Duster may leave competitors in the dust

Dilip Maitra (All pictures by the writer)

While on a long drive on winding roads and uneven surface dotted with potholes, many car users often wished he was driving a SUV (sports utility vehicle) that gives a comfortable ride with the ease of handling. Well, there are already many options in India to fulfil the desire, but the problem is that all crossover SUVs are expensive and they guzzle a lot of fuel.

But now the car lovers have a much better choice – you can buy a SUV-like vehicle that gives a sedan-like comfort at almost half the price of real SUVs. The French car giant Renault has just launched Duster in India that, the company claims, has created a new category where a SUV will appeal to the buyers of sedan. “Duster combines the comfort and sophistication of a sedan and the robust ruggedness of an SUV,” claimed Renault India Vice President Sales and Marketing Len Curran in at a recent press meet in Bangalore. “I am sure customers will find Duster the best choice as it offers the comfort of a sedan with the appeal of an SUV. We expect it to be a game changer for this segment,” he said.

On a Duster in Munnar, Kerala

To understand how real was Len Curran’s claim and how far Renault has been successful in creating a car that can be a ‘segment breaker’ (as Renault claimed), I recently drove Duster for two days on the winding, narrow and hilly roads in Kerala. At the end of it our verdict is that the diesel version of Duster will be a killer product for the company which has not made much noise with its two cars in the last one year.

Though Duster is available in 3 engine variants – one 1.6 litre petrol of 104 PS of power and two 1.5 litre diesel engines of 85PS and 110 PS. The one I drove was the top end 110 PS and for most of my driving feedback on the car I shall stick to this variant.

First, for the technically knowledgeable car buyers, here are some figures to munch. Duster’s diesel options use the tested and efficient 1.5 K9K HP, dCi (common rail direct injection) diesel engine. The more powerful option delivers maximum power of 110PS@3900RPM and peak torque of 248NM@2250RPM. The engine is mated to a 6 speed manual transmission with a fuel efficiency of 19.01 Kmpl (according to ARAI figure under the ideal test conditions). The on-road price of this option in Bangalore starts at Rs 12.40 lakh and for the top end model goes up to Rs 14 lakh.

Power on tap

Now, for the general and non-tech-geek car buyers, these specifications mean the engine is powerful enough to easily overtake speeding vehicles on the highway with an extra kick from the engine. In this 110 PS engine variant Renault has added a turbocharger that provides extra power to the engine from the reserve source when the pedal is floored fully. Though the company claims the turbocharger kicks in at 1,750 rpm (rotation per minute), I found that on a flat road and with just two persons on board, the required power on the third gear comes only when the turbocharger kicks in at a higher rpm of around 2,000. In simple terms this means that there is a slight turbo-lag and one must be very precise & careful while overtaking a speeding vehicle on the highway. It is always safer to underestimate the power than overestimate while on the highway.

But, to be fair to Duster, considering its overall size, weight and the price, most buyers will find the car nicely peppy to have a fair amount of fun drive. The peppy engine was particularly enjoyable on the winding roads in a hill-drive where one needs very quick thrust of power to overtake a vehicle much before the next curve.

The second diesel option uses the same 1.5 dCi engine with maximum power of 85PS@3750RPM and a peak torque of 200NM@1900RPM. It has a certified fuel efficiency of 20.45 kmpl which will provide one of the best options for economical city driving with enough power to cruise comfortably on the highway as well, the company said. The on-road Bangalore price for this starts at Rs 9.65 lakh. Those not looking for the extra kick of the 110PS engine, this 85PS variant will be good enough for a comfortable drive on congested city roads and also on highway with higher fuel efficiency. The flat torque in this variant should also help in city driving without frequently changing the gear.

The third engine is the petrol variant (ex-showroom price begins at Rs 7.20 lakh) uses the 1.6 K4M engine with a maximum power of 104PS@5850RPM and peak torque of 145Nm@3750 RPM . This has 5-speed manual transmission and a certified fuel efficiency of 13.24 Kmpl. Though Renault officials claimed that there is a market for the petrol variant in some pockets of the country, it is unlikely to sell in significant numbers because an SUV is always preferred in more fuel efficient diesel. It becomes all the more compelling given the fact that diesel is much cheaper than petrol in India. 

Quite roomy

Though being sold under different names in many other countries, Renault, with the help of its 200-strong engineering team in its Chennai plant has got Duster modified for the Indian road conditions and Indian needs.

From outside the Duster certainly has a distinctive look of a SUV but its aerodynamics design and the narrow front grill does not make the SUV-look very imposing. The exterior of the car looks good with double barrel headlights, chrome finish radiator grille, sporty 16-inch aluminum wheels, stylish roof rail and muscular wheel arches which provide the tough SUV stance to the Duster.

Yet the Duster with its compact dimension is ideal for city driving with a turning radius of 5.2 meters which is even less than some hatchbacks. Duster is positioned as a owner-driven car as the driver's environment places the accent on visibility and comfort. The ideal driving position is easy to find with its 8-way adjustable driver’s seat, with height and lumbar support, and a tilt steering wheel.

For the passengers at the rear seat the leg room is good enough to accommodate a person with nearly 6 feet height thanks to its long wheelbase of 2673 mm. The comfort is further enhanced by the separate Rear AC with independent control which was specially designed keeping in mind the extremely hot weather conditions of India. Renault officials emphasised that Rear AC is a real AC (drawing cool air directly from the compressor) and not just a blower. The car also has huge boot space of 475 litre (good enough to carry enough luggage for a vacation), this can be enhanced big time when rear seats are folded down.

Road handling

A test-drive report will remain incomplete unless we talk about the easy and effective read-handling of Duster. On the sharply winding roads of Munnar I did several quick-cornering at a fairly good speed (by the hill driving standard) of between 40 and 60 kmph to test the stability of the car. The result was very satisfactory as I found the car very stable. Thanks to the R16 tubeless tyres, suspension system, monocoque chassis, wide body and long wheelbase, the Duster felt wedded to the road even on sharp bends. On several rough and pothole ridden patches too the Duster was absorbing most of the shocks from the road, but the steering wheel, which otherwise has the right amount of rigidness for fast driving, was giving a lot of feedback from the bad roads, specially when the car had hit a pothole on a bend.

On the bank of a lake near Munnar

Safety features

The Duster is loaded with active and passive safety features like dual airbags for the driver and co-passenger, ABS, EBD with brake assist and a monocoque body with side impact beams. The Duster also comes with a service package offering customers a 2+2 years/80,000Km warranty, labour free service at 2,000, 10,000 and 20,000Km with 24/7 Roadside Assistance through a dedicated call centers. Duster is manufactured at Renault’s plant in Oragadam, Chennai with 60 per cent indigenous content. 

The writer is a Bangalore-based senior Business Journalist writing test drive reports on cars and SUVs for the last ten years. This article first appeared in DH Wheels, an automotive supplement of Deccan Herald news paper, Bangalore.