Renault Duster Petrol or Diesel?

[mohit_del]

Hi guys,

Good to join this forum!!
I am in a dilemma whether to go for a petrol or diesel duster.

I am looking for a SUV having a budget of upto 11 lacs in Delhi.
My monthly run is very low. I own an i20 petrol which has done only about 15000kms in close to 4 years. Only on weekends does the car get out on roads for a spin and on once a year road trips.

Want to upgrade as need a vehicle which can take our Indian roads(or lack of it) with aplomb and I like to take car out on leisure road trips.

i20 is quite under powered to my liking. I do not plan to sell it as it will used by wifey for office commute.

A 5 seater will suffice for me.

XUV500 appeals to me looks and features wise but it is out of my budget. Can re-consider it provided Mahindra surprises me with W4 pricing (best part is that it will have airbags and ABS as standard feature).

I test drove duster 110ps but found it having considerable turbo lag and a very hard clutch which was not to my liking at all. I could not TD 85ps as the dealer did not have it ( heard that 85ps has a relatively lighter clutch)

Considering my low run, will it be a good idea opting for Petrol Duster as it comes loaded with dual Airbags & ABS (which I am not very keen to compromise on). If I go for Diesel then only RXL variant fits in my budget but it comes sans airbags and ABS.

I haven't found much info on Petrol Duster. There are hardly any reviews or ownership reports on it so not sure whether it will be a good buy or not.

Are there any Petrol Duster owners here who can clarify if the engine has enough juice (I am not in a category of Sedate drivers) and is niggle/issues free.

Plan to keep car for another 4-5 years atleast.

Please feel free to suggest any other options as well.

Ertiga and Scorpio is ruled out.

Thanks

 

[GM88]

Since your running seems to be pretty low, Petrol seems to be the fuel choice. But that only if you were to go for a sedan and not an SUV.

We don't have any good SUV's with a petrol heart in that particular segment. Only good ones I could think of Honda CRV and Mitsubishi Outlander, but both are in a different segment all together. I would advice if your mind is set on the Duster, go for the 85PS diesel. Even with your low running, you will save what-so-ever on the fuel front also and 5 years later it will hold pretty decent re-sale as against the Petrol version which will depreciate by multi-folds in no time.

Today's age Diesel engines are pretty sophisticated and gone are those days when you had to run it everyday for few kms or else it will go kaput. My Fiesta Classic diesel was standing idle for over 2 months in snow-covered areas of Himachal last year. And the day we took it out, with half an ignition, the engine came to life without any hiccups.

My advice would be - wait for a week's time as Mahindra is launching the W4 variant of the XUV500 at 10.99Lacs ex showroom, right in the territory of Duster 85PS top variant.

If Petrol is your priority, you could look at the Ford Ecosport 1.0 Ecoboost engine. It is a car with a go anywhere attitude and a driver oriented turbo-charged petrol engine. Do take a test drive and decide for yourself.

 

[350Z]

I am looking for a SUV having a budget of upto 11 lacs in Delhi. My monthly run is very low. I own an i20 petrol which has done only about 15000kms in close to 4 years. Only on weekends does the car get out on roads for a spin and on once a year road trips.

You’re welcome to The Automotive India. It doesn’t make sense to opt for a Diesel version when the running is as low as yours regardless of budget. Renault Duster has all of sudden started to turn out as a dated car with introduction of fresh entrants in the segment like Ford Ecosport and Nissan Terrano. So its long-term re-sale value is what I’m suspicious about. Unless the decision of buying an SUV is based solely due to road conditions, a similar compact SUV will equally serve the purpose albeit it may not offer as incredible ride quality as the Duster does (Except Terrano, of course). Ford EcoSport in this case is a worth considering option. However, if your heart is set on the Duster, then there’s no stopping or better yet, also look at the Terrano. It’s a Duster that looks modern as well as has the much needed safety features but still offers the same durability.

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[vijay_968]

Hi mohit_del,
If it's a petrol that you want, Renault n TATA vehicles are not the ideal choice. Go with EcoSport. But, the Eco is more of a 4 seater than 5 and doesn't have the presence of the Duster twins. Yet as a Petrol variant, it is more mature. Finally I started seeing more Ecos on Bangalore roads.

 

[mohit_del]

Ford EcoSport in this case is a worth considering option.

Thanks for the reply. I agree that Ecosport is an option but worth considering but only if Ford handled the launch of it well and with transparency.

The other day I spoke to a SA over phone and when I enquired about Ecosport, got a reply "This year no bookings and no TD either". No booking is fine but no TD, are you kidding me!! Dealers have become so arrogant that they feel asking for a TD of Ecosport is a crime considering it's success. Sorry, but I cannot take this attitude from Ford dealers. I cannot plonk a million Rs on a product which I cannot even TD.

XUV 500 W4 launch is in November (as per Mahindra dealer). I plan to wait for it and I feel with their aggressive pricing they will shake up the market, and Duster should see better discounts then.

My advice would be - wait for a week's time as Mahindra is launching the W4 variant of the XUV500 at 10.99Lacs ex showroom, right in the territory of Duster 85PS top variant.

If Petrol is your priority, you could look at the Ford Ecosport 1.0 Ecoboost engine. It is a car with a go anywhere attitude and a driver oriented turbo-charged petrol engine. Do take a test drive and decide for yourself.

Thanks GM88! I have decided to wait for W4 launch. And Ecosport is ruled out because of Dealer's attitude, long waiting periods of Ecoboost and no price protection being offered. One year down the line market will see slew of compact SUV launches which will really set the cat(Ford) among the pigeons