Renault Duster [2012-2015] User Reviews

Renault Duster is one of the best urban compact SUV in its segment and value for money. To discuss on the Performance, comfort and safety you can hear a lot of experts from various Automobiles in various web site (Team BHP, Auto car India etc..). These experts have provided review comments based on the high expectations of Indian market needs, in average it's been rated as 4 stars by these experts, which in my opinion is very good.

I do see some unsatisfied comments from very few individuals, were in either they are not completely aware about their comments from the point of reference or biased with their own dream vehicle. I am not saying they are wrong, however strongly believe automobile experts comments are more reliable to make a call about the vehicle.

External looks, no doubt Duster stands out the best in its segment. There could be some compromise in the interiors, I guess this is a little tradeoff for the price been charged.

For me the more reliable in any vehicle is driving pleasure and safety features with good looks and comfort as priority and later comes the luxury. Coming to these points, Duster is good with Safety, looks, comfort and driving pleasure. Yes on the Luxury of having all the features compared to a high-end SUV, there is a compromise, but that’s the tradeoff for the price we are paying for an Urban SUV.

It’s always debatable on features comparing to other premium sedans or SUV's. My final suggestion would be if you like Duster, go for it without second thought. It’s the best urban compact SUV in its segment.  Renault might be new to India, but well renowned company globally and also known for their good quality work.

Thanks for reading my comment and drive safe. Wish you all the best for your new vehicle.

Style, comfort, Safety and economyLuxury

Exterior Excellent, Mascular and appealing. Second look guaranteed! 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Pretty comfortable, spacious with ample leg space. The ORVM's control switch put just below the hand brakes, which are a big pain to operate when the hand brakes are down. A dead pedal would have been great.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox You got to drive it to believe it. Yes, it is raw power waiting to take off, the car is ready to take off, and moves effortlessly in all gears (including wrong gears).

Ride Quality & Handling You got to drive it to believe it; the faster you go on the broken "Pot Holed" road, the smoother the drive. The  suspension is very well adjusted. The car drove like a small car including reversing and parking. I took the car on some of the real pot holed laden roads enroute to Tamhini Ghat (mulshi) on a strech of for 50 odd KM. High ground clearance and the huge tyres gives it a good ride quality. Overall, the handling was superb and the ride was quite good. Very light and easy to handle, with impossible turning radius. Very easy to handle and maneuver even in the city traffic conditions.

Final Words Be different! Go for it!

Areas of improvement  

Will let you know after some more long drives:)

Style, powerAbsence of Dead Pedal

Exterior I feel this is the best looking mini SUV in terms of Price, Its like a mini Fortuner. The SUV creates its own Macho Look when its on road. The Chrome Grills and the hunky body will make you look at the car, even if you have the least interst in automobiles. The Double Barrel headlights suit the car. The roof rails etc add to the style. The could have made the boot door open sidewards rather than upwards. The could also keep the stepny on the door. It would have increeased the style of the SUV threefolds and would make it look like a real SUV rather than a crossover. In looks i will give 910/10 for the SUV. Yes i do agree its ones personal choice, but i bet no one will say that it is a bad looking SUV.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) The interiors of the SUV are fairly built. The space, comfort and cooling of the a/c without the rear vent is awesome. The mirror controls are placed below the  hand break which is little difficult to access. The SUV should have been provided with a cruise control, climatic control a/c and foldable mirrors with indicators which looks trendy and which comes as a standard fitting even in low end cars. In terms od interiors i will give 7/10 for the SUV.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox The engine performace is good. Infact 85 ps is best suited for city drives. It is also adequately powered for high ways, especially in india where speed restrictions are there. I have cloaked upto 120kms on my duster. The 5 speed gear box is good, even though not as smooth as in the sedans. But SUV's should have something tough. The fuel economy what i am getting for my vehicle is around 19.89 in high ways and around 18.20 in city with all time a/c on. For the engine performance, fuel economy and gear box i would give the SUV 10/10.

Ride Quality & Handling The ride quality is excellent. We can maneuver the car even in high speeds. There is seriously no body roll which normally is experienced in Mahindra Vehicles. The drive is just like riding a Sedan. The high ground clearance doesnt make us feel odd when run over pot holes or bumbers etc. I would rate 10/10 for ride quality and handling for this suv.

Final Words Overall the 85ps RXL is a a value for money. The rear defogger, rear wipers, fog lamps, back arm rest, the music system all makes it worth the 1lakh what you pay extra. I would recommend the SUV for anyone who is looking for a car/sedan/hatchback/suv's in the price range of 5 lakhs.-15 lakhs. The SUV is not as big as the innova or the scorpio, but it makes a road presence, It gives you better comfort than a etios or a dezire ot hatch backs like polo or i20. Lastly it is totally a different segment-a mini SUV or a crossover between a car and suv. Overall i will give 9/10 for the suv.

