Renault India has begun building the
Duster SUV at its Oragadam factory off Chennai, which it shares with
Japanese alliance partner Nissan. The 2012 Duster SUV will be exported
to the United Kingdom, where the SUV has just been launched at a
starting price of GBP 8,995, which corresponds to an equivalent of about
INR 8 lakhs. The SUV is available in both petrol and diesel engined
variants for the UK market, just like it is in India. However, the UK
spec Duster gets only two engine tunes. The 1.6 Liter petrol engine
produces a peak power of 105 PS while the 1.5 Liter K9K diesel engine
produces 110 PS-240 Nm.
For the Indian market though, the 1.5
Liter turbo diesel engine is also available in a lower state of tune,
producing 85 Bhp-200 Nm. While the petrol engine and the lower spec
turbo diesel engine will be mated to a five speed gearbox, the 110 PS
diesel engine will be mated to a six speed manual transmission. in UK,
the Duster will be available in both 4X2 as well as 4X4 versions.
However, the Indian car buyer will not have a 4X4 variant to choose
from. In India, the Duster will be available in a total of 8 variants.
The petrol engined model will come in RxE and RxL trims while the diesel
variants will offer an additional trim in the form of the RxZ.
The big takeaway from the UK launch of
the Duster is the pricing of the SUV, which makes it the least priced
SUV in the UK market. Considering that the UK market’s pricing is
usually a little higher than equivalent products in India, the Duster
that will be launched in India will be about 10% cheaper than the UK
spec model. at about INR 7.2 lakhs, for the entry level petrol variant.
The equipment and features spec on the UK version of the Duster is quite
similar to what will be offered on the Indian variants.
2012 Renault Duster SUV
Safety features include ABS, EBD and
airbags. However, the UK bound model is expected to get better interiors
along with the exteriors getting a few different stylistic touches.
Also, traction control and electronic stability control(ESC) can be
specified on the top end diesel variant of the UK Duster as an optional
extra. The Duster SUV will be launched in India on the 4th of July, with
many dealers of the French brand already accepting bookings. By the
looks of it, anticipation around the Duster SUV is building up, and good
pricing by Renault will give this SUV a big shot in the arm.
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