It is rare for a manufacturer to chart a nearly 200 kilometre drive through narrow and twisty mountain roads. To do so is brave because putting a new vehicle through its paces on mountain roads in India is a very good test of the dynamics of a vehicle. So, first and foremost, kudos to Renault India for charting out a route between Dehradun and the Tehri reservoir on the media drive of the new Renault Duster.
While there were enough sections on the route where the road had caved in and recent landslides — I even got stuck in one — it was a very good drive in a very good SUV. And it became apparent that Renault had charted out this route to showcase just how capable the Duster is. Because this vehicle is crucial for the French carmaker in India.
The original Duster, launched in 2012, could be considered the progenitor of the CSUV segment: vehicles with an SUV bodystyle, between 4.2 and 4.5 metres in length. Before sales ended in 2022, the Duster had sold over 200,000 units. The Duster was essentially a vehicle from Renault’s Romanian brand Dacia, and some of you might recall the Logan sedan as well. But Renault never brought the second-generation Duster to India. Renault global management had been blindsided by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as Russia was a vital market for them, and India was put in a sort of holding pattern as the manufacturer got its act together globally.
Now, though, the Renault Duster is back.
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Inside the new Duster
While it looks superficially similar to the Duster in Europe, the India-spec Duster is unique. It sits on the Renault Global Modular Platform (RGMP), while the Dacia Duster in Europe uses the CMF-B platform. The RGMP platform allows Renault’s designers and engineers, many of whom are based in Chennai, to tailor it for India.
The new Duster thus has an increased ground clearance of 212 millimetres, is far more luxurious inside on the higher variants, and, realising that the ‘Duster’ brand is possibly stronger than the Renault brand in India, the nose of the vehicle wears ‘Duster’ instead of the Renault diamond.
The Duster, as launched, comes with a 110PS one-litre and a 163PS 1.3-litre, both engines being small turbo-petrol units. A hybrid variant is on the cards in a few months’ time, and Renault engineers told me that testing is almost complete.
I drove the top-end ‘Iconic’ edition with the more powerful engine mated to a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. This variant costs Rs 18.49 lakh and has all the toys, including a very interesting infotainment system with Renault’s ‘open RLink’ software that natively integrates Google Maps into the system without the need to hook up your smartphone. This is really useful when someone else is driving the vehicle. However, I did pair my iPhone to the vehicle for Apple CarPlay. The digital instrument cluster is also well laid out and highly legible, and I particularly liked the colour palette, which includes orange.
The other feature I liked was the automatic tailgate. This car, of course, also has a panoramic sunroof, but that’s not something I’m a fan of in general, and I really wish manufacturers would offer top variants without them. Like many other vehicles in its segment today, the Duster comes with Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), and includes a really cool feature on the instrument cluster, which displays how close you are to the vehicle in front of you in terms of time. Interesting, and I wonder if this will discourage the concept of tailgating—which is when drivers almost ‘hug’ the vehicle in front.
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Behind the wheel
All that aside, how was the Duster to drive? Well, the very first thing I noticed was just how quiet the cabin was. Manufacturers aim for reduced Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH), and Renault has nailed it on this vehicle. So much so that occasionally I wished for some more noise and drama when I put my foot down.
The second most noticeable thing was the surprisingly good handling. The Duster has the most ground clearance of any vehicle in its class, but when I was driving through the twisty mountain roads, it felt planted. The small, high-revving turbo was encouraging me to attack the corners, especially when I could see there was no oncoming traffic, and the combination of the suspension and the tyres was superb. The additional ground clearance meant that on the worst patches of road, and there were a few, the Duster sailed through. I really enjoyed the drive, and the route highlighted the positives of this vehicle.
As for negatives? None per se. I did not drive this vehicle for economy, and the mountains are the last place to test for fuel efficiency, so I can’t comment on that aspect. Also, the Duster is physically smaller than the new Kia Seltos, which has redefined the size dynamics of the market. Also, it was revealed that almost 40 per cent of bookings in metropolitan areas are for the upcoming hybrid, and Renault has given no indication of the launch date yet, although they have said that their ‘quota’ of hybrids for the year has already been spoken for.
And of course, some original Duster owners are upset that the new vehicle will not have a 4×4 option. While I do think it is more than capable enough, the traction control system really does help in low-grip situations, which I faced, and this could dissuade some old Duster owners. Although I would suggest that they get a proper off-road vehicle instead if they really want a 4×4.
So, all in all, I think Renault has done a fantastic job on this new Duster. But this is only half the war. Sales need to reach across India, and Renault’s lost half-decade since Covid, when they shrunk as a manufacturer, might haunt them, although I do feel that they are getting their act together.
Kushan Mitra is an automotive journalist based in New Delhi. He tweets @kushanmitra. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)