[kptraveller]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

Apart from the ride quality, the Renault Duster has nothing going for it. It isn't spacious, engines are pretty old and it's expensive. The interiors feel cheap. The Creta in comparison feels much better.

I suggest you have a look at the Scross 1.6 again. That is one heck of a car. If not the 1.6, the 1.3 isn't very bad. The Zeta/Alpha 1.3 definitely feel price worthy.

Off beat suggestion- if you need a car for just 2 people, You should seriously consider the Ford Figo Diesel.

I second Asit here. Test drove duster 110ps and Figo diesel back to back and booked Figo diesel. This car blows you away for the sheer torque on offer. It also has the decent rear seat space as duster isn't impressive either in this aspect. If you don't need the enormous boot space provided by the duster always, Figo makes more sense.

[TaureanBull]

If you think that a you would clarity from this discussion then I sympathize you. This discussion will further confuse you. I bought Duster 85PS RxL in December at a price at which no other value for money deal existed. Duster ticks all boxes as per your requirement. As per me the vehicle looks awesome and fulfills all my needs of interiors with after market addition of a touch screen.
Note : I have shifted from XUV 5OO W8. So don't go by suggestions given here blindly. Just make up your mind and go ahead. I can assure there will be no duster owner who would say against it. By nature we profess others to buy what we have decided for ourselves. Like me.

[The Brutailer]

Do you want a solid, no-nonsense reliable car or do you want a car which has better interiors?

If you prefer the first option, get the Duster 85 PS. I say 85 because clearly you say that you don't drive enthusiastically.

Now, Duster is a car which has everything you NEED and nothing you DON'T. Also, Renault has recently updated it so now you can't even complain about features.

For your needs, it is 'the' perfect car. Of course, if you want better features, build and a modern style do head for that Hyundai showroom.

Duster is a classic car, and will always be be classy.

[autorahul]

My suggestion is that if you want a car in this segment, and can afford to wait, then wait. By Diwali, we will have S-Cross facelift (which looks wonderful IMO), Kaptur, Tata Nexon and who knows what more.

All of them are wonderful looking cars. Duster is not going to age well with the likes of these roaming around, and in 2-3 years, you may again get an itch to upgrade.

Discounts on Duster are not going to erode, since its the oldest car here. So, just wait a little while a tide of new launches sweep the segment.

[Dry Ice]

Well, folks are buying a Gypsy in 2017 . Get the drift?

If it serves your needs and you feel comfortable with it, what's the problem? Renault are not Peugeot for sure, that they will just disappear one fine morning.

As for the new products coming in, well, sure, you would get a better product if you wait, just a few months more. Question is how long are you willing to wait?

[yajaman99]

My Take would be Bias, Go for the Creta AT. Great in the City and great for those weekend getaways. It's price is on the higher side as Hyundai is just minting money by over charging for it. But like everyone says it is up to you. TD the vehicle and which you find the best go for it.

[landcruiser123]

The Duster is a solid vehicle. Robust mechanicals, great ride/handling and good overall reliability. If AWD matters to you to the most, go get the Duster.

If I was looking for a car in the segment, I would recommend the S-Cross, even it it's a 1.3. The Creta is a little expensive, but worth the stretch.

Buying a BR-V in the segment is worth if you're okay with the running costs.

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Renault are not Peugeot for sure, that they will just disappear one fine morning.

Both of them cannot be compared. I expect Renault to stay in the market. They are finally growing with the Kwid and seem to have some more models ready.

[deetjohn]

I think the main issues with the Duster are as follows:
1) Weak AC
2) Mediocre interiors - the plastics and rubber doesn't age well.
3) Looks a bit old inside out

It does everything else really well.

My BIL owns an AWD and I really like it. Rides well, got a good steering, handles well and with acceptable space on the inside. And the 110 PS is a really good drive-train. The immense torque makes it very easy to move around in the city, almost like an automatic. And with the AWD, they have made the clutch really light, its in fact lighter than the unit in our Fiesta. So, if you can make peace Duster' not so strong traits, there is no harm in buying one now.

And Renault service is not so bad. They changed the HU on the AWD under warranty when it stopped working without many questions. It was later we realized that my nephew had slipped in a few coins through the CD slot and shorted the unit. LOL

And waiting for options is just futile. The cars and the choices are only going to get better in the future. You have used your i10 really well, now its time to treat yourself with something better.

Good luck!

[avisidhu]

Why is everyone cribbing on the interiors? I spotted the latest model in our office parking recently. From what I could make out, the interiors seem to be much improved and are no longer a deal breaker. The game may have moved ahead specially thanks to the Creta, but the facelift version has made the interiors quite palatable IMO.

And as far as looks go, the Orang(ish) colored one with those wicked black alloys is absolutely drool worthy!

As for dated body, well what to say. Some of us wouldn't think twice about picking up the Polo/Vento even today, and I'd say the same yardstick applies here. To each his own, but I'd say the Duster has aged really well design wise.

[Nonstop-driver]

Thank you for the responses BHPians.

As someone mentioned, I'm not looking for a sure shot answer from this thread. I've done my homework and know strengths and weaknesses of the shortlisted vehicles. We have 2 Hyundais and 1 Honda in the family garage and buying an old Renault makes us apprehensive since it doesn't come with the same level of quality (atleast inside the vehicle) and aging.

From the responses so far, I've decided to:
1. TD Ford Figo, Ecosport and S-cross 1.3 & 1.6. Although the Fords are strictly 4 seater and S-Cross 1.6 is wayyyy out of my budget, I'll be judging them based on ride comfort they can offer and then see what are we losing.

