Renault Duster [2016-2019] User Reviews

Initially faced issues in getting test ride of this vehicle at dealerships but after test drive in two differentvroad conditions by self and spouse, there was effective followup by the sales advisor and all queries laid to rest and concerns / options to overcome it (to the extent possible) were provided suitably. The ride experience has been excellent both on metro city roads and broken roads in smaller towns during the drive out to hills and places nearby. As far as exterior looks are concerned, they are good and muscular as is the ride quality — absence of DRL is however felt ( only cosmetically) when compared to creta but it is not a show stopper. The interiors could have been much better and sharper but they are simple — the medianav unit though effective is not outstanding — absence of android or apple car play options pinches though siri and good bluetooth connectivity mitigate this somewhat. As for the CVT rubberband effect and slow initial pickup when overtaking in highway, it takes time to get used to and is not a problem as once it adjusts very soon to higher needs of speed, the engine performs much sharper and the overall power and speed achieved is higher & can be felt in a period of 5 seconds and less. The good fuel average fir this SUV takes care of any concerns on that front. The seating space of 5 adults is very spacious and so is the boot space for dumping anything for a quick drive out if town with family on a weekend. The sound quality of audio & lack of rear AC vents is sub par compared to creta and city - tge other cars/ SUVs i drove as comparision. The first (initial 2 month ) service experience has been good but i think that the subsequent service experiences would help to give a proper feedback on same. Highly satisfied with the vehicle and am now better used to operating it despite the opposite placement of wiper and light arm switches behind steering wheel — the sound controls on short arm behind wheel are however taking a longer time getting used to. Absence of options to put a Gear Lock and side door bottle holders and non height adjustable seats is felt but i have deployed after market accessories to provide security and better driving seat comfort on long drives despite my good height and smaller body frame. Would be happy to know experience of other CVT owners !!

Duster was never an option for me until I test drove a 4wd Duster, what makes Duster stand out from crowd is its driving dynamics and ride quality this SUV/crossover actually puts smile on face with its capabilities, it was a complete delight to drive, only way to understand why Duster has good numbers on road even today is to make a test drive.

Positives of Duster:

1. Robust built (punish the car with bad roads he comes out even more stronger).

2. Driving Duster at 3 digit (120-130km/hr) speed is equal to driving my City at 2 digit (80-90km/hr) speed.

3. The steering feedback is spot on (5 out of 5 for highway speeds) & (1 out 5 for city speeds).

4. Engine feels lively and fun to drive a sedan driver will enjoy Duster a lot (Torque rush is evident which pulls back passangers to their seat on a open road engine pulls cleanly) many would prefer linear power delivery rather than torque rush.

5. Ride quality of Duster & Cornering ability of Duster this comes as a surprising package, one really doesn't have to slow down Duster on corners.

Negatives of Duster:

1. Poor value for money product, features on board is a nightmare (Duster offers what a premium hatchback had to offer) Creta is far better.

2. Duster is never a pocket friendly car for a general service it would cost between 7-9k and for a replacement of a part is day robbery.

3. Hospitality in service centres is extraordinary but quality of service seems to be very poor(0.5 out of 5).

4. Being used to bad nvh level on my City(engine and wind noise) Duster is just okay (wind noise evident after 110km/hr not that loud) good part is Engine noise is well contained.

5. Missing rear a/c vents for a car that costs 17lakhs on road So why did I purchased Duster? Since I own a farmhouse weekly I had to travel a lot on a countryside with four occupants and Duster is the only right person for my weekend fun. And to be honest my family prefer Duster over City for long run highway trips.

Final verdict: For a price of base variant Duster one can opt for a Ecosport (a segment lower than Duster) but offers a lot for money with good brand value, if someone is ready to stretch his/her budget opt for XUV-500 if requirement is 7 seater or Creta if 5 seater but still what makes Duster superior than all these models from different brands is its driving dynamics and ride quality it is an complete drivers delighte car, which none of these above listed cars would offer today.

NANA

I was very curious to buy this Renault duster since it is a French car. With in 3 years My turbo gone. I have driven this car in leh ladakh. Since there were no service centre , I had to visit at Srinagar. Since it was under warranty after fighting with service centre at Srinagar I got it changed, initially they said it is your fault, I don't know what was my fault, later I inquire about this car from friends, they had same problem.. secondly this car has a problem at higher altitude, you can drive only in 2nd gear. I inquired about the problem, but could not find it. So better buy mahindra, gipsy, Toyota, This are best cars...

Exterior

Best looking car in its segment. Looks perfect from any angle. Especially flared wheel arches. I have pearl white colour car and the model is 85 PS RxL Plus with two airbags & ABS. Even the wheels are not alloy wheels but the wheel rim design is also looks good. Three spoke front grill with renault LOGO looks excellent.

