7,813 Made-In-India Dusters were bought in UK

2013 might have been a turning point for the economy, but cost-conscious Brits, from all classes, continued to make their money work harder than ever. With old school “value for money” sweeping the high street, 12 months ago, one fledgling brand, Dacia, embarked on its mission to shake up the UK car industry with its unique take on “shockingly affordable” motoring.

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Renault Duster Specifications, Price & Photo Gallery

Renault Duster is a characteristic SUV with aggressive looks and power. With Renault Duster the French auto major is looking forward to change its fate in the Indian auto industry, where the auto majors like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata touching five to six digit sales figures, Renault is just able to touch the initial four digits.  The Duster is the first compact SUV being developed by Dacia, the Romanian automaker which is a fully owned subsidiary of Renault since 1999. Duster SUV made its official appearance in the year 2009 and the SUV became available in the European market in March 2010. Duster is sold under Dacia badging in Europe, Algeria, Turkey, Morocco, Ukraine, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.

Built on Logan platform, Duster will have an overall length of 4.31 meters, just shorter than its big brother Renault Koleos, and a width of 1.82 meters. Considering its size and high ground clearance of 205 mm, Renault Duster is fit for city as well as the off roading and has the nature of a true 4x4 SUV, though India doesn’t have the 4x4 versions. Renault Duster’s front has a rugged and sturdy appearance. The front grille is clad in chrome. The side view in turn also enhances the SUV appearance of Renault Duster besides high ground clearance. Renault Dacia Duster is the one of the cheapest SUV. Dacia, a Romanian car maker happens to be a completely owned subsidiary of Renault.  The Renault Duster was tested aggressively in almost all the terrains round the globe before it was first launched in 2010. Together, they will form the most youthful line-up on the Indian market. The suspension system as well as the underside has been strengthened to handle any road including off-road. The low weight of the new Renault SUV as well as its compact size makes it agile on any piece of land.

Renault Duster made available in both petrol and diesel options. The petrol driven Renault houses a 1598cc I4 DOHC engine that produces 100.3bhp at 5850 rpm and a maximum torque of 145Nm at 3750 rpm . The diesel powered Renault Duster is powered by 1461cc Turbocharged Diesel I4 SOHC engine that is able to deliver two different power figures: 108.3bhp and 83.5bhp power and a torque of 248Nm and 200Nm respectively to the wheels. Duster has two transmission options- five-speed manual and another six-speed manual (108bhp).

Among the safety features Renault Duster comes equipped with engine immobilizer, door open warning lamp, central locking and engine protective under guard as standard features. Anti-lock Brake System, Emergency Brake Assist besides Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, stability control module, two front airbags and three-point seatbelt tensioners features are  incorporated as per the version.

Renault Duster Mileage

Renault Duster’s fuel efficiency in all likelihood is great since the SUV is lighter than other SUVs in India. The 1.5 diesel powered engine introduced with Duster in India is tuned to two different states putting out two different power outputs (83.8bhp and 108.5bhp).Renault Duster is capable to deliver 20.46kmpl for mileage for the 83.8bhp diesel engine and 19.01kmpl for the 108.5bhp powertrain. As it is apparent that the petrol variant of any car model offers a lesser mileage in comparison to the diesel ones; Duster’s case is no different as the petrol powered variants just ofRenault Duster Petrol RxL fers 13.24kmpl mileage in the thriving petrol price world.

Power of Renault Duster

The diesel powered Renault Duster is powered by a 1461cc common rail direct injection dCi  SOHC engine that is able to deliver 83.8bhp and 108.5bhp power . The 1.5-litre diesel machine has been taken from Nissan Micra. The engine delivering 108.5bhp is the Step 4 version of K9K engine. Both these versions are said to provide for high torque figures i.e. 200Nm and 248Nm and would be highly spirited to drive. The petrol driven Renault houses a 1598cc, Multi-point fuel injection system that produces 100.5bhp at 5850rpm and a maximum torque of 145Nm at 3750 rpm .

