Renault Duster - 0 star with no airbags, 3 stars with airbag

Global NCAP has crash tested the India-made Renault Duster. The base variant, which does not come with airbags, recorded a rating of 0 stars, while the crossover managed to earn 3 stars with the addition of a driver airbag.

Global NCAP first tested the Duster's base variant, which doesn't come with airbags. The body shell of the crossover was rated as unstable, while the driver and passenger dummies recorded major blows on the head and chest area. The front passenger's knees were also found to be prone to injury due to contact with dangerous structures in the dashboard. This resulted in a 0-star rating in adult occupancy protection. Moreover, the child seat for a 3-year old child dummy was not able to prevent excessive forward movement, while the instructions on both child seats were found to be insufficient for easy operation. The Duster's base variant thus earned 2 stars in child occupant protection.

Post the crash test, Renault sent a variant that was equipped with a driver side airbag. The addition of this safety feature minimised potential injuries to the driver dummy, thus increasing the adult occupancy protection rating to 3 stars, while the child occupancy protection rating stayed at 2 stars. Interestingly, Latin NCAP had tested a Latin America-spec Duster in 2015, which scored 4 stars with a driver airbag. The primary reason behind the drop of 1 star in the India-spec model's rating lies in the fact that the Indian Duster's airbag size is a bit smaller as compared to that of the Latin American model. This makes the driver's head a bit more prone to hit the steering wheel, thus increasing chances of fatal injuries.