Renault Duster AWD 9,000km long term review

The Duster is the type of car that will urge you to make plans. I strongly believe that cars have personalities much like humans do and if I’d have to categorize the Duster into one, it would be of an explorer. It pushes you to be adventurous and begs you to plan a trip out of the over-polluted, overpopulated and fairly ugly City landscape. Our Duster then, has been caged for the month with just 1,500km added to the odo. 

It has been our workhorse for a multitude of photoshoots around town as our dutiful support car for cars like the Volvo S60, XC60, Mercedes E Cabrio and CLS. Tracking these cars needs a support car to be stable and in control at high speeds and the Duster just fits this role perfectly. It rides better than a few cars on that list above and it sure does make our job easier. The large boot gobbles all the equipment and with some load at the back, the independent suspension works a lot better. Like I’ve said before, it’s like a ballerina dancing through the undulations of India. 

But the summer is here and the loo over North India can do two things – give you sunstroke or drive you to the hills. I’d very much like to drive to the hills to escape this heat and the tiny beast needs to be let out of the cage before it suffers from a personality disorder. So come next month, read of the Duster’s adventures around the Garhwal Himalayas.

As for the month gone by, keeping up but the premium machinery has had an impact on the fuel economy of the Duster. It has returned about 12.5kmpl on average, down from the regular 13kmpl we had been getting before. A lot of high revving can do that but it’s commendable that for the strain the 1.5 dci was put through, the mileage is still acceptable. I’m not going to harp about the short first two gears anymore as I’ve made peace with it but I will continue to point out the absence of climate control.

Constantly controlling the fan speed is annoying, especially in summer. The fan does get noisy at level three and that means you can’t hear your caller when the phone is connected through Bluetooth. The only way to have a phone conversation during the day in your car is by sweating profusely. The kind of heat is inhuman, possibly asking too much out of an air conditioner but such is an Indian summer and manufacturers selling cars in India should engineer their air conditioners to suit our needs.

Logbook

Date Acquired: January 14, 2014

Total km till date: 9000km, 1500km since last report

Fuel consumed till date: 659 litres, 120 litres since last report

Efficiency: 12.5kmpl (Avg)

Cheers: Ride quality, Stability, luggage space

Sneers: Weak air-con, no climate control

Total Cost: Nil

Previous reports

Month 1  Month 2  Month 3