The Duster has to be one of our favourite mile-munching SUVs, it has a very compliant ride, it can take a beating and if you get the four-wheel-drive variant you could take it properly off-road. With BS6 norms kicking in soon, Renault has quietly launched the BS6-compliant version of the Duster, with a price hike of Rs 50,000. The Duster recently underwent a facelift which introduced a tweaked grille and the new projector headlamps. So this update doesn’t change much cosmetically. On the inside, the only change is the seat upholstery which gets a rather quirky design.
Before the Renault Duster had the 1.5-litre K9K diesel engine which they have decided to discontinue and now gets a five-speed manual transmission and a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder engine in the new 2020 Duster. Furthermore, the new Duster also will not have the CVT unit along with the four-wheel-drive option. Also, as the year passes, we might also see the introduction of a new engine option; the BS6-compliant 1.3-litre, four-cylinder, direct-injection, petrol engine producing 154bhp of power and 250Nm of torque, which we saw at the Auto Expo.
The BS6-compliant Duster ranges from Rs 8.49 lakhs to Rs 9.99 lakhs with the base petrol variant and the top-spec variant being the RXE and the RXZ respectively. The Duster does sit in a niche area — it was one of the only SUVs in that price bracket available with four-wheel-drive and proper off-road credentials but with that gone, the Duster might face a tough time in the market.