[DeKay]

Congrats on the car. It looks absolutely fantastic. I too fell in love with the car the moment I drove it. The ride quality and suspension setup is just amazing.
Also, I love the fact that you can see the entire bonnet of the car from the front seats.

Plus, the Duster commands tremendous road presence as well.

Keep updating this thread and post more pictures soon!

[noopster]

Very nice from-the-heart review, Suresh. I am in a somewhat similar situation to yours: will probably get a diesel UV in the next year or so, graduating from a Vento AT. Doesn't look like the Duster, however, after reading this:

Originally Posted by idofsuresh

Coming from an automatic, driving the 110 PS Duster in the congested roads is a pain. Let's be realistic. The clutch is very hard compared to other cars. To add to the misery, Duster requires a firm downshift to first gear in many road bumps if you like to drive slow (read < 5 kmph). Even in a stop go traffic the car needs to be slotted into first gear *often*.

Unless the Duster launches in AT, this seems to be a deal breaker for me.

The points about the USB stick size, 1 litre bottle not fitting, glovebox light anomaly etc. reflect your attention to detail. Wishing you many happy miles in your new baby!

[Rigid Rotor]

Originally Posted by idofsuresh

...Did you hear the warning ?

No, as the vehicle is still in the run-in period, I was keeping the engine RPM in 6th gear at around 2300, which gave a speed of 110-115 km/h. Briefly touched 120 km/h in short stretches, but did not hold it long enough - probably the warning comes on when the speed is clearly exceeded - Neil Roy, with our lead mileage Duster in the Team BHP fleet should be knowing.

[venuraja]

I would not buy a vehicle ( and that too an SUV or compact SUV) which has to be driven in 1st gear. Even in my Indica I never use first gear while driving within city ; most minimum required is second gear. It never needs frist gear to move even after slowing down to as slow as 5kmph.
Duster or anthing else, you wont go straight to highways all days. 60% usage shall be in the city itself and 40% would be for long journeys at most. So one can not avoid city driving on day to day basis.
Coming down all the way to first gear with a clutch too hard is a painful excercise , particularly painful if you had shelled out nearly 13 lakh on road price.

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by venuraja

I would not buy a vehicle ( and that too an SUV or compact SUV) which has to be driven in 1st gear. Even in my Indica I never use first gear while driving within city ; most minimum required is second gear. It never needs frist gear to move even after slowing down to as slow as 5kmph.
Duster or anthing else, you wont go straight to highways all days. 60% usage shall be in the city itself and 40% would be for long journeys at most. So one can not avoid city driving on day to day basis.
Coming down all the way to first gear with a clutch too hard is a painful excercise , particularly painful if you had shelled out nearly 13 lakh on road price.

This will not be the case always. As the OP starts to get used to the vehicle he will start to discover where he needs 1st gear and where he doesn't. Moreover he is only talking about 1st gear when slowing down for speed breakers.

Let me give you an example from my personal experience. When I bought my Mondeo I would take all speed breakers in 1st gear because the car has low ground clearance and I was not sure where it would scrape on speed breakers and where it would not. But as time went on I started to know by sight which speed breaker needed 1st gear and which could be done in 2nd gear.

So in a similar manner the OP will also get used to vehicle, it's torque characteristics and it's ground clearance. Once this happens I am sure he will not be going into 1st gear at all speed breakers. It's a learning curve most of go through when we buy new vehicles.

[himadrimondal]

Originally Posted by venuraja

I would not buy a vehicle ( and that too an SUV or compact SUV) which has to be driven in 1st gear. Even in my Indica I never use first gear while driving within city ; most minimum required is second gear. It never needs frist gear to move even after slowing down to as slow as 5kmph.
Duster or anthing else, you wont go straight to highways all days. 60% usage shall be in the city itself and 40% would be for long journeys at most. So one can not avoid city driving on day to day basis.
Coming down all the way to first gear with a clutch too hard is a painful excercise , particularly painful if you had shelled out nearly 13 lakh on road price.

Well you can test drive the 85PS version, guess you never have to use the 1st gear.
The clutch is absolutely not 'too hard', compare it to any desi Tata product, Duster is still leagues apart.
Trust me (once owned a Sumo, Indica and Safari twice).

[idofsuresh]

Originally Posted by venuraja

I would not buy a vehicle ( and that too an SUV or compact SUV) which has to be driven in 1st gear. Even in my Indica I never use first gear while driving within city ; most minimum required is second gear. It never needs frist gear to move even after slowing down to as slow as 5kmph.
Duster or anthing else, you wont go straight to highways all days. 60% usage shall be in the city itself and 40% would be for long journeys at most. So one can not avoid city driving on day to day basis.
Coming down all the way to first gear with a clutch too hard is a painful excercise , particularly painful if you had shelled out nearly 13 lakh on road price.

