[h.s.r]

@GTO:Great review as expected, i believe i have made right choice by going for 84 Bhp.
For those who are worried about build quality of side foot steps & other things.
Here are few pics.







Source: Renault Facebook page.

[skandyhere]

Originally Posted by h.s.r

For those who are worried about build quality of side foot steps & other things.
Here are few pics.

Now I'm worried for this particular silver Duster's bonnet too.

With the thin sheet metal that most cars are built from these days, I think sitting on the bonnet needs to be a careful act if you're to avoid denting it! In any case, Kohli probably couldn't care less about having to get his running boards or even the hood simply replaced.

By the way, is this the first day after launch that this thread has seen just 5 posts over 24 hours?

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by skandyhere

With the thin sheet metal that most cars are built from these days, I think sitting on the bonnet needs to be a careful act if you're to avoid denting it!

Surprisingly the Duster bonnet and boot lid felt quite substantial. The doors are quite a mismatch compared to them.

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by drbones

Can any one here throw some light on Duster 4x4 launch ?

No where in the near future. I am expecting 18 months minimum if at all they have plans. The non 4X4 duster is exceeding sales expectation, so i dont expect a 4X4 soon.

Originally Posted by skandyhere

Now I'm worried for this particular silver Duster's bonnet too.

With the thin sheet metal that most cars are built from these days, I think sitting on the bonnet needs to be a careful act if you're to avoid denting it! In any case, Kohli probably couldn't care less about having to get his running boards or even the hood simply replaced.

By the way, is this the first day after launch that this thread has seen just 5 posts over 24 hours?

The bonnet as far as i saw is thicker than other cars and definetly thicker than my santro.

- Till date the most active thread is the Mahindra XUV5OO thread

[drbones]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

No where in the near future. I am expecting 18 months minimum if at all they have plans. The non 4X4 duster is exceeding sales expectation, so i dont expect a 4X4 soon.


The bonnet as far as i saw is thicker than other cars and definetly thicker than my santro.

- Till date the most active thread is the Mahindra XUV5OO thread

Thank's Scorpiobharath.


In next 18 months, there is lot of action to be seen in the Indian car market.


Ford Ecosport,


Maruti X A Alpha.


So its time to wait and watch for a good 4x4.

[niv26]

Originally Posted by skandyhere

By the way, is this the first day after launch that this thread has seen just 5 posts over 24 hours?

This shows enthu of new car slowing dieing down which may result reduce no of bookings also going forward.

[Neil Roy]

Originally Posted by niv26

This shows enthu of new car slowing dieing down which may result reduce no of bookings also going forward.

The main reason, I think is because the dealers are not able to handle the volumes generated. Bookings done is not getting translated into delivery. In our forum itself, there are at least 5 pre-booking customers who have not yet received delivery and more importantly not even received schedule of delivery. In case of XUV500 within 15-20 days of launch, vehicles started appearing on roads which kept the interest level high. Whereas in the case of Duster, there is only so much that can be discussed on paper. The rest has to come from feedback from owners, which is not happening now. Maybe soon.
My level of frustration is such that, had i not committed myself this far, I would have even cancelled my booking. Such is the lackadaisical attitude shown by dealers that, i will not be surprised if cancellations increase.Infact the variants promised by the manufacturer itself is not available with the dealer. It took 30 days after launch for the 85PS version to reach the dealer. About petrol version, less said the better. Why promise something on paper that you cant deliver?
Duster has created a market buzz which renault and the dealers are not capable of converting to delivery.

[niv26]

Somehow I am getting the feeling of another Fiat story for Renault, they are not able to manage it and the dealers become pretty arrogant now and I don't think these are healthy signs for any industry to sustain.
What will happen to the buyers if Renault pack up again, the pity Indians don't have alternative in this segment either.
India is the only country in the whole world where big waiting for Cars in any segment and the companies don't bring Cars in time to market and blame recession and growth factors in Europe and US.

A big sigh!

[AWD]

Of late I've been regularly receiving calls from local Reanult dealer. Consider this is the same dealer who was almost un-aproachable after Duster launch & getting a TD from him was difficult. Then I remember him telling me waiting stretches from 3-5 months & now he talk of arranging delivery within 1 month.

What has happened in-between, I don't see any Dusters on road yet & a number of people known to me have got their bookings cancelled. Initial euphoria is over for sure & a couple of more new launches could translate into readily available Dusters.

[vishnana]

This forum is a good example of what word of mouth can do in India !
It started with busted PS in new TD Duster , broken AC vent in another , very bad booking / waiting experience shared by forum members , another interesting news of less than 5 posts in 24 hours since Dusters Launch . Finally coming even till a point when @niv26 compared Renault to Fiat for their attitude and even foreseeing they packing off their bag !

