The Renault Duster was launched back in 2012. It had the first-mover advantage among monocoque “car-like” SUVs and had quite a healthy run in India. Initially, only the manual diesel and petrol variants were launched. Over time, the automatics, diesel AWDs and petrol CVTs came in. As of today, the Duster gets just a 1.3L turbo petrol engine as the old Renault-Nissan 1.5L diesel isn’t BS6 compliant. This means those wanting the diesels or ATs can get a good deal on pre-owned Dusters.
The Duster is nothing but a rebadged Dacia product that is sold internationally. The Dacia brand is synonymous with low cost cars that have simple, robust underpinnings. The Duster will please all and excite none. That said, the capable Duster AWD has an insane fan following and you’ll see multiple travelogues as well as off-roading trips right here on Team-BHP itself.
Positives
• Robust, abuse-friendly build & construction
• Mindblowing ride quality. Comfortable over any kind of road. Still the benchmark in this area
• A competent softroader. AWD system can take you places no 2WD can. 210 mm GC (FWD = 205 mm)
• 109 BHP turbo-diesel is fast as well as fuel efficient. 84 BHP diesel offers excellent driveability
• Balanced handling & dynamics
• AMT variant is a convenient city commuter
• Safety kit includes dual airbags, ESP, ASR, ABS, EBD, BA, Hill Hold & understeer control
• Practical boot (475 – 1,064 liters of cargo capacity)
Negatives
• Felt old at launch and feels vintage today!
• Drab, outdated cabin. Interiors look cheap in many areas. Weird ergonomics too
• Many owners have reported niggles, while a few have suffered major problems too (e.g. injectors)
• AMT is jerky and suffers from slow gearshifts. Used Creta AT, in comparison, is butter smooth
• 1.6L petrol is unimpressive. Better to go for the 1.5L diesel
• Mediocre rear seat legroom. More like C1 segment sedans than C2 (has good width though)
• Poor NVH insulation. Engine, road & wind noise are prominent inside the cabin
• Renault’s after-sales service quality is a hit or miss
Related Threads
• Official Review
• Samba’s Duster AWD
• PapaBravo’s trip to Sandakphu in a Duster AWD
• rohanak1’s petrol Duster
• HillMan’s 85 PS RXL
• suchit23’s Duster RXL
• Neil Roy’s red Duster 110 RxL
Mod Potential:
Average. We don’t recommend getting much, except for good A/T tyres for the AWD, a snorkel if you really need it and a remap. You might also want to spend some money and make the cabin a better place (plush seat covers, modern head-unit, good mats).
Availability:
Good, as the Duster was a popular model, especially in the initial years. Lots of examples available across India.
Here are some examples on sale (2014 38,255 diesel MT, 2016 74,000 diesel AWD, 2016 20,010 km diesel AWD, 2017 21,000 km diesel AMT, 2017 24,000 petrol CVT). Included are the pictures of the 2016, 74,000 km done Duster AWD with an asking price of Rs. 6.25 lakh:
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