[Kailas]

Just got home the 1.3 RXZ MT. Even on the short drive home from the showroom, it's made a good first impression, despite the mandatory stalling a couple of times at crawling speeds. Will share more as I put some miles on it.

[Kailas]

Did a short drive today for a trek near Ramanagara off Mysore Road. The under repair Blr-Mys highway led itself to be a testing and training ground for me with a new car. Let's say the test was only a formality. The undulations that are ubiquitous on under-construction highways, the unscientific serial humps - while the driver is made aware of the imperfections, there's much lesser discomfort you physically feel. It's almost as if the car is telling you, "hey, I absorbed so much of this bad road for you, perhaps you want to take it easy now".

About the sheer power, anything I say will only be a repetition. Keep it in the right gear and you are never wanting for power. Despite being new to the car, found the braking predictable, even with the (unwise in hindsight) spirited driving on the way back.

Even with just a 100 odd km trip, am getting the feeling that it'd be a crime to use this only / mostly in the city.

[aKrain]

Originally Posted by Kailas

Just got home the 1.3 RXZ MT. Even on the short drive home from the showroom, it's made a good first impression, despite the mandatory stalling a couple of times at crawling speeds. Will share more as I put some miles on it.

Welcome to the club. Wishing you many happy miles with the Turbo.

[Kailas]

Thanks, Akrain.

Bangalore / Bengaluru folks: any experience with JP Nagar / Mysore Road service centres? Is Trident ok with customer staying with the car?

Also, how flexible is Renault with respect to timing of the first service? No way I'll clock even half of the ballpark 2k kms in the next 1.5 months, with the COVID-19 restrictions.

[C300]

Originally Posted by Kailas

Thanks, Akrain.

Bangalore / Bengaluru folks: any experience with JP Nagar / Mysore Road service centres? Is Trident ok with customer staying with the car?

Also, how flexible is Renault with respect to timing of the first service? No way I'll clock even half of the ballpark 2k kms in the next 1.5 months, with the COVID-19 restrictions.

Many congratulations. Do share brief initial ownership review.
You can call the service centre to check the timing for first service. Given its all system driven, they may not have flexibility. It will also impact warranty.

[sbm]

Congratulations for the new car. It's really sheer pleasure to drive this powerhouse. Is Renault still producing the Duster? A few months back there was this news that current gen Duster would be out of production by October to pave the way for the new gen model. Any updates on this?

[Kailas]

Originally Posted by sbm

Congratulations for the new car. It's really sheer pleasure to drive this powerhouse. Is Renault still producing the Duster? A few months back there was this news that current gen Duster would be out of production by October to pave the way for the new gen model. Any updates on this?

Someone posted on the Duster FB group that new Dusters aren't available. Corroborates the news stories last year that production would cease in October. Am not sure how I should be feeling - happy that mine one of the last pieces, or regretting the decision to extend my budget to get a car that's not just subjectively dated, but objectively obsolete immediately after buying it.

[das_ren_auto]

Originally Posted by Kailas

Someone posted on the Duster FB group that new Dusters aren't available. Corroborates the news stories last year that production would cease in October. Am not sure how I should be feeling - happy that mine one of the last pieces, or regretting the decision to extend my budget to get a car that's not just subjectively dated, but objectively obsolete immediately after buying it.

In that case what strategy Renault is following? If they have any intention to launch the facelifted Second Gen in India even in the distant future they should have made it public so that at least genuine admirers of Duster would have some thing to look forward. Seems like Nissan and Renault are so much obsessed with their sub 4 meter cars and are just intending to survive in the market rather than giving a fight to Korean duos.

[sbm]

Originally Posted by das_ren_auto

In that case what strategy Renault is following? If they have any intention to launch the facelifted Second Gen in India even in the distant future they should have made it public so that at least genuine admirers of Duster would have some thing to look forward. Seems like Nissan and Renault are so much obsessed with their sub 4 meter cars and are just intending to survive in the market rather than giving a fight to Korean duos.

