Renault Duster
2012 was the year Renault India launched the Duster SUV in India. It was nothing but a rebadged Dacia that was sold in the European market. But frankly, Renault was not prepared for the kind of reception it received for its first SUV in India back then. Consequent years brought in a few rivals who hampered its popularity, but its butch looks made sure it always maintained a steady sales figure.
Four years down the lane, Renault has brought an updated version of the SUV that was responsible for creating its own segment. The talking point though, is not only the looks, but also what’s under the skin. Renault India has, for the first time brought a 6-speed automated manual transmission (AMT) to the Indian market mated to the higher output diesel variant. But how much difference has the automatic made to the Duster’s character? We find out in our exclusive road test review.
The Renault Duster has always been a personal favourite when it comes to raw traditional SUV appeal. It has the right amounts of road presence with the chunky oversized wheel arches and a familiar SUV silhouette. The facelift has not brought any sheet metal changes to this SUV, but Renault has paid attention to detailing more than anything else. Why would anyone tamper with a design that has worked so well in the past, right?
So you get a new razor blade-like chrome front grille and all new detailing in the headlamps. The headlamp cluster is now divided into 4 parts by intricate chrome lines, while the foglamp housing too, is all new. Renault calls them ‘Hawk Eye’ Cluster Headlamps and ‘Firefly’ Fog Lamps, and we will let you decide how much of a resemblance they pose to the aforementioned creatures! The lower honeycomb radiator grille is surrounded by a silver panel which merges with the skidplate.
The sides remain unchanged and you will have to look closely to notice the new ‘Kayak’ roof rails. But what you will immediately notice are the 16-inch gunmetal alloy wheels, which definitely look unique. The rear sees a redesigned taillight which now houses LED detailing and is the coolest feature on this facelift. All these minute details have helped the design look fresh, with the new Cayenne Orange paint shade adding theright amount of spice.
The interior of the Renault Duster facelift looks and feels much more premium than before. The soft touch plastics are well chosen and overall build quality is a step up over the previous car. There is a significant bump in equipment levels as well. There is a new Auto Climate Control system that works well to keep the sun’s heat at bay. The all-new 7-inch Media Nav system is easy to use and features satellite navigation, bluetooth telephony and USB/AUX support. The steering wheel gets buttons mounted on it but only for the cruise control functions. The actual remote to control the stereo system is hidden behind the steering wheel on the right side. It takes some getting used to and is not the most intuitive.
No such complaints when it comes to seat comfort though. Both the front and rear seats are as comfy as ever. The front seat gets seat height adjustment and helps provide excellent visibility all around. At the rear, there is good amount of thigh support and sufficient legroom. The cabin is fairly wide too and seating three abreast won’t be an issue. This is one of the best back seats in an SUV of this class and is highly recommended if you will be chauffeur driven. The boot is also accommodating at 475 litres and pretty much rounds off the Duster’s interior.
Finally, coming to the major bit on this updated SUV; the Easy-R AMT auto gearbox. For the record, this is India’s first 6-speed gearbox with an AMT kit on its back and first impressions are positive. When you first think of an AMT gearbox, all you are remindedof, are the typical jerks and delays in gearshifts. But the Easy-R AMT on the Renault Duster facelift is quite a surprise. Yes, there is a delay in gearshifts but they are not half as bad as you had imagined. You notice the delay only when you are pulling hard or need an urgent downshift. But drive it normally in ‘D’ mode and you come away impressed. Shift the shiny chrome gearlever in manual mode, and the gearbox won’t upshift itself until it hits 5000 RPM, which turns out to be fun especially while climbing up a steepgradient.
The 1.5-litre DCi engine in the 110 PS avatar has always been a gem and it is no different here. There is torque written all over the mid range which makes highway stints a breeze. The engine in fact makes the AMT gearboxlook a bit more polished. Renault has introduced the new ‘CMO10’ engine compartment architecture that has minimized turbo lag by a great amount. The burst of power above 2000 RPM is present but this time around it is much more responsive from lower engine speeds.
We also got a chance to drive the AWD variant of the updated Duster. The engine and gearbox combo is the same as the AMT variants, although the gear ratios are shortened for better off-roading. There is a rotary dial just behind the gear lever which lets you lock the mechanicals in 4-wheel drive, 2-wheel drive or just let the computers do the work for you by selecting Auto mode.
We have been a fan of the Duster’s ride quality right from day one. But how to make it better, is something that others should learn from Renault. The use of the new ‘T4 E&E’ architecture has made the ride even better than before. Also the top end RxZ variant comes with a Multilink Suspension setup at the rear that takes the game to a completely new level of sophistication in this segment. It absorbs road imperfections with aplomb. The ride is flat at all speeds and feels extremely stable in a straightline. The hydraulic steering provides good road feel and the Duster is a neutral handler. Yes, it will understeer with the front tyres fighting for grip on the limit, but at no time you feel unsecured. The brakes though are the only weak point in the Duster’s drive dynamics and could have been more responsive.
On the safety front, the Renault Duster facelift gets features like 2 airbags, ABS with EBD, Hill Start Assist and ESP on the top RxZ trim. The mid levelRxL and RxS get a driver airbag and ABS, while the lower RxE trim offers only ABS as part of the safety package. The base Standard variant does not offer any safety kit, which is a bit weird, as the industry on the whole is using safety features as a marketing strategy. Maybe it’s Renault’s way to make its customers go upmarket and settle for a higher variant, which actually is not a bad thing.
The Renault Duster in its updated avatar has improved from being a capable product to a product that can now be compared to current segment benchmarks. It is back in the game to gain its throne as the best compact SUV out there. There are improvements in each and every department and is now better than ever before. The Renault Duster AMT is available in two trim levels – RxL (Rs. 11.67 lakhs) and RxZ (Rs. 12.87 lakhs). The respective AMT variants are about Rs. 60,000/- more than their manual counterpart which is pretty much worth it if ‘Automatic’, ‘Diesel’ and ‘SUV’ are the words you are looking for in the market.
