Jan 05, 2013 02:01 PM
57791 Views
I am a proud owner of Duster 110RXL and my review is based on the prvious cars I owned --M800 (10 yrs), Tata India Diesel(2 yrs), Hyundai GetzPrime(5.5Yrs)
So here I go 1. Dealer Experience:
Test drive: Average as they made me wait 45 mins
Cancellation and refund of advance amount ; Poor by salesman as he didnt pck up calls and Excellent by showroom manager(Trident Renault,Blr) who refunded it in half hour but had to meet him in person
Deliver of vehicke : Poor @ Nagshanti Motors,Hubli as they was no excitement for them in selling as its selling as hotcake now but when sales drop such carelesslessness will affect them. PROS
1) Price. : RXL110 was 12.44L on road for me in Blore. Its really value for money vehicle for the SUV looks, comfort, punch and aura it has on the streets.
2) Large Bootspace - large enough for 2 kids to sleep .. Actually once we were 7 ppl and for a short distance of 4 kms or so, asked two boys of 5.6feet to occupy the boot and comfortably they sat too.. Some say bootspace is too much but belive me when 5 people pack for a long drive, it fills up without a fuss.
3) Style - This was 75% of my reasoning why I purchased it. Its too cool and still people on road/near signal lights have a second glance on Duster. 4 people have asked ' How is the vehicle Sir.. Kitna deti hain :)- The front grille, extended wheelarch , roof rails and the stance of Duster-- its too cool ..and macho.
4) Mileage: It has a fuel meter to tell the mileage in the dashboard. But I noticed that when the fuel level says 0 in dashboard we can still go some 80kms.. so the mileage shown in dashboard has to be added with some .5km/ptr easily. New vehicle from Hubli-Bangalore : It shows 14/5kmpl. Before 1st service driving in the city - showed 12km/L . After 1st service now it shows 13km/l in city. So the actuals I gotis not bad at all and very fuel efficient.
5) Engine Performance: On the highway, 130kmph was bliss..with turbocharged engine overtaking all vehicle effortlessly and smooooooooth driving (of course the NH is super too)
6th gear was a boon on highway. When turbo activated, it zips and pulls the vehicle lterally.. Wow 6) High ground clearnace of 205mm is v v v useful in cty or offroads or roads in small towns.. I have forgotten now what a pothole feels like and the Duster just rumbles across them. Its easy to judge the effectiveness for me as friving 20kms one way to office each day, I am fresh when I reach office after an hour.. Same in a Getz I was not so fresh. This is the driving comfort I see easily. 7) Driving in City is easy with electro-hydraulic streeing.. whcih is easier to turn/handle than my Getz which is just hydraulic. No strain at all. The cluth is to be pressed deeper than petrol sedans but thats what we can expect in a SUV and deisel too. So thats Ok. Turning radius is so small that I hardly felt was sriving a bigger vehicle. Length of vehicle is smaller than innova and so actually manages all small road corners,basement parking,galli parking etc.
8) Very very good suspension is one I cannot stop taking about to my friends . Unbeatable in this segment. Rough roads are a past for a Duster ! Heard this is equal or better than some of the 20lacs+ SUV's also.
9) Rear seat car charger : Very innovative as all use mobiles now and with FB/Youtube/music battery charge for all 5 passengers will be needed and one in front and back was a boon in long drives.
10) Great warranty of 2+2 years and 80K kms. Unmatched .
11) Great legroom, seating position both fromt and rear, good thigh support to rear passengers, arm rest in middle is a nice this when 2 ppl sit in the rear CONS
1) Doors in the rear have no rubber beading to save costs. The rear doors are lighter than front too and shuts with a uncomfortable banging noise een with normal force given when closing door. Remember the ambassador days when doors were to be banged to shut corectly. !
2) Audio system : Not great but functional. Bluetooth connectivity is a plus but overall specs and features of the audio system is v v basic. While for a normal user, radio,USB pendrive songs or BT usage is OK but for a 12L car, this should have been better surely.
3) Dashboard Plastics ; Many have said its average quality and surely it is and area for imporvement. I feel its ok for the price they offer this vehicls as SUV vehicle owners get thrill from riding than from seeing dashboard !
4) The gear knock back has been mentioned by few reviewers and many dont notice this. (After putting the gear, just keep you hand on gear knob and ove the vehicle.. the gearlever can be felt that it moves a bit - This is gear-knock-back) . Its not good technchandru021y as per engg design (having studied Mech Engg myself) and not sure why this is in first place.
5) Door openign handles on outside could have been improved. Too basic I felt.
6) When accelarating in 1st gear from standstill position, it takes 2-3 secs to build the thrust..Pertol vehicle drivers will see the diff. immdltyl(as I was too) and maybe this is normal for diesel vehicles but I need the vehicle to throttle when I push gas pedal and not after 3 secs.
7) My 5 lac Getz had a dummy rest pedal left of the cluth. Was so useful to rest the tired left leg whcih we use for clutch always. THis is missing sorely and does not cost much too.
8) The placement of the controls for powerwindows in rear window is bad and always passengers keep the hand on armrest and bank on the controls there ! It should be little away from handrest area. ! How did they miss this ? So I enable child lock on power window controls now to avoid this .
9) There is a 'squaky' sound from the rear coil springs and in first service they greased it I guess and it vanished. Now 2 datys back, the right side of rear suspension(maybe its coil spring again) is squeking -- ie only when we got over small humps.
--- SUMMARY - This is not an 'real' SUV but an ideal "City SUV' as I call it with great price, great engine performance, great riding comfort, great looks, great maileage. great warranty. What else we want in India -- Sastha and tikao ? Recommend to GO FOR IT if you can :)- Cheers
