[pugram]

@ Neil Roy: Congrats on the Duster. A nice review with lots of information and good photos. I see the Duster population increasing in Chennai. Looks like the RTO problem has been solved. Most of the Duster's I saw were grey coloured ones. Though they don't standout like the XUV's, they definitely have road presence.

Wishing you many happy miles ahead.

I too have a Logan DLE which has crossed 106000kms till date and still feels as good as new. Being a similar engine, I am sure and hope your Duster will give you trouble free ownership experience.

[Neil Roy]

Originally Posted by arup.misra

Wondering did you actually go through a short listing process or was it Duster all the way.

I TDed the Safari, Aria,Scorpio, Yeti and even the Force One. Each has it's own set of advantages and disadvantages. The closest to fulfil my requirements was the Yeti, but it
1)was exceeding my budget
2)Had lower ground clearance and
3)is a Skoda.
The other SUVs were primarily not considered because of their size and lower driveability in city traffic.Unless it is chauffeur driven, I dont think I'll have the energy to commute 80Kms a day in bumper to bumper traffic.

Originally Posted by vkaul1

One question. Are the rear arches much bigger than front ones? If they are similarly flared - might not reduce the pain of driving in narrow spaces but gives you a slightly easier judgement reference.

They are similarly flared, but you can physically see how close you are driving because of the OVRMs and that is very distracting. Judgement reference on a straight line is fine.It is the turnings and parking in confined spaces which one needs to look out for, as the gap to cycles or bikes parked near turnings gets rapidly closed out because of the short turning radius of the Duster. The main reason is because of the Driver position with respect to the wheel arch position. Unlike a sedan or other vehicles, the driver and the steering assembly is a good 12 inches inside the outer most part of the fender. Even if you look at the Duster, you can see that the wheel arches protrude outside and the driver seat and the shell itself is way inside the arches.

@ pugram, 2007 was the year to get the Logan.Minus the small mirrors, everything about the Logan then was perfect. 75% of my decision to go for Duster was based on the performance of Logan

[suchit23]

Neil - Congratulations on the Duster. Your model and color is exactly what I am getting and I have been reading your thread right from the beginning.

Thanks for confirming the highway experiences which was one of my key requirements and something which I could never test in Bangalore roads during test drives.

And sorry to hear about your tyre, hope that was a one-off case.

[thalavoy]

Neil. The front tyres seem to throw more dirt on to the rear doors and rear wheel arches. Is it because the tyres are wider? I have the mud flaps. May be they are spreading the splashes?

[Neil Roy]

Originally Posted by suchit23

Neil - Congratulations on the Duster. Your model and color is exactly what I am getting and I have been reading your thread right from the beginning.
And sorry to hear about your tyre, hope that was a one-off case.

What can I say? Welcome to the party. As of now, It seems to be the best investment that you can make.Even after the euphoria dies down and the Duster might start looking plain jane, its no nonsense performance will come to the fore. More like wine, the older it gets, the better it becomes.
My only concern is the quality control of Vendor suppliers. Take my tyre damage for instance. Without even asking me how, when or why MRF decides that it is stone damage and Renault does not even call back to ask what happened.Personally, if it is stone damage, I will be the happiest person. As of now. I am scared to push the vehicle beyond 120 KMPH, because Iam scared the front tyre might give way too
Why they dont try to explain to the customer how they came to the conclusion of stone damage is beyond me. Insurance also denying claim of tyre replacement makes me wonder if MRF is indeed the right choice for Duster. Will have to wait and see what brand they use for export market.If necessary, I may have to change the MRF wanderers. After all, my life is worth more to me at least, if not to Renault or MRF

Originally Posted by thalavoy

Neil. The front tyres seem to throw more dirt on to the rear doors and rear wheel arches. Is it because the tyres are wider? I have the mud flaps. May be they are spreading the splashes?

Can you check if you have dirt or mud splashes on your OVRM and revert? I may have a theory on why this happens once you confirm.

[urajkumar]

@ Neil: Congrats on the Duster!

Guess what i am just back from booking a Duster (in Khivraj Chennai again) & waiting to join the club. I booked the Petrol ( I know, I know but alas i am a petrol head & after a lot of dilly dallying without taking a test drive of the Petrol version booked it today & they have told me an expected time of Nov end thought i think its more likely Dec or Jan)

So i have 2 questions.

1) My wife felt the interiors were cramped (rear seat) and it must be difficult in long journeys. Did you family feel the same? She also observed the boot is a waste for us and may be it makes sense to push back the seats somewhere back.

2) You seem to have tyre issues already & i also wanted to get some alloys. Does it make sense to upsize and get new tires with the alloys? Is there an option to upsize in Renault Duster?

Looking at your thread, i am hoping your early days experience helps today

[suchit23]

Originally Posted by urajkumar

1) My wife felt the interiors were cramped (rear seat) and it must be difficult in long journeys. Did you family feel the same? She also observed the boot is a waste for us and may be it makes sense to push back the seats somewhere back.

2) You seem to have tyre issues already & i also wanted to get some alloys. Does it make sense to upsize and get new tires with the alloys? Is there an option to upsize in Renault Duster?

Looking at your thread, i am hoping your early days experience helps today

1) The back seat is not at all cramped unless everyone in the family is close to 6 feet. I am 5,10 and for my driving position my wifey gets a playground at the back.

