One of the most acclaimed auto majors of the world, Renault was having a more or less non-consequential existence in India ever since they started their operations here. There were a handful of cars available in the Indian market, like the Fluence, which did not make many waves here.
It was in such a scenario that the Renault introduced their SUV, Duster. The Duster became a huge hit instantly. It offered a fresh look and style when compared to the SUVs available in the market until then. Duster was like a fresh breath of air, and it became a proof that SUVs need not always be rough and tough to look at, to be sold in huge numbers. Instead, it proved that even an SUV, which looks like a tame family car could do well in the Indian market. It won the attention and interest of the people through its unconventional SUV looks.
Sold for an ex-Showroom price of INR 786000/- to 1191000/-, the Renault Duster became the best seller for its maker. It was the first car from Renault, which made any significant inroads in the Indian car market. In fact, until the Ford came up with the EcoSport, the Duster had the advantage of fresh design and unconventional styling to its favor. It managed to take the competition to the well-established players like Bolero, Safari and the like, in the SUV segment. Check out Renault duster’s competing cars.
Renault Duster comes powered by the French engineering prowess and hence has a powerful 1.6-litre petrol engine capable of generating 102bhp of power at 5850 RPM. There are two diesel versions, a 84 bhp diesel engine and a 109bhp diesel engine. The Diesel mills under the hood of the Duster returns a mileage of about 20 kmpl and the petrol variant offers a mileage of around 13 kmpl.
The interiors are quite spacious and offer comfortable travel experience to five passengers, who can be accommodated in the car quite easily. The boot space is also good and hence, the Duster is an ideal vehicle for both city travels as well as long drives and off road trips.
It comes with ample legroom and headroom and offers desirable features like music system with USB/AUX and Bluetooth, keyless entry, ABS with Brake Assist & EBD, dual front Airbags, satellite audio & phone control, rear defogger, rear wiper & washer, electrically adjustable ORVMs, rear parking sensors, rear AC and so on.
However, there are a few drawbacks like inferior quality of plastics, outdated interior styling and untested after sales network. However, these are minor drawbacks and do not affect the performance of the car.
If you are looking for a beautiful, attractive family car that can double up as SUV, go for Duster.