2. TD the Creta AT and Duster AMT again, but this time on our most used route (Home - office - intracity - home) to see if the extra $$$ on Creta make sense. Creta AT's pricing opens a new can of worms, though.

3. Hold the booking till Feb-mid to get more concrete information on new launches and their specifications. Primarily the Kaptur, Nexon and Ecosport '17. Somebody recommended the SCross facelift but I believe that will be priced above the current SCross. The problem with that is, anything over 15 lacs OTR (for eg, current Creta) opens up an entirely new segment and then you are asking yourself, why not a XUV/ Hexa/ Altis/ Jetta?

[itwasntme]

Pick one up and spend 50k on some classy Karlsson or Stanley artificial leather upholstery.

Voila, 80% of the mediocre interior feel is solved!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

loved the black Creta in the showroom but maintaining a black SUV in the real world is a pain; Creta in any other colour is nono. Duster it is then.

You must be kidding. Are you rejecting a car just because your wife likes it in black & you think it'll be tough to maintain? This isn't the way to approve or reject cars. FYI, I have owned 5 black cars and don't think they are a pain to maintain at all. Just get her detailed every 6 months (which I anyway recommend for all colours).

yet it has the goodness of manual autobox for the occasional adrenaline rush.

AMT doesn't give you any adrenaline rush.

Where it stops making sense to me is Duster is an ageing vehicle today.

I can recommend a Duster today only in the AWD variant. If someone needs one for rough / inexistent terrain, it is AWESOME. Nothing comes close to a Duster AWD as an overall package (ride comfort on bad roads, AWD capability for a soft-roader etc.).

However, if you don't need the AWD, I can't recommend a Duster to you. It felt old at the time of launch and feels awfully outdated today. Can't even imagine how antique she will feel 5 years from now.

Will parts and spares be a pain?

Any car that has been successful will have long parts support. Don't worry about it. Businesses make money out of selling parts & a strong seller will always enjoy part supply. There are loads of Dusters on the road.

Also, is there any other car that we should checkout?

What you need is an automatic. Look not only at other crossovers, but also sedans. Lots of better options available.

Originally Posted by The Brutailer

no-nonsense reliable car

Using the term 'no-nonsense' for a car today is inappropriate. Yes, in the 90s, we called a lot of cars 'no-nonsense' because others were full of nonsense. But today, 99% of the cars on the road will give you a no-nonsense driving & ownership experience.

[VellVector]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

loved the black Creta in the showroom but maintaining a black SUV in the real world is a pain; Creta in any other colour is nono. Duster it is then.

My perspective:
Liked Creta's interiors, refinement; Hyundai reliability

Considering you like the car and are in two minds about everything else - just rejecting it because you want it in black seems lame. Like GTO said, maintaining a black car isn't that difficult either. My XUV was a black color and I had no issues maintaining it even without any special care.

Also looking at your OP, you haven't stated a need or desire for an SUV in particular but you seem to be limiting your options only to these. Why not also look at a Sedan or even a larger SUV like the XUV (Your budget seems to extend to these cars as well if you consider the cost of the Creta AT).

[Nonstop-driver]

Originally Posted by GTO

You must be kidding. Are you rejecting a car just because your wife likes it in black & you think it'll be tough to maintain?

AMT doesn't give you any adrenaline rush.

I think I failed to share my perspective clearly here. Creta wasn't even in my list but we casually walked into Hyundai showroom and loved the display vehicle (top end black) and took a TD and all. That's what the heart wanted and nothing else looked equal.

But as it stands, other than petrol AT and some diesel variants, most trims are out of my budget. The ones in my budget compromise on features.

There is nothing to not like in Creta but trims that I can buy don't feel VFM and that's why I've rejected it.

By adrenaline rush, I meant using the AMT in manual gear-shift mode.

Originally Posted by VellVector

Considering you like the car and are in two minds about everything else - just rejecting it because you want it in black seems lame.

Why not also look at a Sedan or even a larger SUV like the XUV (Your budget seems to extend to these cars as well if you consider the cost of the Creta AT).

Yes, I think I couldn't corelate the initial impression of Creta and it being out of my budget properly. As I said in my previous post, the trim with bells & whistles crosses 15 lakh OTR and opens up a whole new segment (besides I'm not considering to spend that much anyway).

Yes, an SUV isn't an perquisite but XUV and likes will be too big and expensive (Creta diesel AT is a stretch I'm not happy to take).

Open to suggestions on other ATs around 14 lakh OTR already planning to TD the Figo, EcoSport and (on popular recommendation), the S-Cross 1.6.

[Axe77]

I would simply not touch the Duster unless it was AWD mode and I need the AWD mode. I drove the AWD recently on some trails and it was incredible. Other than that I see no USP of that car.

The Duster AMT is an absolute non starter to me. If you want an automatic for a very low budget then it makes sense (for lack of other options - for instance Celerio, Wagon R etc). But in today's world to buy an AMT in a 15 lakh product just doesn't make sense. It is extremely rudimentary and using +/- is not going to provide any meaningful adrenalin rush. I would not even do it with a brand new Ignis let alone a dated package like Duster.

I'd say seriously consider a high quality sedan A/T (Verna for instance if you can wait for the revised version). Alternately something like a Vento A/T or Creta petrol A/T.

If manual is fine for you, I'd say even the 1.6 S Cross is a much better bet.