Renault has postponed the launch of the Duster to October. The Mini SUV was expected to be launched in June and would mark a new segment in the Indian auto industry. The Duster SUV is a very important product for the French car maker.
Renault could be further fine tuning the duster so as to get it right from day one and not leave any glitches which cause some harm to the image of the product.
The Duster is based on the Logan platform and will come with a two-wheel-drive version initially. Renault may also launch the all-wheel-drive variant later if the demand does exist. We certainly feel Duster should be launched with a all wheels drive from day 1.
The Duster won’t qualify for under 4metres as the SUV is 4.31 metres long.
The Duster has a 2.67 metre wheelbase and ground clearance of is 205mm. The SUV will be equipped with 16? alloy. The Boot capacity for the Duster is stated as 475 litres.
In terms of Safety the Duster will be equipped with Dual front airbags and ABS (with Brake Assist and EBD),fog lamps, a rear defogger (with wiper and washer), electrically adjustable ORVMs and rear parking sensors. The interiors will get leather upholstery and a 4-speaker music system with USB, Aux-in and Bluetooth (again, depending on trim).
The Duster will be positioned below the Scorpio and will be available with 1.5 dCi engine, seen on various Renault models already. Renault may launch it in two tunes: 85bhp state for the mileage lovers and higher state of tune: 104.5 bhp@4000 rpm spec as on the Fluence diesel for those who want the extra performance. The duster will also be introduced with a petrol engine option and will share the same motor which does the duty in the Nissan Sunny. However the engine will be tuned for more power and torque.
Pricing is going to play a very crucial role and is expected to be priced under 8 lakhs. We expect the priced to start at Rs. 6-6.5 lakhs for the petrol variant and going upto 8-8.5 for the top end diesel.