So the most talked about car in TBHP in recent days is in for rough treatment now , but for very fair enough reasons . Renault lag behind a lot for their handling of vehicle booking / delivery issues . Hope its only the passing phase .

But @niv26 , i guess you need not be so worried , as with my limited knowledge i don't remember any manufacturer launching 5 models as promised in 18 months , the last one in pipeline though . With the news of so much investment by them , it will be very hard in their part / even Nissan's part to even think about packing !

[niv26]

It's not about 'n' numbers of launching, what count is how many of them are successful.
I hardly see any Renault vehicles on road except 'Pulse' which is not even 30-40% of Nissan Micra sales (forget comparing in this segment).
The only trump card of Renault is 'Duster', if they mess it up, only god can help them.

[himadrimondal]

Renault gauged the entire Duster scene the Koleos, Pulse way.
I remember the Sales Manager telling me how incapable these guys are at Renault as they used to come to office for time pass during the pre Duster days.
My dealer has a Hyundai showroom too, hence the whole team from that showroom comes to help these guys out.
Maintaining a steady supply chain of production is essential, infact they should have stocked at least 2k cars pre-launch.

As for the current allocation not showing on the roads, I guess its the rain (applicable to me atleast!).

[vishnana]

Originally Posted by niv26

It's not about 'n' numbers of launching, what count is how many of them are successful.
I hardly see any Renault vehicles on road except 'Pulse' which is not even 30-40% of Nissan Micra sales (forget comparing in this segment).
The only trump card of Renault is 'Duster', if they mess it up, only god can help them.

i said about 'n' number of launches to point out to their commitment to Indian market and in a way answer to your FIAT comparison / and Renault packing off their bag from this market .
Surely Duster is their trump card and its up to them to make use and increase foot falls onto their showrooms . i rest my argument

[.anshuman]

Just back from a TD and booked a Duster on behalf of my cousin.

Interiors and Ergonomics glitches apart i found it really good. The 110 engine feels peppy, thanks to smart choice of gear ratios, turbo lag is not bad at all, has decent pep in lag zone unlike i20 CRDI/Cruze(old). Midrange punch makes it quite fun to push, not a free revving engine but still keeps pulling till redline. Clutch is heavy but feel is consistent, was not much of bother for me city traffic, ratio for lower gears are well chosen for urban commute, gear shift action is pretty good with short throws, not as perfect as Vento but not bad either.

Ride is excellent, eats up Gurgaon potholes and minor speed breakers without protest. Handling is pretty safe, nothing involving, retained the composure even when thrown around on wet roads. Steering has good amount of weight but it is not direct and feedback is mostly fake. It has good amount of torque steer, especially on wet roads where the steering pulls to a side when accelerating hard in lower gears.

Driver's seat in both cars, one display car and other TD car had 2 inch play, height adjust lever is a terrible design. Door handles intrude into passenger area. Plastics were mostly bad and scream CHEAP.

Dealership experience was bad, still had to book the car as this is the only dealer in town. Dealership is understaffed, some staff was lazing around while customers were waiting for TD or Booking. Took me half an hour before i could find someone to talk to, took another hour to get the TD and spent another to book it, all in all half day wasted for one hour job.

After sales with the kind of bookings they are managing is going to be a pain. There is only a single service station in Gurgaon.

[Neil Roy]

Originally Posted by vishnana

Surely Duster is their trump card and its up to them to make use and increase foot falls onto their showrooms . i rest my argument

They have increased their foot falls all right. But it is not from new customers walking in, but rather from regular customers like me badgering them for delivery dates and some for cancelling.
In fact, I had to tell the Manager, gently but firmly that I was coming to their showroom when the Sales personnel exceeded the customer and I'm entitled to better service than what he is being paid to give.
Dont know if that got to him, but today, I received a form 20, which I'm supposed to fill for registration purposes.So maybe there is a ray of hope at the end of the tunnel.
What really annoys me is the way the dealer tries to present the scenario as if he is doing a favor to us by giving info. Many a times I had to put him in his place. Mahindra, for all their faults, listened to the customer's voice( whether they solved the problem is a different issue all together). But, for someone who pays upward of Rupees 10 Lakhs($20000) on their product, this kind of dealer attitude is pathetic.
Bit OT, the manager insists that they will give RTO approved sun films. SO what should I do? a baseball bat perhaps gently struck on the frontal lobe to drum some General Knowledge? or use it on myself for wasting my time with these guys.