Exactly! If they have the next gen Duster in pipeline, there should be spy shots or some alteast some news about it. We have been hearing about the Blackbird, Next gen SCross, Maruti Toyota CSUV for over an year now and many have put their buying decision on hold for these cars. At this point of time we can safely assume that the Duster is gone.

[du5t3r_tur30]

Previous Steed

We bought a MS Ciaz in 2016 since our primary requirements at that time were mainly - space, VFM factor and boot space. Ciaz ZXI Petrol Manual fit the bill perfectly.



Our beloved Ciaz had done round trips to Trichy and weekly trips to the mall, all while offering a respectable mileage. Although, the same cannot be said about our new steed. The acceleration was always delivered in a smooth manner, overtaking was effortless and the stable mannerisms tackled trips to Kanyakumari, the hairpin bends of Ooty and the beautiful winding rural roads of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.





Requirements for the New Car

- Spacious and Airy Cabin
- Touchscreen (Android Auto + Bluetooth Connectivity)
- Must be SUV : after numerous belly scrapes and a couple of floods
an SUV was deemed as a necessity
- Petrol Automatic : for the obvious left knee reasons
- More powerful than the Ciaz

The Renault Duster had always been a desire to own in our family and we even test-drove the 2016 one for the fun of it. When the search for a new car began, all we had on our mind were C-SUVS (Nexon, Ecosport, Kiger etc.), but after a test drives of all of these, they didn't really seem as an upgrade to our ageing Ciaz.

In came the "mid-size" SUVs, the Korean twins were quickly ruled out because of the safety factor and the VAG twins were too small and too expensive for what they offered (IMO) this left us with the S-Cross, Nissan Kicks and of course the Renault Duster Turbo. Since we already owned a Maruti, the S-Cross didn't really appeal to us. The Nissan Kicks was ruled out due to the service network not being that wide-spread.

The Duster comes home

The Duster was booked and we received delivery in 3 weeks. We were probably the last ones in our city to bring home the Duster.



Likes :

- Acceleration: The acceleration is one of the BEST parts of this car. The 1.3l
Turbo has more than enough juice and is a sure-footed delight on open
roads.

- Driving Dynamics: The stability is amazing for such a high riding SUV and
the steering and brakes are way more responsive than in the Ciaz.

- Airiness: The huge glass area and the good view outside give the cabin a
very airy feel

- Boot Space

Dislikes :

- Rear Bottle Holders: I find it really awkward that there are no spaces to
store bottles or any knick-knacks but the enormous parcel tray kind of
makes up for it.

- Passenger Armrest: the co-pilot having gotten used to the armrest in our
Ciaz found it to be a major flaw. Have been looking for after-market
solutions but still haven't found any reliable ones.

- Dated Interiors and Touch Screen placement: I find the touchscreen placed
a bit too low for my liking.

- Mileage: With the rising fuel prices, the MID showing a mileage of 8 - 9
km/l is not a good sign.

Anyways, let the pictures do the talking from now on...

Monsoon drives -







Random clicks -











At Gingee Fort -



Rural roads on the outskirts of Trichy -





Will update this thread with more pics and updates on our turbo dusty

Odo is at ~3700+ and counting...

[mav3r1ckblu3]

Fellow BHP'ians,

I have driven my Turbo Duster for almost 7400 Kms and so far it has been a trouble free drive (touche') across ghats, highways, cities and villages. I'm getting a mileage of 12 Kmpl in City and 15 Kmpl on Highways on an average, so far.

As you know, I did some DIY mods on my Turbo Duster which you can read here..

Originally Posted by mav3r1ckblu3

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-e...ml#post5146025 (ICE upgrade : Renault Duster & Nissan Terrano)

And here..

Originally Posted by mav3r1ckblu3

Some of the additions/modifications I made on my Duster 1.3L Turbo (pics)

These were done keeping in view the Motor Vehicle rules and regulations, and also keeping in view the warranty (hopefully), since no wire cutting was done.

1. Changed the OEM speakers to JBL GTO 529 on the front doors.
2. Changed the halogen lights to OSRAM 25W H7 LED's on the low beam projectors.
3. Changed the halogen lights to LED's in the cabin, boot, glove box and the rear licence plate as per their socket specification mentioned in the manual.