Renault Duster Colours

Renault Duster Specifications

Renault Duster Price

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Renault Duster Automatic, not on the Cards for India

From the day Renault launched the automatic version of its compact SUV, the Duster in Brazil, everybody in the industry started guessing about its Indian launch including CarDekho, but we need to look at it more closely. Renault doesn't have a diesel automatic vehicle anywhere worldwide, in fact the Brazilian Automatic Duster too houses the 2.0-litre flexi-fuel petrol engine. And India is the market today that demands more and more diesel vehicles, so even if they bring in the AT petrol in India, they would only be able to lure those limited buyers for whom fuel economy is indeed not a concern.

So launching the Duster petrol in AT would only bring down the fuel economy and increase its price. And if they plan a diesel AT, then it might take some more years, as the company doesn't have a ready-to-use mechanism. So we guess that the diesel AT would not at least come in the existing Duster, so this must happen with the next generation of the vehicle. So all those waiting for automatic duster, will have to wait for a few years.But if the automatic SUV is all what you want, then you have Mahindra Scorpio in AT at the moment and if you can wait for some months, there will be Tata Safari Storme Automatic by the next year.

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Renault Duster Wins Indian Car of the Year Award

In line with the American Car of the Year, European Car of the Year and Japanese Car of the Year, leading automobile magazines in India who constitute the jury of Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) and Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) along with JK Tyre presented the most prominent awards of the Indian automotive industry – the Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) and the Indian Motorcycle of the Year 2013 (IMOTY) at Taj Lands End in Mumbai to Renault Duster and KTM Duke 200 respectively. 

Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Limited handed over the Indian car of the Year trophy to Mr. Marc Nassif, Country CEO and Managing Director, Renault India Private Limited and Mr. Sumit Sawhney, Executive Director – S&M, Renault India Private Limited.These awards are an expert and independent judgment of the best new car and motorcycle. They are aimed at recognizing focused, consistent, and rigorous efforts made by auto manufacturers, with the highest levels of performance in the areas of design excellence, innovation and R&D, and the awards have been gaining prominence with each passing year. JK Tyre has been associated with these awards ever since its inception.Maruti Ertiga, Renault Duster & Hyundai Elantra were amongst the finalists for the ICOTY category, The nominated vehicles were judged on various parameters such as price, fuel efficiency, styling, comfort, safety, performance, practicality, technical innovation, and value for money and suitability for Indian driving conditions.Congratulating the winners, Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. said, "The ICOTY and IMOTY awards represent India's best on wheels; the nominated cars and motorcycles compete under strict and rigorous guidelines which are a hallmark in the making of the most coveted awards in the auto industry. I congratulate the winners and nominees who are trailblazers for the industry and ever since 2006 the awards continue to reflect the commitment, zeal, enthusiasm and stand as a benchmark of excellence which every auto manufacturer aims to earn."

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Renault Duster Specifications, Price & Photo Gallery

The Dacia/Renault Duster is a funky looking SUV and one of the cheapest in the world. In India, the price of this car will lie between 6.5 and 7 lakh. The Duster is not a soft-roader; it manages to hold its own off-road quite well. The 210mm of ground clearance and chunky 215/65 R16 tyres complete the SUV image.

The Duster is offered with either two-wheel or four-wheel drive. The 4x4 variants make use of Nissan's all-wheel drive system which allows the driver to choose from three different driving modes: Auto, in which the front/rear torque split is calculated automatically as a function of available grip; Lock, whereby 50 per cent of torque is consistently fed through the rear axle, and 4x2 where the transmission is locked into two-wheel drive for maximum fuel efficiency.

The Duster will be available with a 1.6-litre, 105PS petrol or the familiar 1.5-litre turbocharged common-rail diesel that will offer either 85 or 110PS. Size-wise, the Duster is a little smaller than the Mahindra Scorpio and will seat five in comfort.

The Duster has found a niche and promises to deliver on all it is promising. Will it succeed in making Renault a renowned brand like the Scorpio managed to do for Mahindra?

Specs (Speculated)

Petrol    

                                                     

Engine: 1598cc

Power: 105bhp@5750rpm

Torque: 148Nm@3750rpm

Transmission: Five-speed manual

Tyres: 215/65 R16

Diesel

Engine: 1461cc

Power: 110bhp@4000rpm

Torque: 240Nm@1750rpm

Transmission: Six-speed manual

Tyres: 215/65 R16

Dimensions

Length: 4315mm

Width: 1822mm

Height: 1625mm

Wheelbase: 2673mm

Renault Duster Colours

Renault Duster Versions

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