if you can drive it sedately always within city, it wont give you a reason to complain.