[DessertOnWheels]

Originally Posted by racerme?

I have been through an accident when my car went off the tarmac and I hit an electric pole which was on the pedestrian footpath.

Woah! That was a close shave. But I agree with v6kgang, the airbag is almost going to save lives than an ESP.

Why? Just why is Renault playing such games?

Also, was it easy enough to reject the Showroom insurance plan & go for your own? The zero dep quote from the showroom is Rs. 51+, which I feel is exorbitant. They say they'll need special permission to allow the client to go for their own zero-dep policy.

The weekend is going to be decision time. Hope the AWD wins here.

Thanks :-)

[racerme?]

Originally Posted by DessertOnWheels

But I agree with v6kgang, the airbag is almost going to save lives than an ESP.

Well, unless you buckle up...there is a caveat!

Tell the dealer you will break the deal if you are not given the option of opting out your own insurance. Although I didn't need to tell it in such certain terms, the dealer did try to play a trick on the insurance.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by v6kgang

If i had to choose one among them, it has to be airbags which can save you 10/10 times as opposed to ESP which may save you 6/10 times (impact on stationary vehicle for eg)

Originally Posted by DessertOnWheels

But I agree with v6kgang, the airbag is almost going to save lives than an ESP.

Its hard to quantify and choose between airbags and ESP. Airbags are part of passive safety features which can help to reduce the impact in the event of an accident, whereas ESP, ABS etc. are part of active safety which help in accident avoidance. Since the top-end Duster AWD offers both (dual airbags and ESP), its ideal to opt for that.

[i_see]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Its hard to quantify and choose between airbags and ESP. Airbags are part of passive safety features which can help to reduce the impact in the event of an accident, whereas ESP, ABS etc. are part of active safety which help in accident avoidance. Since the top-end Duster AWD offers both (dual airbags and ESP), its ideal to opt for that.

Exactly the reason why i went for a duter Rxz AWD instead of Rxl.
The Rxl model had all the things which i wanted (good suspension, drivability, no turbolag, ESP,TC) except for the passenger airbag. I thought a lot weather the almost 2L difference post discounts was worth it.i feel the feature difference between the two models commands a maximum of 75,000-1,00,000 rs. Then again, if i had bought the Rxl , i would have been in guilt the whole time and god forbid if I met with some accident in the car and something would have happened to my co-passenger(invariably my wife)

This was renault keeping a gun to my head and asking me to choose either my wife's safety (especially in case of a accident) or my bank balance


WHY RENAULT WHY?

so ended up paying a ransom to Reanult for safety of my co passenger and bought Rxz

This is my super excited son taking delivery of my amazon green Duster AWD Rxz

[v6kgang]

Originally Posted by i_see

This is my super excited son taking delivery of my amazon green Duster AWD Rxz

Nice pics. How did you get the AWD sticker done? Here in Bangalore, they said, it's not even available as an option. White sticker looks good than the black one IMO

[i_see]

Thanks. My car actually came with the AWD sticker.
There was another AWD car in black at the dealership which did not come with the sticker

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by v6kgang

Nice pics. How did you get the AWD sticker done? Here in Bangalore, they said, it's not even available as an option. White sticker looks good than the black one IMO

The car and the AWD decals come separate from the factory. Its stuck by the dealer.

[rxpaul]

Originally Posted by DessertOnWheels

Hi
On the positive side:-

- No turbo lag. The very slight sluggishness is quite acceptable for a mini SUV
- Eats up roads. No thumping & rocking on the underbody (deliberately passed over a nasty pothole)But here's the strange part. The ride quality (back seat) of the Yeti doesn't measure up to Duster. Its my personal feeling & I could be wrong. Except for the slightly bouncy dampening (which probably can be tuned to be stiffer), the Duster beats the Yeti here.

Rapid vs Duster

- Driving dynamics of the Rapid beats Duster's & Yeti's by multi miles. The car sticks to the road adamantly, at any speed. Body roll is almost non existent. Ofcourse, here we are talking about a sedan with much lesser G.C. Its the perfect runaway car.