2) Officially there is no second tyre spec or manufacturer you get from Renault for the Duster. Its the one size 215/65R16 and brand MRF Wanderer. Renault cars have the allowed tyre options in a sticker in the driver door, open it to see it on the side (the area where hinges are there). Also Duster's ride quality is so good that I dropped the idea of making any changes to the tyre not knowing what impact it may have even though I was almost sure I will upsize to 235/60R16. Comments from Veterans like GTO also supported the idea of not making any changes. Also check this thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...e-upgrade.html

[suchit23]

Neil - I have to ask you a question. Is your bluetooth media (calls + music) working fine? For me callers hear their voice echoing and during video playing in my phone I can see a 1 sec lag of the audio which explains why callers are hearing their voice back.

I have reported the problem to the dealer yesterday, but wanted to check if its a known issue or something new for my vehicle only.

[thalavoy]

Some of my callers also complained about the echo.
I am also seeing the battery available information being read wrongly. It complains battery low even when there is more than 30% charge is there.

[Neil Roy]

hey guys,
Hopefully, I will be posting photos of new interiors and exteriors tomorrow.
OT-Sorry for not replying earlier. Even though I do not know Sam, his death yesterday affected me deeply and I could not bring myself to post anything other than my tyre burst incident, which seemed vaguely appropriate.Pelase find my reply in bold.

Originally Posted by urajkumar

@ Neil: Congrats on the Duster!

Guess what i am just back from booking a Duster (in Khivraj Chennai again) & waiting to join the club. I booked the Petrol ( I know, I know but alas i am a petrol head & after a lot of dilly dallying without taking a test drive of the Petrol version booked it today & they have told me an expected time of Nov end thought i think its more likely Dec or Jan) -

Buying Beat petrol made a lot of sense to me at that time.Now my needs have changed. I too booked 85 RXL(O) without TD.It was sheer delay in getting that variant that made me choose the 110 RXL. So on both counts we are on the same boat.

So i have 2 questions.

1) My wife felt the interiors were cramped (rear seat) and it must be difficult in long journeys. Did you family feel the same? She also observed the boot is a waste for us and may be it makes sense to push back the seats somewhere back. -
Long trip with 5 full blooded youths( make that 4 youths and a middle aged Fat guy trying to reclaim his life) upto kanyakumari, a ride of 9 hrs approx, was a breeze. Of course, rear is not as spacious as a Logan, but definitely larger than most c-segment sedans. Anyways, rear seats are fixed. Unless you do drastic modifications which may or may not work, the seats cannot be pushed back any further.

2) You seem to have tyre issues already & i also wanted to get some alloys. Does it make sense to upsize and get new tires with the alloys? Is there an option to upsize in Renault Duster?

MRF Does a pretty good job in providing huge grip and vastly improved handling to regular MRF tyres. My issue was that the tyre burst on its own, and the company is claiming that it is stone damaged, without even asking me any details. Since I've just now survived a huge accident, this attitude of MRF is making me paranoid, as this is the first time that MRF is manufacturing this size and that too for Duster only. As they are not forthcoming in their testing procedures, Iam very forthcoming in airing my views on the forum so that they will at least know that team-bhp is watching them

Originally Posted by suchit23

Neil - I have to ask you a question. Is your bluetooth media (calls + music) working fine? For me callers hear their voice echoing and during video playing in my phone I can see a 1 sec lag of the audio which explains why callers are hearing their voice back.

I have reported the problem to the dealer yesterday, but wanted to check if its a known issue or something new for my vehicle only.
Dude, you are giving me more answers than asking me questions. Really appreciate the amount of in depth functional understanding that you have in trouble shooting. I too have complaints about echo, but never applied my mind to understanding the audio lag. Please post your ownership report soon. I, for one, will surely learn more from you. Seriously.

[suchit23]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

hey guys,
Hopefully, I will be posting photos of new interiors and exteriors tomorrow.
OT-Sorry for not replying earlier. Even though I do not know Sam, his death yesterday affected me deeply and I could not bring myself to post anything other than my tyre burst incident, which seemed vaguely appropriate.Pelase find my reply in bold.

Thank you! I am sure you meant you meant you realized the audio lag issue, in your post. I am aware of the indicator not being visible in daylight but dont think I cribbed about it in the forum just yet

Update: Just heard from Renault dealer that they have already asked for a replacement HU for me. Once that is in tomorrow evening, I can go in day after, they will check the mic and some other components and if they cannot fix it they will replace the HU. I think that is splendid service, if everything goes as per plan!

So I guess, you should be calling your dealer in Chennai anytime after seeing this post

[Neil Roy]

Finished around 6000 Kms with no big issues.
Good enough miles in 45 days, I think


So I thought I'll finish phase I of work in progress of exteriors. Here are the pictures.
Paint job was done by KHIVRAJ PEARL.
Parts painted
1)Front Bumper
2)Rear Bumper
3)All mud flaps
4) Side Foot step-complete





Then the Devil or the Idiot in me came out making a mess of the interiors. Too garish for my liking, but the deed is done. Have to live with it because it is leather


Wife is making fun of me, insisting that the color combination resembles the vatican attire. The only saving grace is that comfort has gone up tremendously.

That's about it for now. Down with back pain and some personal obligations for the next month. After that, hmmmm... there must be a trip somewhere.

[sathyaprakash]

Hi, nice to see your photos.

Where did you do your leather seats and how much did it cost?

My callers are getting a echo noise while calling through the BT how is yours?

Further while playing the HU with memory stick it starts from the first every time i restart the engine is it so? I never had an issue with ANHC.

[P76]

Nice Pictures Neil, think its Defence Colony? Those Leather seats would definetly make your Duster stand out from others !. Where did you get the leather upholstery done, and the cost?

[raul]

Neil - thanks for all the wonderful feedback and regularly updating this thread. 170kph! Was it stable, did you feel you could push further, and was the wind noise overwhelming? Please tell us more.