Renault Duster confirmed for mid-July launch in India

The Renault Duster is a highly awaited product from the French carmaker ever since it was shown at the 2012 Auto Expo – and from what we see and hear we also believe that it could be the most successful car to roll out from Renault India in recent times. Our sources close to Renault have confirmed that the Duster will be launched by mid-July 2012. The bookings, as we told you yesterday, will begin this week itself across all the Renault showrooms in the country. The booking amount will be Rs 1-lakh. 

The Duster will be available with three engine options that span across three trim levels – RxE, RxL and RxZ. The base and mid variants i.e. RxE and RxL will be available with a 1.6-litre, 102 PS, 145 Nm petrol option or a 1.5-litre, 85 PS, 200 Nm diesel option. The RxL and the top end RxZ will be available with the top-of-the-line 1.5-litre dCi diesel mill that puts out 110 PS of power and close to 250 Nm of torque. The 110 PS engine comes from the recently launched Renault Fluence E4-D and gets a six-speed manual transmission. The other engines are mated to a 5-speed manual transmission and a front-wheel-drive mechanism. We are being told that a 4x4 won’t be offered initially but we may need to wait till the launch to confirm.

The lack of a four wheel drive system (if true) may sound unoptimistic for an SUV – but for an urban crossover like the Duster, the two wheel drive system not only provides better driving dynamics and lighter steering for the city environs, it also ensures better fuel economy. It also means that the Duster will start at a tempting price tag. Speaking of which, the Renault Duster will be priced between Rs 7 to 12 lakh for the Indian market. 

The Duster’s interiors have been tweaked for the Indian market’s needs and preferences. The air-conditioning and the suspension setup too has been carefully fine-tuned for the Indian driving conditions. The design of the interiors remains more or less similar to the one seen on the global model (pictured here). 

As we mentioned above, the Duster will be launched commercially by mid-July, 2012 and the deliveries are expected to being almost instantly. It will compete with the likes of the Mahindra Scorpio, the Tata Safari and the upcoming Ford EcoSport.