The Renault Duster has been a big game-changer for the French car manufacturer and till the KWID came along, it was the lone successful model in the company’s short lineup. It was back in 2012 that Renault hit upon the motherlode when it comes to succeeding in the unforgiving Indian market. While the Renault Duster interior quality left a lot to be desired, the car was still a product that offered buyers the right combination of space, styling & road-presence. Not to mention the sweet 110 bhp, six-speed powertrain combination.
Spin the clock four years forward & the competition was starting to nip at its heels. The compact-SUV segment was booming and Renault knew they had to do something. With the next generation Duster some time away, the French manufacturer decided that stop-gap measures were needed quickly, and promptly introduced the facelifted edition earlier this year. Here are 10 things to know about the new Duster:
- The car is still the good old, trusted one, which means it is capable of taking a fair bit of abuse without complaint.
- There’s no change in the exterior dimensions over the outgoing version, but it is starting to show its age, especially when viewed against some of the recently launched competition.
- Current Duster owners will be able to upgrade to the new headlights & taillights as Renault has not altered the sheet metal surrounding them.
- The Renault Duster interior has been spruced up in the face-lift, with key changes including auto-climate controls, repositioned power-window switches, etc.
- Fog lamps continue to be recessed & are housed in separate enclosures making them less prone to damage.
- Ground clearance continues to be high, with 110mm for the AWD variant & 105mm for the regular one.
- The ORVM’s now feature integrated turn-indicators. The older version sported these on the fenders.
- Cost cutting is evident everywhere, with the same old interior touches being retained & cheeky attempts such as using an emblem to block the gap where the indicators were housed before.
- The AMT is available only on the two-wheel drive variant, that too with the 110 bhp engine option. All-Wheel Drive variants have to make do with the regular six-speed transmission.
- The brown interior trim may be better resistant to soiling over the popular, beige option, but it does not match well with the entire exterior colour options.
Now that you have gone through the 10 things to know about the new Renault Duster, hit up the comments below & tell us what you like best in the facelifted edition & what you don’t!
Article source: https://www.cartrade.com/blog/2016/top-10/10-things-to-know-about-the-new-renault-duster-1810.html