A month ago, I turned my attention to the interiors, specifically the seats, and decided they looked out of place with respect to the colour scheme and general sitting comfort on long drives, hence I decided to do something about it. Presenting the before and after:

PIC 1 and 2. OEM Seat covers, bland and not that comfortable for long drives

PIC 3 and 4. Coffee brown coloured seat covers on modded seat foams with thigh support (front seats) and side bolstered cushioning for wider back support, along with front passenger foldable arm rest just like the driver's. Rear seats have added cushioning for more comfort.

The difference is noticeable, and now it's a snug fit for me, and I don't slide on the seats that much during turns on sharp corners on ghat roads or otherwise.

Professional work costing 17K INR (14K seat mod and cover + 3K front passenger arm rest). So far I'm pretty happy for each rupee I spent on the seat mod. The added bonus is better half not complaining anymore about not having an arm rest on her seat

Next on the radar, downsizing from 17 inch OEM alloys to 16 inch OEM steelies (got all 4 of them in almost mint condition @6K INR from another Duster owner who upsized to alloys) and changing from 17 inch 215/60 section Continental Cross Contact LX2's tyres (still brand new after almost 6.5 K Kms, I love them, there's a thread here in wheels and alloys section about Dusters and Terranos in case you're interested to read about them) to 16 inch 215/65 section Ultramile 4X4 A/T Bull tyres for that "magic carpet" ride quality feel. Will update here once the changes are done..

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by mav3r1ckblu3

Next on the radar, downsizing from 17 inch OEM alloys to 16 inch OEM steelies …Will update here once the changes are done..

Is the ride quality that bad on stock 17 inches? Shouldn’t you just move to some comfort oriented tyres instead of an outright rim downsize.
I am just curious!

[mav3r1ckblu3]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Is the ride quality that bad on stock 17 inches? Shouldn’t you just move to some comfort oriented tyres instead of an outright rim downsize.
I am just curious!

It's a personal preference to be honest, the ride quality hasn't deteriorated that much, I'd say maybe just 10% if I can put it in numbers. I prefer SUV's with smaller wheels and taller side profile rubbers. I was actually going for 215/75 R15 but then had to restrain myself to the previous Duster iteration's OEM spec.

Also, the spare tyre comes in the same spec 215/65 R16. And looks are subjective, but I prefer the OEM Matt Black Steel Rims with Outlined White Letters A/T tread tyres (got them at a great price) on a Butch looking SUV rather than shiny alloys with H/T tread tyres. The tradeoff is I'm gonna loose 1.95 mm of ground clearance, and a 0.6% error in odo and speedo reading, i.e. when going at 100 Kmph, speedo will show 99.4 Kmph, which is very minute and an acceptable difference

[du5t3r_tur30]

Ownership Photolog of our Duster -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTrOWh3qeo&t=7s

An edit of Duster splashing in a puddle after the rains -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRIWAvptxnY

[mav3r1ckblu3]

Originally Posted by mav3r1ckblu3

Next on the radar, downsizing from 17 inch OEM alloys to 16 inch OEM steelies (got all 4 of them in almost mint condition @6K INR from another Duster owner who upsized to alloys) and changing from 17 inch 215/60 section Continental Cross Contact LX2's tyres (still brand new after almost 6.5 K Kms, I love them, there's a thread here in wheels and alloys section about Dusters and Terranos in case you're interested to read about them) to 16 inch 215/65 section Ultramile 4X4 A/T Bull tyres for that "magic carpet" ride quality feel. Will update here once the changes are done..

Got the downsizing done and over with. And I'm pretty satisfied with the overall result. There's a slight increase in Road noise considering these are all terrain treads, but not to the point where it becomes irritating. Ride quality has improved, don't know whether it's a placebo effect or whether the reduction of approx 2 mm of ground clearance has indeed improved the driving, handling and riding characteristics (lower centre of gravity than before, you get the drift..)

You know you have done a good job with your vehicle, when it gets those second and third glances from college going kids

What do you think, fellow BHP'ians?