today we finally bring you the real test of Renault Duster. Here we are going to do more than 50+ tests on this new SUV and tell you whether you should really consider it or not. So without wasting any time let's straight away get into that test. If you look at the key of Duster, it has the option of lock, unlock, headlight and boot open.

Its headlight throw is good. The intensity is actually good but the spread could have been a little better. Its paint quality is 195.5 which is decent. The tyre size is 18 inches on the top end variants. But the bad news is there is no spare wheel. Its ground clearance is 212 mm, which is nice and it is very good on bad roads.

If we look at the boot space of the car, it is claimed to be one of the largest in the segment. So large medium small fits comfortably. Plus two small sized back packs and a camera bag also fit. Still some more space is left here. Now getting in and out of the car is easy for most people. But if you are elderly or short in height, you may struggle a bit while climbing up and down.

The interiors of the Duster have been designed sportily. Textured hard plastic is provided here and soft touch elements are provided at the bottom. The fit and finish of the materials is good but they don't feel premium. The brightness of the touch screen is quite good. The quality is also good in terms of response and the UI seems to be nice.

And since it is Google's UI, it is quite easy to get used to. Plus Google Maps also comes inbuilt in it. The cluster of Duster is quite simple and basic. Of course it is customizable too. However, it is quite simplistic and easy to use. So, it becomes a good choice for those who do not want complicated or overly technologically advanced clusters.

The front seat of the Duster is adjusted to my height and I am sitting at the back here. And overall it's not very good news if you are a tall passenger. Now its steering wheel can be adjusted for both height and reach. So it's a nice telescopic steering wheel. The driver seat is electrically adjustable.

Plus, long support is also provided in it. But that is manual. The touch screen of the car is good. The feel is smooth and overall its brightness is also good. Now Google's UI has been given in it. That means you have Google Maps built into your car by default. Both wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are provided in it.

Now its 360° camera is decent around. Possibly not the best in a segment for sure. But if you look at it at night, you can see some grains here also. The Duster's front door pad holds a 1-liter bottle. Instead of two cup holders, you can remove them to create a larger storage space. The armrest is quite deep and the glove box can easily accommodate two one-litre bottles.

There is also a wireless charging pad on the front. There is a 12 volt charging socket. Two Type C charging ports are provided. Two Type C charging ports are also provided at the rear. For rear passengers, a 1 litre bottle does not fit properly in the back. If there is a little struggle then maybe the small boat will sit for you. Storage spaces are provided behind the seat.

And in the armrest too, you have two cup holders and a place to keep a phone. Rear passengers can accommodate three people in a slightly tight space. This room is decent enough. Could Have Been Better Not the Best in the Segment. Thigh support is also decent. End headroom be ok. Overall, the Duster's back seat space is not the most spacious in the segment.

Now Renault Duster comes with a total of three engine options. First comes the 1 L turbo petrol which we have seen in the Renault Kiger. Now the power of this engine is decent enough. For your daily use you get more than sufficient power. If you are driving in the city, do you ever go on the highway? The 1.3 L turbo petrol comes there.

That has good power. Press the exciter and it pulls clearly. But there is a slight lag in its performance. Especially if there is a need to do a quick overtake. Otherwise it is more than sufficient for your daily usage. Now Mercedes uses this same engine in its GLA and A Class. So, in terms of power it is okay.

It is like good enough for your normal usage. But if you are an over enthusiastic driver, possibly you might not like this engine so much. Then comes the 1.8 L hybrid. Now neither I nor anyone else has experienced this engine because this engine has not been launched yet. It will launch around Diwali and that's when we get into discussing it.

Now the biggest speciality of Duster is that it feels like an SUV when you drive it. All other vehicles in this segment feel much smaller and compact and appear shorter in height. In this I feel like I am driving a slightly smaller 7o. Like literally it feels that way. This car is quite high-rise. Almost the edges of the bonnet are visible.

So that's when you feel SUV-ish inside it. But if I talk about the ride quality of this car, it is good. Now I'm not saying It Is Gonna Be the Best in the category. We will tell you when we test it. But overall its ride quality is poor on bad roads. The first time we drove it was in Uttarakhand on broken roads and it was fantastic.

Even in handling, the car handles well. But let me tell you it handles like an SUV. So you will feel that body roll. But at any point of time there will be no nervousness that the car is about to slip out of my hands. Now if I give an example of handling like Kushaq or Tiguan. They are like a handler's dream. Like people who enjoy pushing cars and they want a little ground clearance for them.

This is possibly the best choice. But the moment you talk about Duster, Duster is not that agile. It is good in terms of handling but you cannot compare it to those two cars. Yes, you can compare it with Seltos, Creta etc. It is better than them in terms of the feel of handling. Even its steering feedback is quite good.

06:34So it will make it a little bit more sportier. But only when we drive both these cars back to back will I be able to tell you which one feels better in terms of outright power. Now adjustment has been given in Duster which is front side and rear all. Overall, I feel its sensitivity is a bit high, especially in front collision braking. But other than that I think this edge works perfectly fine for Indian conditions.

If I talk about lane keep or even about detection in the mirror, it works perfectly. In the speed breaker test, we noticed that the ride quality of the car is good and it is also quite comfortable overall. The car does zero to 100 in 11.10 seconds which is pretty quick and overtaking in the city is quite convenient at 1.79 seconds. It overtakes easily even on the highway.

But expressway overtaking is where the lag happens. This means that the overall engine and gearbox combination in this engine does not provide enough power to enable you to overtake quickly above 80. A little lag is clearly evident here. Braking is solid and quick. 27.32 meters which is very nice.

But if I talk about speed accuracy it is not the best. At a speed of 45, the actual speed is 43.1. At 60 it is 57.4 at 80 it is 77.5 Now in terms of NVH levels, Duster is again not the best because with engine running at zero it is 49.1 decibels at 60 it is 64.9 which is decent. 80p is also a descent at 67 but 100p it is 70.

hill climb no problem for a 1.3 L engine it can do that quite comfortably and there is no struggle at all. All right. So now you know exactly how this car performs in terms of all tests. Now the question is should you consider it or not? Look, Duster is a good choice for those who mostly drive on broken roads and who enjoy pushing on those roads because the ride quality is also good and the power is also good there.

So, it is a good package for most people in that situation. The overall fit, finish etc. of the car is good. But there are many other cars that beat it. If I talk about the interiors in terms of features and even the premium feel. But do you know what is special about Duster? In this you get a 1.3 turbo petrol engine at a price point with the same features where other cars are offering exactly the same features with less power.

So in simple words, if I tell you, if you look at the TNO to Plus variants, then here you get 160 bhp with almost exactly the same features that the competition offers like CRTA Seltos, it comes with 110 115 bhp only, this one offers it with 160 bhp. So there is a clear differentiation here and the Duster offers this better.

Now my personal recommendation would be that if the Duster had come with a 1 litre turbo petrol engine with lesser BHP, then perhaps it would have been priced Rs 1.5 lakh less versus the best selling SUVs in the market and that would have been a more tempting offer for most car buyers right now in India.

10:01But yes this is what Renault is offering. And TNO and TNO Plus are its best variants in terms of being value conscious. no problem. We understand. You can clarify all your doubts by connecting with me or my team of experts on a phone call. Now How Are You Gonna Do That? You need to book a phone call with us.