Renault Duster

Overview

Renault, the French auto giant launched its first Duster model in the Indian market in the year 2012. The compact SUV received overwhelming success in the country and further strengthened the market shares for the company. Renault Duster opened up a new segment of 5 seater utility vehicle within the affordable price tag. Though, being first to be launched in the market, Renault has done all to cash in as the first mover advantage. But the needed facelift was needed which the company gave to Duster back in the year 2016 and now Renault is all prepped up to launch its third-gen model in May 2018. Showcased at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, the upcoming model is a highly reworked version in terms of styling and features while engine options remain the same.

Looking at the exteriors, Renault Duster stands tall and handsome giving the car a masculine looks The facelift model do shares some of its design elements from Brazilian spec-model, ditching the multi-slat front radiator grille, with the SUV now getting single slat chrome grille along with refreshed headlamps and front bumper. The car gets new kayak roof rails, firefly fog lights and new gun metal finished 16-inch alloy wheels. The taillights also get an updated design with LED elements while the bumper at the rear end too is revamped.

The interiors are roomy with ample amount of boot space, quality of plastic is much better and beige and black colour interiors enhance the ambience inside. The facelifted Duster comes with additional equipment package that makes the car more feature rich and premium as compared to its outgoing model. Higher AWD variants come with Crimson-Black interior theme. The car gets features like dual-tone soft touch dashboard, media navigation system, automatic AC, rear view camera with guidelines, cruise control with speed limiter and Eco mode.

Duster is available in both petrol and diesel engine options. Its 1.6L petrol mill generates the power output of 102bhp and peak torque of 145Nm mated to 5-speed manual gearbox. The 1.5L diesel trim on the other hand comes in two state of tunes; one producing 84bhp of power and maximum torque of 200Nm, another one is available with 6-speed gearbox that generates 108bhp and 240Nm of torque. The biggest change in new Renault Duster is the introduction of AMT version, it comes with Easy-R 6-speed automated manual gearbox.

Renault Duster is available in 5 different variants- STD, RXE, RXL, RXS and RXZ. The base variant starts at Rs. 7.95 lakhs while top of the line AWD (4x4) is priced at Rs. 12.84 lakh. Overall, Renault Duster is stylish, comfortable, and easy to handle with almost all features to provide optimum comfort to the passengers. Currently, the major competitors include Ford EcoSport and Hyundai Creta in the segment.