I have bought my car from Dharti Renault, jamnagar. If you want to feel the concept of customer delightness, visit Dharti Renault once & you will find that they treat customer as very special & important person. Very very happy with their sales & service teams. Always ready to help and support you in any way

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

Interiors are good, cant say excellent. But everything is practical. AC is very good. cools down the whole cabin rapidly. Some ergonomics are different like ORVM adjustment is under hand brakes, but once you set your ORVM as per driving posititon one hardly changes it. The legspace & headspace is excellent. Easily 5 people can seat inside comfortably. Very comfortable during long journeys. My home is at Baroda, so i travels from jamnagar to baroda once a month which is 400 KM/8 hrs. jouney. The driving position is also very good. you can view the full road easily. The boot space is 475 litres which is more than enough for 10 days journey luggage for five persons.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

Renault 1.5 L dCI engine is a gem. It performs very well. I have 85 PS version so i get fuel economy 17-18 km/l on highway & 15-16 km/l in city with AC on full time. Clutch is little heavy but you will not feel it after regular driving. 85 PS is enough power to roam around city & for cruising at 90-110 km/hr on highway. No need to downshift gears at lower speed in cities as very little turbo lag. Going to complete 10000 kms from Nov'15 to May 2016. Never had any problem or complaints regarding engine or ger box. Happy with fuel economy and performance.

 

Ride Quality & Handling

Best part of driving a Duster is its ride quality & handling on any type of road. The suspension adjustment is so well that you hardly feels potholes on high speeds. The high ground clearance also helps the car on mountain roads. 16" wheels has a very good grip on road & hardly slips on wet roads. The steering is alittle heavy and gives you confidence to take turns at high speeds.

 

Final Words

I'm very happy that i made a very good choice of buying duster. Its truly a value for money car with no nonsense. During final decision i was confused between Duster and Hyundai Creta, but i chose duster as it is approx. 1 lakh rupees cheaper than Creta with same facilities, and waiting period of creta was about 5 months.

 

Areas of improvement  

Interiors quality can be improved.

 

 

Everything so far is bestInterior Quality can be upgraded.

Exterior Good but dated.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Most ordinary music system & multimedia Navigation, Very ordinary plastics interior, Wiper blades did not last even for 15 days of 1st monsoon. was forced to replace the same at cost as it is not covered under guarantee. Multimedia developed problems in the 1st month itself. Interior Lacks finesse. for a 16 lakh vehicle.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Good, Great Fuel economy, smooth drive. with cruse control gave a milage of 19km/ltr. AMT is a smooth tech and very useful in busy city roads. Even on highways it is a pleasure to drive and AMT.

Ride Quality & Handling Good smooth ride. Stable. But have mostly driven on new 4 lane highways. Have still not driven on rustic / rural roads and with the ordinary plastic and interiors I have doubts that it will be rattle free for long. Handling is good though.

Final Words Dissapointed that even after buying a 16 lakh vehicle the accessories supplied are very elementary and just for name-sake with no though on customer satisfaction. 

Areas of improvement Much to do in the area of internal finish.

Good smooth engine, great milage, smooth rideBad music System, bad multimedia, ordinary plastics,

Never had much issues but the only problem is the disgusting and poor quality service offered by the service center in Verna Goa. The old service dealer as well the new service dealer has the same time of poor quality service. My car was kept in the workshop for 4 days from jan 3rd to 6th 2017 to replace a fuel injector but I finally came to know after 10 months that it was not replace as the same problem occurred again . It was mentioned to me that the part was ordered but I don't know where it landed. Yes the name of the service center is priority service and they do prioritise customer who tip them to do a lot of monkey business . I have seen it with my own eyes. This is a shame and will be one of the reason Renault will loose sales in Goa not because of the brand but because of service from the service center. Think twice before buying Renault cars because of service issues and I think that is the reason people are selling duster on olx on a daily bases.

Hello Friends, I like to share my Experience with My favourite Car i.e. Renault duster which I purchased in Feb-2018. First I got a great deal on this car and its mouth watering so price was my first concern. And luckily got great deal on top model RxZ 110ps. Interior is not that advanced like other cars in market, but as per the practicality concern all the day2day features are available and always easy to use. Ac is fabulous, very fast while cooling and as per my experience with this powerful AC we don't need rear AC vents. Space is awesome in this car and boot can hold my all luggage and specially my 4yr old Labrador. Exterior is always eye catching. and with some useful accessorises its look more beautiful and robust. Driving Comfort is too nice for bad road. I used to drive about 1000Km and sometime faced very bad and no road. Shockingly the mileage claimed by renualt is 19.1 KMPL but when I drive in city i got 21 KMPL and on highway 24KMPL+ and thats all because of Per Gear Mileage indicator which helps me a lot to get best mileage in all gears. After sales support is Good for my first three service and one time RSA. Service KM range is 10000KM and cost you about 7-8K. I have cut one start out of five because of interior. My final words for this car is GO FOR IT. Its value for Money Car and Renault thanks for making this car. Regards//Ashish

NANA

i bought this vehicle in 2013 one of the worst suv in world i faced lot of problems with the vehicle i listed some below 1) water pump failure 2) alternator failure 3) self starting motor failure 4) power window failure 5) ac knob broken 6) clutch fly wheel failure 7) gear cable fault 8) AC pipe line failure All this above mentioned problem caused within 68,000 kilometers the service provider and company where least concern about my complaints really had lot of stress because of this vehicle my humble request to all the people who prefer r have idea to buy this vehicle please dont ever try to have that idea. Regards kasim

The interior is great the driving experience is good. It gives u a good value for money . The drive is so smooth u dont even feel 200-300kms at a stretch . The mileage on highway is good a good option in class .