- Again, Duster's ride quality has no match in the Rapid's. While the Rapid indeed soaks up bad roads, you still have to slow down. The Duster doesn't care a damn.

Desert....I have also taken test drives of the yeti (long ago) and the 2WD duster recently.
100 % agree with you about the turbo lag & Ride of the Duster. I had a very long 10 km test drive (even on a field with ruts and adulations)
Inside Space - I felt the Yeti to be smaller than the Duster.
NVH - the Duster felt better.
Interiors- the Yeti is far far superior.

The USP of the Duster is that you need not slow down on bad roads. This is my conclusion. As its a taller car, you will have body roll, but its not as bad as that in the other SUVs.

I liked the duster, even the 2WD which suits all my requirements, but one. That is it needs to have an auto transmission.

[shazikon]

Any information about the AC condensation drain pipe issue in the duster? Has this issue been fixed in the latest available dusters ?

[tsk1979]

Can she offroad?
You be the judge!

http://youtu.be/6y-20_susds

Something with 31-33" tires and about 250mm of GC would have meant we go all the way, but still, coming this far was quite surprising. Never expected the Duster to do so well.

[DessertOnWheels]

Wow! She can indeed & with quite some finesse. Somehow, the almost motionless coverage makes the job look effortless, though it's evident from the terrain that it's not every car's job.

Did you deliberately avoid rocky terrain or is that coverage on the way?

As rightly described, it's a great soft-roader & can take you where no 2WD could, though I've watched a video of the Duster doing the nasty. Hope you shall post some such video too.

The landscape is raw & beckons. I'm sure you had a memorable trip :-)

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by DessertOnWheels

Wow! She can indeed & with quite some finesse. Somehow, the almost motionless coverage makes the job look effortless, though it's evident from the terrain that it's not every car's job.

Did you deliberately avoid rocky terrain or is that coverage on the way?

As rightly described, it's a great soft-roader & can take you where no 2WD could, though I've watched a video of the Duster doing the nasty. Hope you shall post some such video too.

The landscape is raw & beckons. I'm sure you had a memorable trip :-)

The terrain was fairly bumpy. Infact, during one segment you can hear the bump of rocks hitting underbody. I was driving very slow. Secondly, ultra wide angle means its seems much less than it actually is.

Since it was a rental, we stuck to mostly the easier F roads. This road was not the norm, but the exception. At one point we knew we had bitten off more than we could chew, so turned back before getting in a real soup.

Infact, from the point the video starts, there were two vehicles behind us. One a Jimny and another a captiva. Both turned back as the Jimny got stuck and had to be rocked back and forth. I think bad approach angle and lack of any fancy traction control meant that once two wheels on one side lost traction, it was toast.

[damore]

Hey Guys, I have booked one RXZ AWD and have asked for a delivery by mid December. Thanks for you all reviews and suggestions in the multiple posts which helped me make this decision.

Final on-road price for me is 15,00,000 after getting the discount of 58,000

[DessertOnWheels]

Hi damore
Congrats on your purchase.

- Mind sharing which dealership?
- Mumbai registration (MH01/02/03)?

The dealership I contacted had earlier quoted 13.5 for RXL & around 15.5 for RXZ. Yesterday (after much follow up) they sent me a proforma with the price of RXL hiked by a lakh & RXZ by around 35K. They haven't replied to my query on this.

Also, is it correct that the registration taxes are calculated on the MRP & not on the actual selling price?

Experts please enlighten.

Thanks :-)

[somitra1981]

Originally Posted by damore

Hey Guys, I have booked one RXZ AWD and have asked for a delivery by mid December. Thanks for you all reviews and suggestions in the multiple posts which helped me make this decision.

Final on-road price for me is 15,00,000 after getting the discount of 58,000

Hey damore, can you please provide a complete break up of the final on road price. Was the discount offered by way of insurance / accessories or actual reduction on the invoice value ?