There are times you need to get to 1st gear, but is not such a negative thing that it automatically disqualifies the car. It also does NOT mean the car the powerless, in fact it is the opposite. Another reviewer in the forum commented that Duster can take steep slopes easily because of the torque. There are few negatives but there are plenty of positives also. For some people, the car's advantages will far overweigh its disadvantages.

Originally Posted by vikram_d

This will not be the case always. As the OP starts to get used to the vehicle he will start to discover where he needs 1st gear and where he doesn't. Moreover he is only talking about 1st gear when slowing down for speed breakers.

Let me give you an example from my personal experience. When I bought my Mondeo I would take all speed breakers in 1st gear because the car has low ground clearance and I was not sure where it would scrape on speed breakers and where it would not. But as time went on I started to know by sight which speed breaker needed 1st gear and which could be done in 2nd gear.

So in a similar manner the OP will also get used to vehicle, it's torque characteristics and it's ground clearance. Once this happens I am sure he will not be going into 1st gear at all speed breakers. It's a learning curve most of go through when we buy new vehicles.

Well said. I faced the same dilemma when I first got the Civic. It will be miserable to cross the big Bangalore speed breakers. Over time, I exactly knew what is required where. Duster is only ~1500 kms old. Everyone goes through a learning curve with a new vehicle.

Originally Posted by noopster

Unless the Duster launches in AT, this seems to be a deal breaker for me.

Thank you for your note. Please try it yourself few times. We never know what works out!

[arunr]

Congrats on your new buy Suresh. Wish you many miles of happy driving in your Duster. It must be a revalation not having to scrape the car's underbelly over our monsterous speed breakers, with the large GC.
Duster does make a sensible choice compared to a sedan albeit with its quirky ergonomics.

[Abhi_Automobile]

Originally Posted by noopster

Very nice from-the-heart review, Suresh. I am in a somewhat similar situation to yours: will probably get a diesel UV in the next year or so, graduating from a Vento AT. Doesn't look like the Duster, however, after reading this:

Which of the two of your cars will get sacrificed in the process? Vento AT? Going by the market sentiment for petrol, you may have a hard time simply selling it, let alone for a good price.

I think you can look at letting the Swifty go now. Its old anyway. The market is generally less brutal on Marutis. That way, you'll have a more balanced garage. Petrol auto for convenience, and a diesel UV (urban SUV = Duster/Ecosport type) for everything else.

BTW, I thought you were in line for a beemer as your next upgrade. Where is this UV talk coming from

[pjegadeesh]

Congrats on your new buy sir, my other car is skoda superb and i felt i am addicted to not using my left leg in the recent times. I use my superb when i go self driving in the city and for long drives. My duster i plan to use only with the driver for long drives. And self for wild trips.

[idofsuresh]

Originally Posted by vikram_d

Most Bluetooth head units have a mic sensitivity setting. Decrease the value of that setting and you should be fine.

I tried but could not find any setting for the bluetooth mic sensitivity. To me the problem appears like the mic is active when the other party is speaking. I googled around a bit about this problem. Apparently, there could be issues if the bluetooth stack implementation is not compatible between the phone and the BT device. Not sure what exactly that means. I am using Android 2.3 phone Samsung galaxy S2. I really need to try with another phone and then take it to the dealer if the issue still persists.

[palash987]

Hearty Congratulations suresh.

Nice and detailed owner's take.
It looks glorious in white.

Duster set a benchmark for quality and handling characteristics for a car of this stature.
Europeans have a way with the superior drive comfort.

Although it may not be able to take corners like a civic does but still do it with minimal body roll.

Wish you many more miles and smiles with the duster.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by idofsuresh

There are times you need to get to 1st gear, but is not such a negative thing that it automatically disqualifies the car. It also does NOT mean the car the powerless, in fact it is the opposite.

Spot on. I routinely shift down to 1st in all my cars (earlier - Indica, Santro, Aveo, Getz and now Cruze, Polo) and don't understand what the fuss is about - it is accepted good practice.

I ALWAYS shift down before menacing speedbreakers and/or at very low speeds to avoid clutch use and ensure the correct gear for the engine!

Sometimes, this habit of half-clutching and keeping to 2nd gear are just bad habits :-)

[Off Roadie]

Completely agree on the gearing issue, 1st gear and full clutch is 20,000 kms. Better than 2nd gear and half clutch.
Have felt the difference, when I drove my uncles Scorpio that was at 35k. It's clutch felt more worn out than mine which was at 50k.

[h.s.r]

@idofsuresh:Congrats on your new Duster.
Duster always look good in white.
Keep us updated on ownership experience & service costs.
Since you already owned Civic,would you consider upgrading to Duster as a lateral upgrade?