Renault Duster turbo-petrol launched at Rs 10.49 lakh

After teasing the 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine for weeks, Renault has finally launched the Duster tagging it as ‘the most powerful SUV’ in its segment. Prices start at Rs 10.49 lakh for the base RXE variant going all the way to Rs 13.59 lakh, ex-showroom. Renault has also retained the 1.5-litre NA motor, prices for which start at Rs 8.59 lakh.

The star of the show is obviously the 1330cc, 4-cylinder turbo-petrol, VVT motor. Renault’s TCe (turbo control efficiency) engines have existed for almost a decade and the 90hp 1-litre TCe was the first ever three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine developed by Renault. In 2018, Renault introduced the 1.3 TCe, a four-pot turbo-petrol engine co-developed by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance along with Daimler. With proven capabilities in performance and efficiency, this new engine has been widely used by the Alliance across their range since its debut. Mercedes-Benz too, ditched their old M 260 1.6-litre petrol engine for this new turbo’d engine, called the M 282 in Mercedes’ speak. It first debuted in the A-Class Limousine and is now also offered with the Duster as well. Under the Duster’s hood, it churns out 154bhp @ 5500rpm and 254Nm @ 1600rpm. It has been paired with either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed DCT.

The new facelifted body features a red-accented tri-wing chrome grill, roof rails, fog lamps and muscular skid plates. The front features LED DRLs paired with projector headlamps, while the car stands at 205mm off the ground. The Duster’s interiors have been refreshed too, to include a midnight black color scheme, paired with blue glazed seats and an ice-blue 7-inch soft touch dash display. New features include pre-cooling, which enables the driver to switch on the car and air conditioning, before entering the vehicle, at the push of a button. It also gets cruise control and a speed limiter for which the switches have been mounted on the steering wheel. Sound is delivered from a two-front and four-rear speaker setup, with ARKAMYS-tuned audio.

Talking about its main adversaries; the Duster undercuts them by a fair margin. The Nissan Kicks starts at Rs 9.5 lakh and the Hyundai Creta’s petrol variant range starts at Rs 9.99 lakh.