Renault Duster SUV India Overview

Site Search

Bookmark this site

REVIEWS ACCOUNT

Automobiles

On Wednesday Renault has introduced its much-awaited Duster SUV sport utility vehicle in India at prices ranging from Rs 7.19 lakh to Rs 11.29 lakh at showrooms in Delhi,. The Renault Duster will come in eight variants. It’s said that it has the capacity to take on market leader Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata motors Ltd.
No Iframesexterior
The Duster will run on 16-inch alloy wheels while leather trim with airbags and ABS/EBD will be accessible on the top of the line variant. Renault has also included a back aircon as a special addition for India. The car’s lower-part front bumper gets a black finish, as opposed to the body-coloured one seen earlier. The wing mirrors are part-black, part-body-coloured. 215/65 R16 tyres, front MacPherson struts and a torsion bar rear suspension work in complete unison to soften the worst of blows.

interior
Even though the Duster’s interiors are definitely a nice place to be in, it lacks a premium feel. The shiny, hard dashboard plastics look cheap and even the grain is not what you’d expect on a car of this class. The deep glovebox, numerous cupholders, curved instrument binnacle, and the neatly integrated Aux/USB-Ready music system all come together to make the interiors of the Duster very practical. The highlight of the SUV is its back seat that offers excellent thigh, back and shoulder support with ample knee – and headroom too. The air-conditioning too was simply outstanding.

engine
The Duster comes with an option of two engines, a 1.6-litre petrol engine superior for 104PS and 145Nm of torque. The diesel variant with 1.5-litre K9K diesel engine from the Fluence sedan with 85 and 110PS power configurations while 5 and 6-speed manual transmissions will be on offer.
The more powerful 108.5bhp engine features a variable geometry turbocharger and intercooler and only recently received upgrades to improve in-city driveability. With 25.3kgm of torque produced at 2250rpm, there’s a fair bit of turbo lag and you need to wait for the engine to rev to 2000rpm to get a serious move on. The SUV works best in its comfort zone of 2000-4000rpm.

This, and the Duster’s light 1308kg kerb weight, means real-world performance is actually quite good. When tested with our data acquisition device, the Duster took 11.01 seconds from 20-80kph in third gear and 11.92 seconds from 40-100kph in fourth, which makes it quicker than the significantly more powerful XUV500! The inclusion of a sixth gear makes the 108.5bhp Duster a very able mile-munching SUV.

In distinguish, the lower-output engine seems better suited to crowded city. The less powerful 84hp engine with 20.4kgm of torque has access to power from the word go, unlike its more powerful sibling. It comes mated to Renault’s JR5 five-speed gearbox which is easy to use and has smartly chosen ratios.

Variants and prices at Ex-showroom, Delhi:

petrol
RXE: Rs 7.19 lakh
RXL: Rs 8.19 lakh

Diesel 84 bhp

RXE: Rs 7.99 lakh
RXL: Rs 8.99lakh
RXL Pack: Rs 9.99 lakh

Diesel 108bhp:

RXL : Rs 9.99 lakh
RXZ: Rs 10.99 lakh
RXZ Pack : Rs 11.29 lakh

The company aims to introduce its fifth model by mid-November -- before the Indian festival of Diwali which is considered a religiously favorable time for purchases by Hindus.

Add comment

JComments

Editor's Pic

Honda CB Trigger Price in India / Varian

The new 150CC bike from the house of Honda is the Honda CB Trigger hand the bike was launched last month and is available for a price tag for Rs.67,384 (e...