Areas of improvement The company should put in cruise control, climatic control a/c, foldable mirrors for the SUV, The boot door of the SUV should be opened sidewards rather than upwards with the stepney blaced on the boot door. The mirror adjustment switch should be placed on the door rather than under the hand break. But as a whole it is the best mini suv at present in the Indian market. The company should open up service centers to support the after sales service with the spare parts price ecconomical so that the buyers of this SUV dont feel disappointed ever when they are motoring with DUSTER.

Regards,

Dinesh G

A Proud Duster Owner.

Exterior Looks, Mileage, Handling, Comfort, SpaceCar Door opening upwards, Cruise Controls, Foldable mirrors

The car is just good in deign, that too the rear is very wide. It need tremendous improvement in terms of pickup and customer care. Just imagine the company books the car with several orders for 85 ps version but till date none delivered. In fact the are saying we might not get it by feb. I got a call to upgrade, why shall I shelve out extra money as it's my secondary vehicle. If they had qualms why did they book it. They are saying ome for a refund.

This behavior is fraud under law and I AM GOING TO FILE A COMPLAINT IN COURT.

Exterior Nice looking.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Too much plastic, bad rear air vent should be in roof, too much premium for good finish, poor stereo.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Good economy, engine clean, poor pickup.

Ride Quality & Handling Low body role, does not feel safe enough.

Final Words They booked the car to be delivered in navratra and now saying it won't be delivered at all- the 85 rxe version,the dealer at Lucknow has told me they will delay it further so most people buy the expensive one. WAKE UP PEOPLE the high end variants booked after the low end variants wil be delivered earlier. To keep margins high. Why did they book the low variant in the first place, to built a price line.

FORGET RENAULT

Areas of improvement When they can't be fair in the delivery of the vehicle, they will continue to fool the customer after the sale.

Design,fuel economyPickup, power, pricey

Exterior I liked the duster the day it was released. Very simple and neat design. Nothing extra to say we developed it like a tiger so we will have wisker style bumpers (aka SUV 500), just plain and simple which is what I like.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Again not as jazzy as other SUVs in this segment but has all the necessary features like bluetooth connectivity, very good audio system etc. Second row leg room is quite good. The cons are they should have atleast thought of puttinga navigation system in and the third row removable seat is a joke. It can seat only small kids and for them to it is very uncomfortable. Dont buy it as an option.. it will be a total waste.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Good pickup, although i read lot of reviews about slow pick up. Not sure it was for 85PS or 110PS but i didnt find any sluggish pickup. it was good.

Ride Quality & Handling Very good.

Final Words Good SUV. But the customer service at the dealer is horrible. Renault will loose lot of customers if they dont improve.

Areas of improvement Customer Service at the dealer. I booked my Duster at the Chennai Renault (Khivraj Pearl) dealer and they gave me such a hard time that for a moment i even considered cancelling the booking. Starting from the time they promised when the vehicle to be delivered to the day they actually delivered, lot of issues. They totally lacked in coordination and communication with the customer. They told me the vehicle is ready and when i went there, no one was there to help and eventually found out the vehicle wasnt even in the service center and it will take another 3 days for registration to be completed. False promises, poor coordination. So if you book in Khivraj Pearl dealer in Chennai, please be aware of this and dont go by the timelines they say.

Good StylePoor Customer Service

Exterior

1. Like the looks, beefy yet soft unlike the monsters like Fortuner, suv500, Endevorur.  

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

1. Uncomfortable bench seats, ugly upholstry that can get dirty in Indian Conditions. 
2. If you like the vehecle enough on all other aspects, spend ~50K to get customised leather upholstery with extra foam to prevent hamarroids.
3. Lacks storage space for essentials like glasses, bottled water (there is a cheap rubber band contraption that Renault has put to tick the box I suppose)
4. The interior fabric, Carpets are all cheap looking

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

1. Avoid the 110ps version (which I have).  You never can shift 6 gears in a city like Bangalore. 
2. Also for those of you who like to start rolling on 2nd gear, this is not the car for you.  Engine boggs down since the 2-gear ratio seems to be too liberal forsaking torque for fuel efficency. 
3. Clutch takes some time getting used to.  The long throw on the clutch pedal ~8" (Belive me, I measured) does a number on your knees. 
4. Also I have a blown clutch @ 22000kms, just after the 3rd service.

Ride Quality & Handling

1. Good Ride Quality, and Handling. 
2. However body roll in turns a little bit too much for a monocouqe (unit body) construction.. 
3. Sight line is too high, so watch out for the curbs, since any brush against the curb will scuff up your Mag Wheels.
4. Suspension feels soft, boat like when doing fairly medium speed lane changes. 
5. Suspension Noise (clicking, Dealership says that is how it is designed) cannot be fixed.
6. Engine noise will remind you as to when to send for service.  Idle noise is too much.
7. NVH is good, infact I would rate it high.  Engine troque roll is well contained, good engine mounts I suppose.

Final Words

1.  Build Quality needs a lot of improvement,  the vehicle is too DE-CONTENTED to be a luxury segment vehicle (Am I mistaken? is this not in the luxury segment) 
2. Storage space needs to be well thougt of in the next design iteration.
3. Base Coat of paint should match the final color, and Please Renault, an extra coat of paint would help with those nasty scratch marks.  Belive me this car scratches very easily.
4. The cheap CHINESE stero is abysmal, better buy the base model and get your own stereo.  The Blutooth has a mind of it's own, and the quality of sound is that of a cheap boom box.

Areas of improvement  

1. This Vehicle is ripe for an AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - Are you listening Renault??
2. Need a better paint job,  Paint is too thin and under layer is white for a black car.  Scratches easily and shows ugly white lines which cannot be covered up by those TV advertised scratch removers.
3. When you take 14.6 lakhs, atleast provide for better seats and interiors.  Also some plush carpet mats would help.
4. WHY DOES EVER CAR MAKER THINK THAT WE INDIANS ARE PUSHOVERS AND DON'T HAVE A IDEA ON WHAT A QUALITY CAR IS.  We are not Cheap, neither do we have Cheap Taste.  We INSIST on value for money.  Looks like these Car OEMs have a wrong perception about Indians, and want to dump DE-CONTENTED cars on us like the would do in a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.

 

Exterior Styling. Like the clean European Design, adequatly beefy looks, yet soft like a cute Ute.Clutch, Clutch, Clutch. Thin paint easily scratches and expensive fix. interiors are too frugal

Exterior Supered , very new ways in style . Rich like X3 BMW . Look is just sexy , very rich , ground clearance is just great.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Very space, seat is very comfortable. Audio system is very good, has USB hub also, plus AUX also. Height adjustable seat for diver side. All power window is great, has back side Ac also, very good cooling system.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Classic, very less noise compare to other SUV like mahindra Scorpio Or xylo, fuel economy is just unbelievable. So other company in india can effort this much  milagea in SUV.

Ride Quality & Handling Very smooth and handling is justunbelievable classic.

Final Words People will love this car . Forget seden just bring this both ways useful in city and on highway.

Areas of improvement Every thing is very nicely made. Just they have make still much powerful engine around 140 BHP power but have good average around 17 km/l.

I like the height ,style ,shape ,interior , fuel economy is just unbelievable .Just that from grill should be in dull finesh

My Renault Duster met with an accident on Jan 27th and had some front damage, not really significant. It has been with the Dealer Nag Shakthi Auto Cars in Hubli for the last 2 months. Today I got an update that they have not received the spare parts required, so it may take another month for them to fix it. After receiving spare parts, these clowns need 1 week to fix them on to the car it seems. That is the state of affairs with Renault Duster after market service. So stay away. 

Flashback: I booked it on July 7th, 2012 and took delivery on December 15th. hardly used it for a month and half. and it has been sitting at their body shop for the last 2 months and nobody knows when this story will end.

I am still waiting on May 14th. As  the Renault workshop guys did not receive diesel connectors and some other pieces of hardware from Renault. As long as nothing happens to your car, you are fine. Once you have a problem with your car, you are screwed. Go to Renault workshop and check out the number of cars waiting for parts and service for months in their workshop lot before buying your new car from Renault.

Great Looks and ride qualityNo service

Exterior Very good.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Back seat not very comfortable, specially power window switches at very awkward place, just below elbow. Otherwise good interiors overall.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Am driving duster for over a year now in delhi. Actual average on diesal is just 10-11 kmpl while claimed average is around 17. Was driving city petrol before this and even that was giving average of over 13 kmpl. Already have got 4 services. Even service centre guy says average is less but says can do nothing about it. Can somebody share his own experience of mileage. Expert inputs on the subject are welcome.

Ride Quality & Handling Decent at high speeds, not great at low.

Final Words Not ideal low speed vehicle, clutch very heavy. Needs improvment in emgine noise reduction, at times gives a feeling of starting a tractor.

Areas of improvement Shud come out with automatic version soon, actual fuel economy needs improvement.

Looks, stability at high speedsMileage, heavy clutch